8 th Grade Social Studies November 1, 2011

 Date: 1764  Explanation: The sugar act was a tax placed on sugar and molasses imported from the West Indies.  Colonists’ Reaction: The colonists in Georgia were angry about the tax because they did a lot of trading with sugar-producing countries.

 Date: 1765  Explanation: This was a tax placed on newspapers, legal documents and licenses to help raise money to pay for the French & Indian War.  Colonists’ Reaction: Colonists reacted violently to the act. Protesters burned effigies of stamp masters in the streets. *Stamp Act was repealed a year later.

 Date: 1767  Explanation: Placed import taxes on tea, paper, glass, and coloring for paints.  Colonists’ Reaction: Colonists were upset with the new laws. Georgia colonists elected Noble Wimberly Jones to the assembly because he was a Patriot who actively spoke out against the taxes.

 Date: 1773  Explanation: The East India Company had tea that it could not sell, so Great Britain allowed them to ship directly to the colonies to sell for less than colonial merchants could.  Colonists’ Reaction: The merchants felt they had been tricked into buying the tea and paying a lower tax. A group of Patriots protested by boarding 3 British ships and dumping 342 chests of tea into the Boston harbor. This became known as the Boston Tea Party.

 Date: 1774  Explanation: Four laws enacted to punish the Patriots of Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party. 1) Closed the port of Boston until citizens paid for the tea. 2) No town meeting in Massachusetts unless approved by governor. 3) British officials who committed crimes would be tried in Great Britain. 4) Quartering Act—citizens had to house and feed British soldiers at their own expense.

 Colonists’ Reaction: September 5, 1774 colonists organized a “Continental Congress” (except for Georgia). Two groups formed:  1. pull away from Great Britain and seek independence and  2. make changes but stay under British rule. They agreed to stop trade with Great Britain.