1. Things Get Worse... Moving Toward Conflict

2. The Sons Of Liberty To fight back against the Stamp Act & other British laws, some colonists formed secret groups called Sons of Liberty. These groups sometimes used threats and violence to achieve their goals.

3. The Sons of Liberty Picture of a Stamp Act Riot in New York. This image of American colonialists rioting in protest against the unpopular Stamp Act shows them carrying a banner bearing the words 'The Folly of England and the Ruin of America'.

4. Stamp Act protesters burn an official's house in Boston.

5. The Stamp Act Congress Massachusetts called for a Stamp Act Congress. Delegates from 9 colonies met and issued a declaration stating that the Stamp Act violated their rights.

6. The Stamp Act Congress The declaration would have really angered members of Parliament. It asked Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act.

7. Title page of The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved by James Otis Esq.

8. Okay, fine. No More Stamp Act Parliament was under pressure to get rid of the Stamp Act in Britain as well. London merchants didn’t like the colonial boycotts.

9. Okay, fine. No More Stamp Act William Pitt was a respected member of Parliament who opposed the Stamp Act. He thought Parliament could make laws for the colonies, but not tax them.

10. Okay, fine. No More Stamp Act But it was Ben Franklin who convinced Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act. Franklin told Parliament it was internal taxes the colonists didn’t like, but that taxes on trade were okay.

11. Okay, fine. No More Stamp Act If members of Parliament had read the declaration from the Stamp Act Congress, they would have known better. Nonetheless, the Stamp Act was repealed.

12. The Declaratory Act When Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, they issued the Declaratory Act which stated Parliament could make laws for the colonies “in all cases whatsoever.” Great, but do laws include taxes?

13. The Townshend Acts Just a year after or so after the repeal of the Stamp Act, Parliament passed the Townshend Acts. These Acts were more taxes on tea, paper, paints, lead, etc. to help pay for the British military.

14. The Townshend Acts The colonists responded with more boycotts, this time even bigger than the last ones. Women and the Daughters of Liberty helped out tremendously.

15. Bad Times in Boston Many colonial legislatures officially opposed the Townshend Acts.

16. Bad Times in Boston John Hancock, a prominent Boston merchant, had his ship seized by British tax collectors.

17. Bad Times in Boston Hancock thought it was because he opposed the Townshend Acts. The Sons of Liberty apparently agreed, because they began stoning and burning the houses of British customs officials, or worse.

18. The Bostonians paying the exciseman or tarring & feathering.

20. Bad Times in Boston The British Governor of Massachusetts requested British troops come and restore order in Boston. He also disbanded the Mass. Legislature.

21. Bad Times in Boston The troops in Boston were not very welcome. As time went on, tensions mounted, and there were many arguments and problems between colonists and the soldiers.

22. Bad Times in Boston On March 5, 1770, a lone British sentry, Hugh White, a soldier of the 29th Regiment, near Boston’s Custom House got into a verbal argument with a colonist, and he eventually struck him. Word travels fast in Boston, and crowd gathered.

23. Bad Times in Boston As the unruly and dangerous crowd of colonists, a small detail of British troops showed up. The British troops fired on the crowed after being pelted with ice and snowballs. 5 colonists died.

24. Bad Times in Boston

25. Occupying British troops fire on a crowd in Boston.

26. Bad Times in Boston Colonists, such as Sam Adams referred this event as the Boston Massacre, and used it as propaganda to show how “terrible” the British were. Was this really a Massacre?

27. The Tea Act Parliament was not completely deaf to the colonists complaints. They repealed the Townshend Acts but passed the Tea Act.

28. The Tea Act The act allowed the East India Company to sell tea directly to the colonies. Colonial merchants didn’t like this law either. They were afraid it would hurt business.

29. The Boston Tea Party On Dec. 16, 1773, a group of colonists disguised as Indians snuck aboard three British ships loaded with tea. The colonists dumped all the tea overboard while the ships sailors watched.

30. The Boston Tea Party

31. Payback Time To punish Boston and the rest of Massachusetts, Parliament passed the Coercive Acts. Colonists called these acts the Intolerable Acts.

32. Payback Time The Intolerable Acts consisted of 4 laws which: o Shut down Boston Harbor o Canceled the Mass. Charter and only allowed the legislature to meet with the governor’s permission.

33. Payback Time Moved trials of royal official to Britain to get a more “fair” jury. And included the Quartering Act. Many colonists who were happy British subjects were upset by these new laws. Soon the colonies would need to meet...