FRENCH & INDIAN WAR7 YEARS WAR  During the war, the French and their Indian allies fought to keep the English from moving into the Ohio River Valley. The English kept pushing with the help of a young George Washington.  The French & Indian war evolved into the 7 years war which ended in 1763 with a British victory.  The Treaty of Paris gave all land east of the Mississippi to the British.  The British sought to increase their control of the colonists; limiting their freedoms.

This law stated that colonist could not settle west of the Appalachian Mountains. The law also said settlers living west of the mountains had to move east. They wanted to keep the peace with the Native Americans. This angered the settlers because they wanted to farm the fertile Ohio Valley, or wanted land of their own. Most of them simply ignored the law.

 This act taxed printed documents, such as newspapers, college diplomas, playing cards etc… This was the first direct tax on the colonies from the Parliament.  Each document was stamped to show that a tax had been paid.  This tax was paid to the British Parliament, a system that they did not have representation in.

 DBQ Process Handout  Stamp Act Materials Document A, B, C & Guiding Questions

AFTER WINNING THE FRENCH-INDIAN WAR IN 1763, THE BRITISH WERE IN A LOT OF DEBT. THEY TRIED TO RAISE MONEY BY TAXING THE AMERICAN COLONISTS. IN MARCH 1765, THE BRITISH PASSED THE STAMP ACT. IT WENT INTO EFFECT ON NOVEMBER 1, IT PLACED A TAX ON ALL NEWSPAPERS AND OTHER PRINTED MATERIALS. THE STAMP ACT WOULD HAVE AN EFFECT ON ANYONE WHO BOUGHT A PRINTED ITEM LIKE A NEWSPAPER. TODAY, WE’RE GOING TO READ DOCUMENTS AND TRY TO ANSWER THE QUESTION: WHY WERE COLONISTS UPSET ABOUT THE STAMP ACT?

 North Carolinians were very active in protesting this tax, especially the Sons of Liberty from Wilmington. They were active in stopping a shipment of paper to Brunswick from reaching land.

DECLARATORY ACT 1766TOWNSHEND ACTS 1767  Because of the widespread disapproval of the tax, the British Parliament repealed the Stamp Act in  The Parliament quickly passed this law to declare that the British Parliament had supreme authority to govern the colonies.  Quickly replaced the Stamp Act with the Townshend Acts which taxed British imports such as glass, paint, lead, etc…  Monies from this tax would pay the salaries of British officials in the colonies.  The greatest effect on the port cities of New York and Boston.

 In these port cities, leaders such as Samuel Adams boycotted the British products.  This movement spread throughout the colonies and could be seen in the changes colonist made in their everyday life. E.g. Daughters of Liberty called for homemade clothes from cloth weaved by the women.  NC Speaker of the House John Harvey voted to support this movement.  Wilmington merchant Cornelius Harnett supported the boycott movement, noting it as a “support of the common cause of American Liberty.”  The boycotting movement was very successful, dropping imports by almost 50%.  The British Parliament eventually repealed the taxes on everything except tea.

March 5, 1770, Boston Mass. Outside a custom house in the city, colonist got into a scuffle with British soldiers, while expressing their dislike of the way the British were running the colonies. In a few seconds, it got out of hand and shots were fired. Ultimately 5 colonist were killed. Word travelled quickly and the picture on the right was created by Paul Revere.

 The British soldiers involved the "massacre” were arrested and tried. Their lawyer, James Adams.

THE TEA ACT 1773THE BOSTON TEA PARTY 1773  The Townshend Acts were repealed, except the tax on tea. The British Government wanted to show it still had the right to tax the colonist.  1773, Tea Act was passed. It gave the British East India Company control over American tea trade.  December 16, 1773  Men disguised as Native Americans boarded 3 tea ships where they destroyed 342 chests of tea by dumping them into the harbor.

 Originally named the Coercive Acts by the British, the colonist renamed them the Intolerable Acts.  These are a series of laws passed to punish the Massachusetts colony and to serve as a warning to other colonies. They included the payback of the cost of tea from the Boston colonist. They also allowed the housing of British troops wherever and whenever they wanted.  This backfired in a way, when Massachusetts gained the support of the other colonies.

 September 1774  Philadelphia  Delegates voted to ban all trade with Britain until the Intolerable Acts were repealed.  Georgia was the only colony not in attendance. They did agree however to be part of these actions.  Called upon all colonies to begin training troops.  Importance of the event as a whole? Showed unity between the colonies to uphold their rights within the colonies of North America.

 April 19 th 1775  Lexington Mass  700 British Troops  Captain John Parker & 70 militiamen  Within minutes eight militiamen were dead and British troops headed to Concord.  4,000 militiamen arrived in this area lining the roads between Lexington and Concord where they fired upon the British.  This is considered the first battles of the Revolutionary War.  “Shot hear ‘round the world”  Colonist had to choose sides: Loyalists VS Patriots.

 May 10, 1775  Delegates included: George Washington, John Adams, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Benjamin Franklin, and Patrick Henry.  The Continental Army was formed, selecting George Washington as their General.  These were the beginnings of a new government. They even began to print money to pay the troops.

 After the rejection of the Olive Branch Petition, and the publication of Common Sense by author Thomas Paine, the colonists were ready to declare their independence from British rule by appointing a committee to draft the Declaration of Independence.  This included: Franklin, Adams, Sherman, Livingston, and Jefferson. Jefferson was elected to compose the Declaration.  July 4, 1776 Congress adopts the document declaring independence.