Revolution

1
Revolution
2
The Growing Chasm

• French Indian War
• British station 10,000 troops in colonies
• Huge debt for Britain
• Proclamation of 1763
• Colonists could not go west past Appalachian
  Mountains

3

• 1764 - Sugar Act
• halved duties on foreign made molasses, placed
  duties on previously untaxed imports
• smugglers tried in Vice-admiralty courts, Judges
  kept 5 of confiscated goods
• 1765 - Stamp Act
• colonists had to buy special stamped paper for
  every legal document, newspaper, license,
  pamphlet, playing cards, dice
• Tax on goods that affects everyone

4

• Samuel Adams organizes secret resistance group -
  Sons of Liberty
• Patrick Henry of Virginia proposes that
  parliament cannot Tax colonies since they are not
  represented Taxation without representation is
  Tyranny

5

• Oct 1765 - 9 colonies get together and draw up
  Declaration of Rights and Grievances
• 200 N.Y. merchants boycott British goods until
  Stamp Act repealed, Boston Philadelphia follow
• March 1766 - parliament repeals Stamp Act, but
  passes Declaratory Act the same day

6
Townshend Acts - 1767

• Tax on glass, lead, paint, paper, tea
• more protests
• Boston gets tense so the British station 4000
  troops, 1 troop for every 4 colonists, this leads
  to...

7
Boston Massacre

• March 5, 1770
• People at customshouse start heckling British
  soldiers
• Soldiers fire into crowd killing 5
• colonists outraged

8
Boston Tea Party

• 1773 - British East India Co. going bankrupt so
  Britain gave them right to sell tax free tea to
  colonists.
• Dec 16, 1773 - rather than drink the cheaper Tea,
  they dumped it. 15,000 lbs into the Boston Harbor

9
Intolerable Acts

• George III infuriated, tells Parliament to act
• 1774 - Intolerable Acts
• Closed Boston Harbor until colonists paid for
  tea, Boston put under Martial Law by New General
  Thomas Gage
• Quartering Act - Authorized Housing of British
  soldiers in private homes
• Quebec Act

10
Continental Congress

• Instead of isolating Boston, colonists from many
  different colonies started to pull together
• Sept. 1774 - 1st Continental Congress
• 56 delegates from different colonies meet in
  Philadelphia
• drew up declaration of Colonial Rights, sent it
  to Britain