Conflict in the Colonies Chapter 3, Section 5 Conflict in the Colonies

Great Britain Raises Taxes Even though Great Britain had won the French and Indian War, the conflict itself accumulated an enormous debt In order to protect its colonies against Native American attacks, Great Britain kept a standing army in America In order to pay for the standing army, the British Parliament was asked to tax the colonists

Great Britain Raises Taxes Sugar Act 1764, set duties on molasses and sugar imported British officials also tried harder to arrest smugglers Colonial merchants were required to list all the trade goods they carried aboard their ships Lists must be approved before the ships could depart from the ports Lists made if difficult for traders to avoid paying duties British navy also began to search ships for goods

Great Britain Raises Taxes Parliament made changes in colonial governments by giving more power to the vice-admiralty courts No juries Judges treated suspected smugglers as guilty until proven innocent

Taxation without Representation The actions of Parliament upset the colonists because they were used to being independent Rising merchant class believed that the taxes were unjust and hurt their businesses No taxation without representation James Otis argued that the power of the crown and of Parliament was limited Could not “take from any man any part of his property, without his consent in person or by representation” James Otis is buried at the Old Granary Burial Ground in Massachusetts alongside many other famous Patriots

Taxation without Representation Colonial Assemblies had little to no power in Parliamentary decisions Colonists did not have direct representation in Parliament Simply subject of the British crown and not citizens of England Samuel Adams Agreed with Otis Coined phrase “NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION” with Otis Helped found the Committees of Correspondence

Taxation without Representation Boycott was a popular protest method Refusal to purchase British goods Intended to hurt the British economy Samuel Adams is also buried at the Old Granary Burial Ground

Stamp Act British government continued to search for ways to tax the colonists Stamp Act of 1765 Proposed by British Prime Minister Grenville Required colonists to pay for an official stamp when they purchased paper items Legal documents, licenses, newspapers, pamphlets, and even playing cards Refusal to pay for stamp could result in fines or jail time Grenville did not expect this tax to spark protest because people in Britain already paid similar taxes Parliament’s first attempt to tax the colonists directly

Stamp Act Protests against the Stamp Act began almost immediately in the colonies Formed a secret society: The Sons of Liberty Famous members include: Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, John Hancock, James Otis, Paul Revere, and Doctor Joseph Warren Often used violence “Don’t Tread on Me” was a popular slogan of the Sons of Liberty

Repealing the Stamp Act The Massachusetts legislature called for a Stamp Act Congress October 1765, members from 9 colonies met in New York Issued a declaration that the Stamp Act was a violation of their rights and liberties Pressure on the British Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act grew quickly Members of Parliament were angry that the colonists challenged their authority and issued the Declaratory Act Stated that Parliament had the power to make laws for the colonies “in all cases” Stripped away much of the colonists’ independence

Townshend Acts Passed by the British Parliament in June of 1767 Duties on glass, lead, paints, paper, and tea British government issued Writs of Assistance to enforce the acts Allowed tax collectors to search for smuggled goods Colonists opposed the new laws because they took power away from Colonial Governments

Townshend Acts The Daughters of Liberty Colonists responded to the Townshend Acts by boycotting British goods The Daughters of Liberty Colonial women were not allowed to participate in political life The Daughters of Liberty were a group of patriotic women that joined in the boycott of British goods. Some famous members of the Daughters of Liberty include Deborah Franklin (Ben’s wife), Abigail Adams (John’s wife), and Sarah Bradlee Fulton

Townshend Acts Massachusetts tax collectors seized the ship Liberty on suspicion of smuggling Liberty was owned by Patriot and member of the Sons of Liberty, John Hancock In response, the Sons of Liberty attacked houses of customs officials In response to attacks, the governor of Massachusetts disbanded the Massachusetts legislature to punish the attackers and asked troops to restore order British soldiers arrived in Massachusetts in October 1768

Boston Massacre Bostonians law the presence of British troops as a threat by the British government Soldiers knew they were not welcome, resulting in tension on both sides Name calling and fights common Tensions exploded on March 5, 1770

Boston Massacre March 5, 1770 One British soldiers was standing guard had an argument with a colonist and struck him A crowd of angry colonists gathered around the soldiers throwing snowballs and shouting insults British soldiers arrived on the scene and the crowd of colonists grew louder and angrier Some colonists began shouting “Fire if you dare” Suddenly the soldiers fired into the crowd

Boston Massacre March 5, 1770 One British soldiers was standing guard had an argument with a colonist and struck him A crowd of angry colonists gathered around the soldiers throwing snowballs and shouting insults British soldiers arrived on the scene and the crowd of colonists grew louder and angrier Some colonists began shouting “Fire if you dare” Suddenly the soldiers fired into the crowd

Boston Massacre 3 men in the crowd of colonists were killed instantly, including sailor Crispus Attucks Son of an African American father and a Native American mother Born into slavery Escaped slavery and became a sailor for 20 years Widely regarded as the first martyr of the American Revolution Two others died within a few days Crispus Attucks

Boston Massacre Samuel Adams and members of the Sons of Liberty quickly began spreading the story, using it as propaganda A story giving only one side a fair argument Colonists called the shootings the Boston Massacre Paul Revere created an elaborate color print titled “The Bloody Massacre perpetrated in King Street” to further promote the British resistance cause

Boston Massacre Paul Revere’s engraving of the Boston Massacre The site of the Boston Massacre today

Boston Massacre The British soldiers and their officer, Thomas Preston, were charged with murder Two Boston lawyers, Josiah Quincy and John Adams defended the soldiers in court, arguing that the British soldiers had acted in self defense Quincy and Adams won and the six British soldiers were found not guilty

The Boston Tea Party To reduce tensions in the colonies, Parliament repealed almost all of the Townshend Acts, except the duties on tea Tea was in high demand in the colonies, regardless of the boycott However, most colonists were smuggling tea and not paying taxes on it

The Boston Tea Party To remedy the smuggling problem, the British East India Company came up with a solution The British East India Company had huge amounts of tea, but was not allowed to sell it directly to the colonists By selling directly to colonists, the British East India Company could lower prices and still make a profit Cheaper tea would encourage colonists to stop illegal smuggling and less smuggling would result in more tax $

The Boston Tea Party Tea Act 1773, allowed the British East India company to sell their tea directly to the colonists Many colonial merchants and smugglers feared that the cheaper tea would put them out of business Three ships loaded with tea from the British East India Company arrived in the Boston Harbor in 1773 Members of the Sons of Liberty demanded that they leave Massachusetts Governor would not allow the ships to leave without paying a duty Unsure of what to do, the ship captains waited in the Boston Harbor

The Boston Tea Party December 16, 1773 Colonists (Sons of Liberty and other protestors) boarded the three ships disguised as Native Americans Dumped over 340 chests of tea into the Boston Harbor Event became known as the Boston Tea Party

The Intolerable Acts Lord North, Great Britain’s new Prime Minister, was furious about the Boston Tea party and decided to punish Boston Spring, 1774, Britain’s Parliament passed the Coercive Acts, which the colonists called the Intolerable Acts

The Intolerable Acts Effects of the Intolerable Acts Boston Harbor closed until the ruined tea was paid for Massachusetts charter cancelled. The governor could decide when legislature could meet Royal officials accused of crimes were sent back to Britain for trial Quartering Act Colonial civilians must house and feed British soldiers Quebec Act Gave a large quantity of land to Quebec General Thomas Gage became the New Governor of Massachusetts Colonial anger at Great Britain increased