Causes of the American Revolution

Transcription

1 Name Causes of the American Revolution Introduction Key Terms Parliament Proclamation Duty Tariff As often happens after wars, peace that settled the French and Indian War brought new problems and caused new conflicts in the colonies. The British government had borrowed huge sums of money during the war to pay its heavy costs. The new larger empire would also be more expensive to maintain and defend. Where was the money to come from? And how was the new, larger empire in America to be governed? The old system of 13 separate colonies, each controlled from London, worked well enough when the colonies were separated from one another by thick forests. Now the wilderness was shrinking. Four colonies--virginia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Massachusetts--each claimed parts of the Ohio Valley just won from France. Each based its case on a royal charter drafted before anyone knew much about American geography. Who would untangle these conflicting claims? There were also Indians in the Ohio Valley. Everyone expected them to stop fighting when the French surrendered. Instead they organized behind Pontiac, a chief of the Ottawa, and tried to drive the settlers back across the Appalachians. How could an area claimed by so many different colonies be defended? Who would pay the cost if British troops were used? These last questions were most pressing in The answers were that the British put down Pontiac's Rebellion and paid the cost of doing so. To keep the peace the British stationed 6,000 soldiers in the land won from the French and closed the entire region beyond the Appalachian Mountains to settlers. This was called the Proclamation of Events began to escalate beginning in 1764 and 1765 when Parliament, started passing laws that would raise more money to pay for colonial military expenses The Sugar Act of 1764 placed a tax on sugar and molasses to produce revenue for Britain, and colonists who were caught smuggling would be tried by the courts without juries. In 1765 Parliament also passed the Quartering Act which required colonists to house and feed British troops in America. The colonists did not feel that they should have to pay taxes or foot the bill for keeping troops in America. After all, the mother country was responsible for keeping the colonies safe as long as the colonies helped make the mother country rich. Definitions lawmaking body of England an official and public document tariff or tax placed on foreign goods brought into the country tax on imports

2 direct tax indirect tax import export boycott repeal a tax paid directly by the consumers ($1.00 plus tax). a tax on imports collected from shippers and paid by consumers with higher prices. to bring goods in from a foreign country for trade or sale to send goods out of the country for trade or sale refusal to buy certain goods or services as a protest to reject or revoke a law Key Terms "taxation without representation" Propaganda Coercive Intolerable Committee of Definitions argument by colonists that they were being taxed by British without being represented in Parliament the promotion of particular ideas to further one cause or do damage to another to force to act or think in a given manner; to dominate or restrain or control by force unbearable; incapable of being tolerated group formed by radicals in the 13 colonies to spread the protest of the British rule. Correspondence Sons of Liberty Minute Man arsenal The Sugar Act 1764 Garrity Early Years Textbook patriot groups that fought against British authority in the American colonies Revolutionary War civilian-soldier who was trained to fight on a short notice storehouse of weapons To help Great Britain regain financial stability George Greenville the British _Prime Minister enacted new policies and more strictly enforced existing laws. Specifically he focused on these laws/acts: 1. The Sugar Act 2. The Navigation Acts (enforcing) 3. Quartering Act This import tax or duty was created to help offset the cost of defending the 13 Colonies during the French and Indian War. The Sugar Act is an example of this type of tax, tariff/import tax/indirect tax. It placed a tax on these 3 items and some others as well. 1. molasses 2. sugar 3. coffee

3 Colonists disliked the Sugar Act for two reasons: 1. No representation in Parliament 2. Smugglers and merchants were losing money, thought policies were unfair The Stamp Act 1764 Garrity Early Years Textbook 147 The Stamp Act was an example of a direct tax. Colonists had to pay for a stamp to be placed on paper items they purchased. List examples of goods requiring a tax stamp: _ Colonists again said, like the Sugar Act, that the Stamp Act was taxation without representation. This time they decided to take action. Nine colonial governments met in New York and formed the Stamp Act Congress. They crafted a petition requesting the Stamp Act be repealed and sent it to King George III. Citizens also took action and formed a group, the Sons of Liberty to protest British treatment of her American colonists. Merchants also disliked the Stamp Act and made their feelings known by boycotting British goods that fell under the Stamp Act. This economic form of protest was particularly effective. Parliament repealed the Stamp Act but also passed the Declaratory Act, which said Great Britain had the authority and the right to tax and rule the 13 Colonies. Townshend Acts 1767 Garrity Early Years Textbook 148 After the colonial protests of direct taxes, Britain s finance minister Charles Townshend implemented a series of indirect taxes. These would be paid by merchants who in turn raised the price of goods. The Sugar Act was a previous example of this type of tax which colonists had not done much about. Identify items taxed under the Townshend Acts: 1. PAPER 2. PAINT 3. GLASS 4. LEAD 5. TEA Enforcement of the Townshend Acts angered the colonists. Unscrupulous, corrupt, British officials saw this enforcement as an opportunity to line their own pockets. Legally, they could collect onethird of the value of the ship and its cargo that was caught smuggling goods in or out of the colonies. However, this was not enough for some officials. They would allow small violations to go for a time

4 Townshend Acts 1767 Garrity Early Years Textbook 148 period and then crack down on the violator for a long history of violations. Another example of corruption was when officials falsely accuse/charge merchants and then would pay people to falsely swear/lie at trials so they got a guilty verdict. British officials also used documents called writs of assistance that gave them permission to search private homes and businesses looking for illegal goods. Colonists saw this as a violation of their rights/privacy. Identify ways in which the colonists resisted the Townshend Acts: 1. Boycott British goods 2. Riots 3. Petitions What did the British do in response to these colonial actions? 1. Repealed all taxes except the tea tax 2. Quartered more soldiers to help enforce their laws Boston Massacre 1770 Garrity Early Years 194 Textbook With British troops quartered in the city of Boston to enforce British laws and keep the peace colonists were increasingly unhappy. On March 5, 1770 tensions boiled over. The Customs House, where taxes were collected and counted was guarded by British soldiers. A gang of teenagers and sailors began taunting the soldiers and throwing snowballs. As the crowd grew and closed in on the soldiers bells in town began to ring and someone yelled, FIRE! The soldiers discharged their muskets and in the aftermath _5_ people were killed including an African American sailor, Crispus Attucks who was the first to die. Thomas Preston and his men were arrested on orders of the governor, Thomas Hutchinson and put on trial. Although a critic of the British government and their policies John Adams defended the soldiers. Why would he agree to defend the soldiers? What was the outcome of the trial?

5 Boston Tea Party 1773 Garrity Early Years 195 Textbook In 1770, Lord Frederick North became the new Prime Minister of Great Britain. In May of 1773, Parliament pass the Tea Act which created a Monopoly for the East India Company by giving them sole access to ship and sell tea to the 13 Colonies. Past boycotts in the colonies had financially hurt the company and the Tea Act was designed to boost its finances. While the majority of the Townshend Acts had been repealed their still remained a 3 penny tax on tea. While the tax remained in place, British officials believed the colonists would not care since the tea was actually cheaper. Identify why the colonists were unhappy with the tea tax, be specific. How many pounds of tea was shipped to the colonies? 500,000 lbs./ 1,700 chests What organization organized and carried out the Boston Tea Party? Sons of Liberty How much tea did they destroy? 90,000 lbs./ 342 chests What was the value of the tea destroyed? 50,000 Where was the location of the Boston Tea Party? Griffin s Warf, Boston Harbor How did the participants disguise their identity? Why did they disguise themselves? Mohawk Indians, to hide their true identity Coercive Acts 1774 Garrity Early Years Textbook In response to the Boston Tea Party the British Parliament decided it was time to crack down and make the colonists obey. To coerce means to make someone do something against their will. The laws created to make the colonists obey the crown were (name and explain each law): 1. Boston Port Act- closed Boston harbor until all the tea was paid for 2. Administration of Justice Act- all British officers/officials would stand trial in Great Britain 3. Quartering Act- strengthened the existing law 4. _Massachusetts Government Act- suspended colonial assemblies, limited colonists right to self-government The colonists found the Coercive Acts so unfair they called them the Intolerable Acts

6 First Continental Congress 1774 Garrity Early Years 197 Textbook Where did the first meeting take place in September of 1774? Philadelphia What was the purpose of the Olive Branch Petition and who was it intended for? Asking King George III for a peaceful resolution to their differences While some delegates to the First Continental Congress suggested it was time for war, the majority of delegates and colonists in general were not in favor of such radical ideas. Lexington and Concord April 18 & 19, 1775 Garrity Early Years Textbook In Massachusetts during late 1774 and early 1775, the situation was becoming very grave. Colonists were marching and drilling on village greens throughout the colony in defiance of British laws which prohibited such behavior. These citizen soldiers called themselves minutemen because they could be organized quickly. General Gage received secret orders from the British government to take military action against the Massachusetts troublemakers for these illegal activities and arrest their principal leaders, and capture their arsenal of weapons. Boston colonial leaders learned about the secret orders before Gage did. The leaders of the rebellion fled Boston to avoid arrest. Gage had learned that the patriots (a name given to colonists who wanted to rebel against England) had an arsenal of guns and gunpowder stored in the town. He decided to capture and destroy the weapons. Quickly, Patriots in the Boston area took action. Identify the 2 leaders Gage intended to arrest: 1. John Hancock 2. Samuel Adams What city was the intended target of the British when they left Boston? Concord On the evening of April 18, 1775, Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Dr. Joseph Warren were sent to warn colonists west of Boston that the British were planning to move on Concord. During the late evening, Paul Revere warned many minutemen with his rousing call that the " Redcoats are coming!" Explain how the colonial riders sent to warn other colonists were informed of the British plans? Old North Church was used, hung lanterns, 1 if by land 2 if by sea On the morning of April 19, 1775, the confrontation took place on the village green at Lexington. This small town was a few miles east of Concord. Someone fired a shot; nobody knows to this day who it was. This shot was called the " the shot heard round the world." The American Revolution had begun. After the fighting at Lexington, the British moved on to Concord. There was heavy action at the north bridge leading out of Concord. The British then marched back to Boston as Patriots harassed them at every opportunity. Using Indian/guerilla warfare tactics, the colonials fired on the British soldiers with dreadful accuracy from behind trees, stone fences, and barns. By the end of their march, 273 British and less than 100 Americans were killed or wounded. Although these were small actions, they were the beginning of a war that would eventually bring independence and freedom to the American colonists.

7