2.3 DISAGREEMENTS WITH GREAT BRITIAN

FRENCH & INDIAN WAR By the 1750’s British colonist were moving west into French claimed land. This led to French & Native American forces fighting against British troops in 1754. By 1763, British forces had won the war & took control of all French lands to the Mississippi River. King George III blamed colonist for the war and wanted them to pay.

NEW LAWS & TAXES The British set up a proclamation line along the Appalachian Mountains in 1763, forbidding the colonist to settle beyond that line. The king also placed over 10,000 troops to keep order. The king’s actions angered the colonist.

NEW LAWS & TAXES CONT’D Stamp Act of 1765- law required colonist to buy & place tax stamps on many king of documents. Colonial leaders called a boycott, or refuse to buy, British goods. 1766 British Parliament repealed, or canceled, the Stamp Act. Declaratory Act of 1766- stated that Parliament had the right to tax and make decisions for colonies.

TOWNSHEND ACTS In 1767, the British placed duties on a wide range of goods that colonist imported overseas. The act allowed general search warrants, writs of assistance, to combat smuggling in and out of the country. They made it lawful for officials to enter any building to look for goods that had not been paid for. 20 years later, Americans remembered this as they demanded the protection against “unreasonable searches & seizures” be added to the Constitution.

TEA ACT (1773) This allowed a British tea company in India to import to the colonies without paying the existing tax. This made British tea cheaper, but colonist were angered by Parliament’s control on taxes. In December 1773, angry colonist dumped 342 chests of tea into the Boston Harbor. (Boston Tea Party) In response, Parliament passed the Coercive Acts or Intolerable Acts.

COERCIVE ACTS (INTOLERABLE ACTS) 1774 Closed Boston’s harbor until tea was fully paid for. Made town meetings in Massachusetts illegal except for written consent by governor. Required the colonist to provide housing for British soldiers. (The Quartering Act) Allowed trails of British officials from Mass., to be held in other colonies or Britain. Extended the Canadian border southward to the Ohio River, eliminating the colonies’ claim to the land.

STEPS TOWARD INDEPENDENCE In 1774, delegates, or representatives, from 12 colonies met in Philadelphia to plan a response to the Coercive Acts. (1st Continental Congress) They decided to send a letter to the king asking for Britain to respect their rights as citizens. They agreed to meet again the following year if their demands were not met.

STEPS TOWARD INDEPENDENCE CONT’D In 1775, a 2nd Continental Congress met. This time the Congress met as a governing body, debating for months on what to do. In 1776, Thomas Paine published a pamphlet titled Common Sense. He used ideas from John Locke and argued for colonist to rebel against the king’s “violent abuse of power.” By Spring 1776, 500,000 copies of Common Sense had been sold and half of the delegates of the 2nd Continental Congress favored independence.

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE The Congress chose a committee to draft a document to explain why the colonist should be free. It consisted of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson. The committee chose Jefferson to write the document. Jefferson was influenced by John Locke and other Enlightenment thinkers. The Declaration of Independence was approved on July 4, 1776. John Hancock, the president of the Congress, was first to sign it.