The Road to Revolution Tighter British Control Colonial Resistance Grows The Road to Lexington & Concord Declaring Independence
Tighter British Control King George III attempts to control colonies Proclamation of 1763 Forbade colonists from moving west Quartering Act (1764) 10,000 soldiers left from French & Indian war Colonists required to provide housing New taxes Sugar act (1765) Taxed sugar, molasses, & other products shipped to colonies Stamp act (1766) Required tax stamp on all legal & printed documents
Colonists response Stamp Act Congress (1765) Parliament had no right to tax colonies No tax can be created without colonists consent “No Taxation without Representation” Patrick Henry Sons of Liberty Formed to oppose British policies Samuel Adams John Hancock Boycott Refusal to buy British goods
Colonial Resistance Grows Declaratory Act (1766) Stated Parliament had authority to pass laws for colonies Townshend Acts (1767) Charles Townshend, England’s prime minister Taxed glass, paper, paint, lead, & tea Writs of Assistance Allowed searches for smuggled goods Daughters of Liberty Urged people to make their own goods Boston Massacre (1770) Used by Sons of Liberty Crispus Attucks – 1 st patriot to die John Adams – defended the British soldiers
Tea Act (1773) All tea must be from East India Company Committees of Correspondence Passed secret letters from colony to colony keeping all informed of collective action Boston Tea Party (1773) Sons of Liberty in disguise destroyed 3 ships of tea protesting the Tea act
The Road to Lexington & Concord Intolerable Acts (1774) (Coercive acts) Closed port of Boston Banned town meetings Replaced elected officials with appointed ones Increased Governor’s power Protected British officials from trial Allowed troops in private homes 1 st Continental Congress (1774) All colonies except Georgia Banned trade w/ England until Intolerable Acts repealed Agreed to meet again in 7 months
John Hancock Committee of Safety Minutemen Militia ready to fight in a “minute’s” notice Patrick Henry “give me liberty or give me death” Loyalists Colonists who sided with the king Patriots Colonists against the king
British learn that ammunition stored outside Boston Lexington & Concord (April 19, 1775) Paul Revere’s ride Samuel Dawes & William Prescott “Shot heard around the world” 700 British soldiers under Captain John Parker vs. 70 minutemen 4000 minutemen lined the road on return to Boston
Declaring Independence Siege of Boston Battle of Bunker Hill Breed’s Hill “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes” 2 nd Continental Congress Continental Army is formed George Washington chosen commander Olive Branch Petition Last hope for peace rejected by King George III
British forced from Boston Washington moves guns from Ticonderoga Rebellion becomes Revolution Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” Pamphlet promoting Independence Congress moves toward Independence Richard Henry Lee introduced resolution “free & independent states” Unanimous vote
Declaration committee Thomas Jefferson John Adams Benjamin Franklin Roger Sherman Robert Livingston Declaration of Independence Separation from England