1. From Protest to Separation Notes

2. British Attitude Toward The Colonists
Great Britain in debt after the French and Indian War
Also cost money to keep soldiers in colonies to protect new territories
Believed the colonists should pay part of the cost
Why?
The war was fought to protect the colonists, therefore the colonists should pay
The colonists were paying off less of the debt than the people living in Great Britain
17£ to 18 Shillings
Solution: issue new taxes and enforce existing taxes

3. Raising Revenue Smuggling a HUGE problem in the colonies
Smuggled goods don’t have to pay taxes
No taxes = Great Britain doesn’t get money
American juries tended to find smugglers innocent
Solution One: 1763 new law sent smugglers to vice-admiralty courts
Vice-admirality courts: courts run by officers, not juries

5. Sugar Act Solution Two: Sugar Act 1764 – Sugar Act Passed
Lowered tax on imported molasses
Great Britain hoped lower tax would convince people to pay tax instead of smuggle goods
Let officers seize goods from smugglers without going to court

6. Writs of Assistance Solution Three: Writs of Assistance
1767 – Parliament authorized writs of assistance
Writs of Assistance: legal documents that allowed customs officers to enter any location to search for smuggled goods

7. Pair Question:

8. Pair Question:
The colonists are upset with Great Britain’s decision’s after the French and Indian War. Use your notes on Theories of Governments and Natural Rights to justify the colonists anger.

9. Colonists Get Angry
Colonists believed Great Britain’s actions violated their rights as citizens:
Vice-Admirality courts:
Violated right to a jury trial
Defendants had to prove their innocence instead of “innocent until proven guilty”
Writs of assistance:
Violated right to be secure in own home
Sugar Act:
Economic problem:
Molasses was used for making run. Rum made a small profit. ANY tax on ANY part of making rum would RUIN profit

10. Pair Question:

11. Are the colonists’ arguments against Great Britain valid? Justify.
Pair Question
Are the colonists’ arguments against Great Britain valid? Justify.

12. Stamp Act 1765 – Stamp Act Passed
Placed tax on almost all printed materials
Newspapers
Wills
Playing cards
All printed materials needed to have a stamp to show that the tax was paid
Colonists Opposition Arguments:
Parliament interfered with colonists affairs
Taxed colonists without their consent

13. Patrick Henry Member of Virginia House of Burgesses
Known for persuading the burgesses to take action against the Stamp Act and his passionate speeches
9 days after being sworn in introduced the Virginia Stamp Act Resolutions
Stamp Act Resolutions: declared that only bodies that Virginia sent representatives to could pass taxes
Henry and these resolutions considered the most treasonous action thus far

14. Samuel Adams From Boston Cousin of John Adams
Credited with starting an organization called the Sons of Liberty to protest Stamp Act
Adams was blamed for the violence that broke out over the Stamp Act
Stamp Distributer Andrew Oliver hanged in effigy
Royal Governor Thomas Hutchinson’s home ransacked

15. Sons of Liberty Not necessarily a formal organization
Well-known label for any group resisting British taxes and laws
Well-known name allowed people to anonymously summon protest gatherings
Groups found throughout the colonies
Motto: “No taxation without representation”

17. Stamp Act Repealed Protests Against Stamp Act:
Stamp Act Congress
Drafted a petition to the king and Parliament declaring colonies could not be taxed except by their own assemblies
Boycotts:
Colonists refused to buy British and European goods
Merchants signed non-importation agreements
British merchants lost so much business asked Great Britain to repeal act
March 1766 – Stamp Act Repealed
Declatory Act passed at same time
Stated that Parliament had the right to tax and make decisions for the British colonies “in all cases”

18. Townshend Acts 1767 – Townshend Acts passed
New taxes applied to imported goods
Glass
Tea
Paper
Relatively low tax
Goal: to start precedent that Britain can tax colonists
By this time any tax with tick off colonists!

19. Boston Massacre Background By 1768…
British colonial officials send word to Great Britain that colonists are on the brink of rebellion.
Especially in the case of Boston
Parliament sends troops to occupy Boston
British soldiers are rude and violent
Colonists are angry

20. Boston Massacre
March 5, 1770
Fight breaks out between the Bostonians and the soldiers.
Major characters:
Private Hugh White - on guard outside Customs House
Edward Garrick – a wigmakers apprentice
Captain Lieutenant John Goldfinch
Captain Thomas Preston – In charge of troops in Boston
Private Montgomery – a soldier who came to help

21. Boston Massacre Events:
Garrick yells at Cpt. Lt. Goldfinch claiming that Goldfinch had not paid his bill
Cpt. Lt. Goldfinch ignores Garrick
Pvt. White yells at Garrick, tells him to be more respectful
Garrick and White exchange insults
White leaves his post
Challenges Garrick
Strikes him on side of head with musket

22. Boston Massacre Events Cont. Crowd gathers and crowd grows
Church bells start ringing
Crowd continues to grow
Start throwing snowballs, stick, rocks at Pvt. White
Seven soldiers come to help Pvt. White, including Cpt. Thomas Preston
Shots were fired

23. Boston Massacre Here is where the story gets fuzzy…
This is what we know:
Cpt. Thomas Preston never gave the command to “FIRE!”
Besides, he was standing in front of the men with muskets
Crowd was taunting soldiers with dries of “Fire! Fire!”
Pvt. Montgomery was knocked down, dropped his musket and in anger shouted “darn you, fire!
Which of these caused the soldiers to fire?

24. Boston Massacre Aftermath: 5 Americans died
Colonial leaders used the killings as propaganda:
Samuel Adams put up posters
Paul Revere creates engraving that shows British soldiers firing into a crowd.
Colonists even angrier at the British

25. Boston Tea Party Background
Tax on tea from Townshend acts was ruining the East Indian Tea Company
Britain needed a way to help them
Passed the Tea Act
Tea Act: an act passed in 1773 to help the British East Indian Company
Allowed company to have a virtual monopoly of the trade for tea in America
Act let company sell tea directly to shopkeepers and bypass the merchants.
Allowed them to sell tea cheaper than the merchants
Allowed them to sell tea cheaper than the smugglers

26. Boston Tea Party Protests begin
Merchants called for new boycott on tea
Colonists vowed to stop East India Company Ships from unloading
East India Company sent ships to New York, Philadelphia, and Boston
New York and Philadelphia force ships to turn around
Three ships arrive in Boston Harbor in late 1773
Royal governor of Massachusetts Thomas Hutchinson refuses to allow ships to leave
Orders ships to unload

27. Boston Tea Party
Dec 16, 1773
Samuel Adams is trying to maintain control of a town meeting of approx. 7,000 people at the Old South Meeting House
People left the meeting and went to Boston Harbor
A group of men disguised as Mohawk Indians boarded the ships at night
Threw 342 chests of tea overboard
Took approx. 3 hours

28. The Intolerable Acts
After the Boston Tea Party, Britain had no more sympathy for the colonies
1774 – Parliament passes the Coercive Acts
Also known as the Intolerable Acts
These were laws to punish the people of Massachusetts

29. The Intolerable Acts
The Boston Port Act: closed Boston Harbor until Massachusetts colonists paid the East Indian Company back for the tea destroyed in the Boston Tea Party
Massachusetts Government Act: almost all positions in government to be appointed by governor or king
Town meetings may be held only once a year
Administrating of Justice Act: allowed governor to move trials of accused royal officers to another colony or to Great Britain.
Quartering Act: allowed the governor to house soldiers in suitable quarters if colony did not provide adequate housing to solders
Quebec Act: gave the province of Quebec the land south to Ohio River Valley and west to Mississippi