1. On the Road to Revolution

2.  Writs of assistance used to search homes and businesses for smuggled goods  Samuel Adams’ Sons of Liberty urged boycotts of British goods Protests were assembled to emphasize displeasure in the colonies  British soldiers were sent to colonial cities to enforce British law & protect customs officials  Standing armies in the colonies became the norm

3.  Many protests turned into riots & tensions explode outside customs house on Kings St. in Boston  5 people die after shots fired by soldiers & the Sons of Liberty call them martyrs for freedom Including Crispus Attucks  Colonists use the event as propaganda to gain support from other colonies against the British  Soldiers did receive a fair trial and were acquitted

4.  Tea was popular but was smuggled  Parliament passed Tea Act  Colonists disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians and dumped 342 chests of tea in Boston Harbor  The colonists intent was to destroy British property in an effort to show Britain how strongly they opposed taxation without representation

5.  Parliament passed the Coercive Acts to punish the colonists for Boston Tea Party Colonists call them Intolerable Acts  Laws not received well in colonies Closed port of Boston until pay for the tea Banned committees of correspondence Allowed Brits to house troops wherever needed British officials accused of crimes in the colonies would stand trial in Britain  Parliament appointed a military General as Governor of Mass. to enforce the acts

6.  All colonies except Georgia meet as the 1 st Continental Congress  Massachusetts John Adams  Virginia Patrick Henry  Outspoken defenders of colonial rights (quoted above) George Washington  Debate & reject a plan to compromise & reconcile with Great Britain “The distinctions between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers, & New Englanders are no more…I am not a Virginian, but an American.”

7. Decisions of the Congress Draft petition of grievances to repeal all laws since 1763Draft petition of grievances to repeal all laws since 1763 –Laws violated “natural rights” Vote to boycott British goods & ban all trade with Britain until Intolerable Acts are repealedVote to boycott British goods & ban all trade with Britain until Intolerable Acts are repealed Prepared decision to form state militias in the areaPrepared decision to form state militias in the area Parliament considers the colonists in Spring 1775Parliament considers the colonists in Spring 1775 –King rejects and sends more troops

9. April 18, 1775 – 700 troops sent to Boston April 18, 1775 – 700 troops sent to Boston Troops goal was to capture colonial leaders (John Hancock & Sam Adams) & supplies @ Concord, MA Boston used the committee & get word of Boston invasion beforehand Used riders to send messages from town to town Wentworth Cheswell

10. The Midnight Riders sent riders to warn colonists of British invasion Boston Committee of Correspondence sent riders to warn colonists of British invasion Paul ReverePaul Revere William DawesWilliam Dawes sent riders to warn colonists of British invasion Boston Committee of Correspondence sent riders to warn colonists of British invasion Paul ReverePaul Revere William DawesWilliam Dawes

11.  British tried to seize colonists’ arms & ammunition  Minutemen boasted they could be ready @ a moment’s notice  The colonial militia drove the British back to Boston  Fighting signaled the start of the American Revolution