A Decade of Problems ( ) Lexington and Concord

The Seven Years War/French and Indian War  Competition among the colonial powers for land, resources, and trade routs resulted a major conflict beginning in  “Seven Years War” with France, Austria, Russia, Sweden, Saxony, and later Spain and Portugal at war with Great Britain, Prussia, several smaller German states  Britain successfully protected her American colonies from French encroachment, and eventually “won” the global war to solidify its place as the world’s leading colonial power.  However, the British incurred a massive debt which they would seek to ease, in part, by taxing colonial subjects.

2. Sugar Act (4/5/1764)  Reduced the rate of tax on molasses from six pence to three pence per gallon, but focused on strict enforcement.  The act also listed more foreign goods to be taxed including sugar, certain wines, coffee, and further, regulated the export of lumber and iron.

3. Stamp Act (3/22/1765)  The new tax was imposed on all American colonists and required them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used.  Ship's papers, legal documents, licenses, newspapers, other publications, and even playing cards were taxed.  The money collected by the Stamp Act was to be used to help pay the costs of defending and protecting the American frontier near the Appalachian Mountains (10,000 troops were to be stationed on the American frontier for this purpose).  The actual cost of the Stamp Act was relatively small. What made the law so offensive to the colonists was not so much its immediate cost but the standard it seemed to set.  In the past, taxes and duties on colonial trade had always been viewed as measures to regulate commerce, not to raise money.  The Stamp Act, however, was viewed as a direct attempt by England to raise money in the colonies without the approval of the colonial legislatures.  If this new tax were allowed to pass without resistance, the colonists reasoned, the door would be open for far more troublesome taxation in the future.  The boycott of English goods significantly hurt English manufacturers, and provided the push needed for the repeal on March 18th,  Royal authority had been successfully challenged in the American colonies.

4. Declaratory Act (3/18/1766)  British Parliament began issuing several Acts against the American colonies, and the colonies could do virtually nothing against them, simply because Britain said that they were "for the good of the empire."  The Declaratory Act proclaimed Parliament’s power to “bind the colonies... in all cases whatsoever.”

4. Declaratory Act (3/18/1766) AN ACT FOR THE BETTER SECURING THE DEPENDENCY OF HIS MAJESTY'S DOMINIONS IN AMERICA UPON THE CROWN AND PARLIAMENT OF GREAT BRITAIN Whereas several of the houses of representatives in His Majesty's colonies and plantations in America have of late, against law, claimed to themselves, or to the general assemblies of the same, the sole and exclusive right of imposing duties and taxes upon His Majesty's subjects in the said colonies and plantations; and have, in pursuance of such claim, passed certain votes, resolutions, and orders derogatory to the legislative authority of Parliament, and inconsistent with the dependency of the said colonies and plantations upon the crown of Great Britain: may it therefore please Your Most Excellent Majesty that it may be declared, and be it declared by the king's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, That the said colonies and plantations in America have been, are, and of right ought to be, subordinate unto, and dependent upon the imperial crown and Parliament of Great Britain; and that the king's Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, of Great Britain, in Parliament assembled, had, hath, and of right ought to have, full power and authority to make laws and statutes of sufficient force and validity to bind the colonies and people of America, subjects of the crown of Great Britain, in all cases whatsoever. II. And be it further declared and enacted by the authority aforesaid, That all resolutions, votes, orders, and proceedings, in any of the said colonies or plantations, whereby the power and authority of the Parliament of Great Britain to make laws and statutes as aforesaid is denied, or drawn into question, are, and are hereby declared to be, utterly null and void to all intents and purposes whatsoever.

 After the Declaratory Act, Britain passed such acts as the Quartering Act of 1766, which required Americans to house British soldiers at their own expense, and the Townshend Acts, which taxed imports into colonies. Charles Townshend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer

5. The Townshend Acts (6/29/1767)  Taxes on glass, paint, oil, lead, paper, and tea were applied with the design of raising £40,000 a year for the administration of the colonies.  The result was the resurrection of colonial hostilities created by the Stamp Act.  Massachusetts took the lead in coordinating a united opposition to English taxes (boycotts).  The Boston Massacre – March 1770  All taxes from the Townshend Acts, except for tea, were repealed by October, 1770.

6. The Tea Act of 1773 (5/10/1733)  The Tea Act, passed by Parliament on May 10, 1773, would launch the final spark to the revolutionary movement in Boston.  The act was not intended to raise revenue in the American colonies, and in fact imposed no new taxes.  It was designed to prop up the East India Company which was floundering financially and burdened with eighteen million pounds of unsold tea.  This tea was to be shipped directly to the colonies, and sold at a bargain price.  The Townshend Duties were still in place, however leaders (Sons of Liberty) in America found reason to believe that this act was a maneuver to buy popular support for the taxes already in force.  The direct sale of tea, via British agents, would also have undercut the business of local merchants.  Colonists in Philadelphia and New York turned the tea ships back to Britain.  In Charleston the cargo was left to rot on the docks.

6. The Tea Act of 1773 (5/10/1733) - continued  In Boston, the Royal Governor was stubborn and held the ships in port, where the colonists would not allow them to unload.  Ships with cargoes of tea filled the harbor, and the British ships’ crews were stalled in Boston looking for work and often finding trouble.  This situation led to the Boston Tea Party (12/16/1773) and "parties" up and down the coast.  Parliament’s reaction to the destruction and cost of the tea parties led to the Intolerable Acts.

7. The Intolerable Acts (1774)  Parliament was utterly fed up with colonial antics. The British could tolerate strongly worded letters or trade boycotts.  They could put up with defiant legislatures and harassed customs officials to an extent.  But they saw the destruction of 342 chests of tea belonging to the British East India Company as wanton destruction of property by Boston thugs who did not even have the courage to admit responsibility.  Someone was going to pay.

1. The Boston Port Act closed the port of Boston until the East India Company was paid for the lost tea. This created a great hardship for the people of Boston whose livelihood depended on trade. 2. Massachusetts Government Act modified the Massachusetts Charter of 1691, taking away many of its rights of self-government. It was aimed at punishing Boston and forcing it out of resistance. Almost all positions in the colonial government were to be appointed by the governor or directly by the King. Activities of town meetings were limited. Massachusetts was very proud of its independence and was angry at this infringement on its rights. 3. Administration of Justice Act provided that British officials accused of committing crimes in a colony might be taken to England for trial. Because it would mean witnesses would be forced to travel, the practical effect was thought to be that the British officials would escape justice. 4. The Quartering Act allowed the British to quarter British soldiers in colonial buildings at the expense of the colonists, including colonists' homes, if there were insufficient space in other buildings. 5. The Quebec Act extended the boundaries of the province of Quebec. Because Quebec did not have representative assemblies, many colonists thought this transfer of land from the colonies to unrepresented Quebec was another attempt to punish the colonies and solidify British control.

 Throughout the colonies, the message was clear: what could happen in Massachusetts could happen anywhere.  The British had gone too far.  Supplies were sent to the beleaguered colony from the other twelve.  For the first time since the Stamp Act Crisis, an intercolonial conference was called - The First Continental Congress.  Twelve colonies sent delegates (Georgia sent no delegate) to a meeting in Philadelphia to discuss matters of common concern.  The delegates sent a document to King George III demanding that the rights of the colonists be restored.  Declaration of Rights and Grievances, Oct. 14, 1774 Declaration of Rights and Grievances, Oct. 14, 1774  He refused and sent troops to the colonies.

 An extended battle took place at Lexington and Concord, Mass. in April,  Many colonists now thought about full independence from Britain.

 The Question of Independence  Many of the delegates did not favor independence. Why?  Many of the delegates were convinced the colonies must be free from British control. Why?  Loyalists vs Patriots Activity (Introduction and Group Assignments)  Video Overview Video Overview