Road to War

1. Road to War Ch. 4, Section 3 & 4

2. Townshend Acts • The Townshend Acts used all the money collected for imported goods to pay the salaries of British soldiers. The Townshend Acts also caused a tax for glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea. • Cause: Britain still needed money, but they needed a way to tax the colonies “without offense.” • Effect: The colonists boycotted British goods again

3. Sons of Liberty • Many people joined the Sons of Liberty (the Daughters of Liberty were founded later) • Sons of Liberty gathered around “Liberty Trees” in which they would hang lanterns and conduct mock hangings of British Officials • A good part of the Sons of Liberty were willing to take extreme methods • Homes of loyalists were destroyed • tarring and feathering was used liberally (sometimes resulting in death)

4. The Boston Massacre • Two regiments of British soldiers set up camp on Boston Common. • They suffered insults and beatings when walking the streets • British soldiers were paid very little, and they were not provided with the necessities of life (food, etc) • As a result, many searched for work in their off hours • One soldier searched for work near Grey’s Ropewalk. A small number of colonists showed their displeasure by rioting

5. A guard named Private Hugh White stood guard outside of the Boston Customs House March 5, 1770 • A crowd of 60 gathered and began to harass him • One suggested that his commanding officer was a “cheat” who did not pay for a wig he had purchased • Pvt. White dared the accuser to step forward, and then hit him in the head with his musket • Another soldier chased the man down the street with his bayonet

6. The crowd grew even larger and they began to pelt Pvt. White and other soldiers with snowballs, rocks, and oyster shells • The soldiers became enraged and began shouting threats back • British officers arrived and tried to calm both the crowd and the soldiers

7. British Captain Thomas Preston gathered 7 soldiers to rescue Private White • When he arrived, he ordered Pvt. White to fall in to the detachment • The crowd surged forward and made it impossible • Preston then ordered his men to form a defensive line, which angered the crowd of about 400 colonists even more

8. Riot Act • Captain Preston summoned a Justice of the Peace to read the Riot Act • The Riot Act was a warning to crowds that had gathered illegally that if they did not disperse in 30 minutes, they would be fired upon • It did not discourage the crowd, who threw snowballs at the Justice of the Peace

9. Soon after, a club flew from the crowd and hit a British soldier in the head • The soldier fired a shot into the air • Other shots followed

10. In the end, 5 colonists were killed, another 6 were wounded • Crispus Attucks- shot twice in the chest • Samuel Grey- shot in the head • James Caldwell- shot twice in the back • Samuel Maverick- 17 years old, shot in the abdomen • Patrick Carr- shot in the hip, exited side

11. To Sam Adams, the Boston Massacre was an opportunity for propaganda! • He referred to the event as the Boston Massacre, despite the fact that only 5 of the 400 people present were killed • Adams asked Paul Revere to make an engraving of the event to promote rebellion (the engraving was highly inaccurate)

12. Posters were hung around Boston and information about the event was spread through the colonies • Adams’ attempts to propagandize the event failed, as most people thought the outcome of the trial was fair

13. To inform citizens in Massachusetts about the actions of the British, Sam Adams set committees of correspondence • Soon, committees of correspondence were set up in all 13 colonies • This helped Americans unite against the British

14. Tea Act • The Tea Act was a tax on all imported tea from Britain. • Cause: The colonists boycott against British goods had hurt their trade, so the British repealed the Townshend Acts after the Boston Massacre. Parliament only kept the tea tax. • Effect: The Sons of Liberty organized a protest against the Tea Act known as the Boston Tea Party.

15. Boston Tea Party • The Boston Tea Party was a protest organized by the colonists against the British. All the colonists dressed up as Indians and snuck on-board the British ships in the harbor. Then they threw all the tea on the ships into Boston Harbor. • Cause: The colonists were upset by the Tea Act. • Effect: The Intolerable Acts were passed to keep the colonists under control.

16. Intolerable Acts • The Intolerable Acts were four strict laws that gave the British a sense of more control over the colonies. • First of all, they closed down the port of Boston until the colonists paid for all of the tea they threw into Boston Harbor. • Second, they forbade any meetings without the governor’s permission. • Next, they made the colonists house and feed British troops. • Finally, instead of British officials being tried for crimes in the colonies, they would be tried in Britain. • Also, King George the third appointed General Thomas Gage the new governor of Massachusetts. • Cause: The Boston Tea Party. • Effect: The colonists started the Revolutionary War

17. Review 4 #3 • 1. What were the 3 things that the Townshend Acts of 1767 did? • What were (a) writs of assistance and (b) why were they considered unfair by many colonists? • How did merchants and planters protest the Townshend Acts? • What group held meeting around ‘liberty trees” and hanged effigies of British officials? • What violent methods of protest were used by the group above? • What act required that colonists pay for the lodging of British soldiers (as well as bedding, candles, and drinks) ? • What happened to the New York Assembly after they announced their refusal to abide by the act above? • How did the mob of Bostonians colonist initially demonstrate their outrage at the British during the events leading up to the Boston Massacre? • Why were the events of March 5, 1770 referred to as the “Boston Massacre” ? • What was the purpose of the committees of correspondence?.

18. Boston Tea Party • Tea was incredibly popular in the colonies • The British East India Company was the major source of tea in the colonies • The company was in great financial trouble and the British government decided to help

19. TEA TEA TEA TEA TEA Boston Tea Party • Parliament passed the Tea Act of 1773 to help reduce the 15 million pounds of tea in British warehouses • The act actually lowered taxes in the colonies and allowed the British East India Company to sell tea directly to colonists rather than through Colonial merchants • The British thought the colonists would be pleased by this action

20. To the surprise of Parliament, the Tea Act was unpopular • American merchants argued it was an attempt to destroy colonial merchants by cutting them out of the tea trade • The Sons of Liberty argued that it was a trick to get colonists to accept British taxes

21. Boston Tea Party Daughters of Liberty Sons of Liberty Sons of Liberty wanted to prevent ships carrying British tea from unloading their cargo They rowed quietly out to three ships in the Boston Harbor and boarded them • The colonists again instituted a boycott • Daughters of Liberty served coffee or “liberty tea” made from raspberry leaves

22. The men dumped 342 crates of tea into Boston Harbor, valued at about $90,000 • When they were finished, they quietly rowed back to shore

23. King George III was outraged! He asked Parliament to pass a series of very harsh laws designed to punish the people of Boston.

24. The Intolerable Acts Did several things: • Closed Boston Harbor • limited representative government • British officials charged with major crimes were to be tried in England • Quartering Act was extended to include private homes

25. 1st Continental Congress • Met on September 5, 1774 to discuss the colonies reaction to the Intolerable Acts & Tea Act • Moderates who wanted to work out problems fought against radicals who wanted to take strong action

26. 1st Continental Congress • The meeting consisted of a lot of arguments • In the end they did the following: • Denounced the Intolerable Acts • Called for a boycott of all British goods as well as and exporting ban • Urged colonies to train militias • The delegates also agreed to meet again in May 1775

27. Major General Thomas Gage • In 1775, Major General Thomas Gage learned that minute men had a store of arms in Concord • Gage planned an attack and set out on April 18, 1775 with 700 British troops • Luckily for the colonists, Paul Revere, a Boston silversmith, had set up spies in Boston to watch Gage

28. Paul Revere • Revere stationed Robert Newman in the steeple of the North Church • If the troops were on foot, he was to show one lantern from the steeple • If the troops were traveling by ship to get across the Black Bay to Concord, he was to show two lanterns

29. Paul Revere’s Ride • Revere saw 2 lights on the night of April 18, 1775 so he knew the troops were headed to Concord “by sea” • Both Paul Revere and William Dawes made the “Midnight Ride” (along different routes) informing citizens that the “British are coming!” (He actually shouted, “The Regulars are out!”)

30. Battles at Lexington & Concord • At dawn on Lexington’s green, 70 minute men stood ready for battle. They were led by militia Captain Jonas Parker • British Major Pitcairn (Royal Marines) ordered the rebels to lay down their arms • Parker told his men to stand their ground. He was again warned by the British to disperse his troops. • Suddenly, a shot rang out

31. Lexington & Concord • No one knows who fired the first shot • Both sides began shooting and many of the minutemen ran from the fields. The rebels that remained, fired back at the British • In the end, 8 minute men were dead (including Parker) and 10 were wounded • Only one British soldier was wounded, none were killed • The British entered Concord and went house to house looking for weapons and ammunition but found very little • The British officers ordered their men to march back to Boston

32. Lexington & Concord • Along the route, the British met 300 colonial militia on the North Bridge (just outside Concord) • Fighting broke out, and the colonial forces drove the British back • As the British retreated, they were picked off by snipers hiding in trees and in the fields (likely 11,000 militia participated).

33. In the end the casualty count was as follows 49 dead 5 missing 41 wounded 73 dead 26 missing (presumed dead) 174 wounded

34. Word of the Battles of Lexington and Concord spread quickly • Many colonists realized that war was now inevitable • There was no possibility of resolving the differences between the colonies and Great Britain peacefully

35. Review 4 #4 1. What did the Tea Act of 1773 do? 2. Why did colonists oppose the Tea Act of 1773? 3. How did the sons of Liberty demonstrate there anger regarding Governor Thomas Hutchinson’s decision to require that 3 tea ships remain in Boston harbor? 4. List three things the Intolerable (Coercive) Acts did? 5. How did colonists outside of Massachusetts demonstrate their support for  the people of Boston? 6. In what year did the First Continental congress meet? 7. What was accomplished during the first meeting of the Continental Congress? 8. Why did Major General Thomas Gage march 700 troops to Concord? 9. Where was (a) the first engagement between British troops and  Massachusetts militiamen, and (b) what was the result ? 10. Where was (a) the second engagement between British troops and Massachusetts militiamen, and (b) what was the result ? 11. The first battles of 1775 convince many colonists of what?