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Moving Towards a Revolution

Moving Towards a Revolution. Yankee Doodle Dandy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwHvyqNDUvE.

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Moving Towards a Revolution

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  1. Moving Towards a Revolution

  2. Yankee Doodle Dandy • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwHvyqNDUvE

  3. In 1763 Lord George Grenville, Prime Minister of England and treasurer of King James III, began passing a series of acts that were meant to begin the process of the American colonies paying for ‘their’ war, the French and Indian • The colonists saw these acts as a defiance of their personal liberties

  4. The Sugar Act of 1764 • a.k.a. the Revenue Act of 1764 • Placed duties on foreign sugar and certain other luxury goods • Stated that those caught smuggling would now be tried in admiralty courts under British officials, not colonial courts

  5. Effects of the Sugar Act • Colonists felt that they were being taxed without their consent • They had no say in the passage of this act • No Taxation Without Representation • Colonists also felt that their right to a fair trial was being suspended • There was no organized resistance to the act, and most colonists were indifferent to protest

  6. Quartering Act of 1765 • Required that colonists be responsible for the housing and provisioning of Redcoats stationed in the colonies • The British government would no longer pay for the supply of the soldiers

  7. The Stamp Act of 1765 • Required that a direct tax be placed on most paper goods in the colonies • Included all legal documents, newspapers, pamphlets, playing cards, and advertisements • This was a common tax for English citizens • Payment was due in coin • Expensive • Land or property could be confiscated in any document was without a stamp

  8. Effects of the Stamp Act • Response was immediate and swift • Stamp Act Congress was formed when nine colonies sent delegates to meet in New York • Decided that only the elected representatives of the colonies had the right to tax the colonies

  9. The situation became more dire and violent when the Sons and Daughters of Liberty were formed • These secret societies were more militant in their actions as they commonly employed violence to intimidate English tax agents • Tarring and feathering were common practices • They destroyed tax offices and the stamps themselves

  10. A video http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/american-revolution-history/videos/sons-of-liberty?m=528e394da93ae&s=undefined&f=1&free=false

  11. The most effective method of protests was the boycott of all British goods • When British merchants experienced a sharp drop in profits they turned on Parliament in support of the colonies and demanded the repeal of the Stamp Act

  12. Repeal of the Stamp Act • 1766 • Grenville was replaced by Charles Townshend as Treasurer of England

  13. Parliament passed the Declaratory Act • Declared that Parliament had the authority to pass any laws and any taxes on the colonies for any case and for any cause “whatsoever”

  14. No Taxation Without Representation • Considered a basic right of man and was a right of an English citizen • The English believed that the best interests of the American colonists were represented ‘virtually’ in Parliament by the existing members • The colonists wanted ‘actual’ representation through their own elected representatives

  15. The Townshend Acts of 1767 • New duties were placed on tea, glass, paper, and lead that were imported into the colonies • Granted general search warrants that allowed British officials to search businesses or residences suspected of containing smuggled goods • Suspended the New York assembly for defying the Quartering Act

  16. Protesting the Townshend Acts • Most colonists did not mind the Townshend duties because they were an indirect tax that the merchants paid to import goods, not a direct tax on the colonists themselves • However, many colonial leaders argued that any tax whatsoever was a direct violation of the colonists’ right to consent to being taxed through the election of representatives

  17. Protest Leaders • John Dickinson • Wrote Letters From a Farmer in Pennsylvania • Parliament had the right to regulate commerce, but duties were a tax that could not be passed without the consent of the elected representative assemblies of the colonies

  18. Samuel Adams and James Otis • Wrote The Massachusetts Circular Letter • Urged all colonies to send protests to Parliament and urges to repeal the Townshend Acts • Also urged the colonists to pick up their efforts in boycotting English goods • British responded by increasing the number of troops in Boston and seizing the Circular Letters

  19. Repealing the Townshend Acts • Lord North became the king’s new Prime Minister in 1770 • He promptly advised the king and Parliament to repeal the Townshend Acts • Said that the Acts did nothing but hurt commerce while they only created small amounts of revenue • He did advise that a small tax on tea be left in place just to remind the colonists that England did have the right to tax the colonies

  20. The Boston Massacre • British troops were stationed in Boston to protect customs officials (tax agents) from the attacks of the Sons of Liberty • In March 1770 a group of colonists were harassing a small group of guards stationed at the customs house

  21. Though it is not known what exactly took place, the soldiers did fire into the group of protesters killing five of the colonists • John Adams defended the soldiers at their trial and was able to have them acquitted of murder charges • This event would be a rallying cry throughout the Revolution

  22. A video http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/american-revolution-history/videos/boston-massacre?m=528e394da93ae&s=undefined&f=1&free=false

  23. The Tea Act of 1773 • Because of continued colonial boycotting of British tea, the British East India Company was on the verge of bankruptcy • Parliament passed the Tea Act in 1773 in hopes of bailing the British East India Company out of its financial woes • It made the price of the their tea, even with the taxes, cheaper than that of the smuggled Dutch tea

  24. Boycotting the Tea • Colonists continued to boycott the tea because to buy it would have acknowledged the right of the British to tax the colonists without their consent • The tea was left unpurchased and sitting in the harbors of all the colonies

  25. The Boston Tea Party • The royal governor of MA threatened to have the tea unloaded from the ships and brought into Boston • A group of colonists disguised themselves as Mohawks, boarded the ships and dumped the tea into Boston Harbor • 45 tons (90,000 lbs) of tea was destroyed

  26. A video http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/american-revolution-history/videos/the-sons-of-liberty-and-the-boston-tea-party?m=528e394da93ae&s=undefined&f=1&free=false

  27. The Intolerable Acts • English reactions to the Boston Tea Party were fierce • Parliament passed a series of acts that severely punished the colonies, most notably Massachusetts • The Americans referred to them as the Intolerable Acts • To the British, they were the Coercive Acts

  28. The Coercive Acts • Passed in 1774 • Meant to punish the colonies • The Port Act closed Boston Harbor to all trade until the destroyed tea was paid for in full • The Massachusetts Government Act drastically reduced the power of MA’s representative assembly and increased the powers of the royal governor

  29. The Administration of Justice Act prohibited English officials from being tried in the colonies, regardless of charges • The Quartering Act was expanded to include the private homes of colonists for the housing of British soldiers

  30. The British thought the Coercive Acts would isolate Boston and urge colonists to be obedient. • On the contrary, they only pushed the colonies towards a united resistance.

  31. First Continental Congress • Met September, 1774 in Philadelphia • 55 representatives from 12 colonies • GA was a no-show • Primary purpose: to obtain a repeal of the Coercive Acts • Wanted Britain to recognize the rights of the Americans

  32. Passed a non-importation, non-exportation, non-consumption resolution with Britain • Closed all ports • Set up a committee to monitor all trade violators

  33. In Rebellion • British saw the colonists as in rebellion • Planned to use force to take American supplies

  34. “The British Are Coming!” • April 18, 1775 • 700 British soldiers marched in Boston • Paul Revere and William Dawes escaped to alert Samuel Adams and John Hancock • 70 militants met the Redcoats • 8 men dead, 20 wounded • One British soldier was wounded

  35. A videp • http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/american-revolution-history/videos/paul-revere-fast-facts?m=528e394da93ae&s=undefined&f=1&free=false

  36. In Concord, they fought again • As the Redcoats returned to Boston, hundreds of militia attacked using guerilla tactics • 73 British dead, 200 wounded or missing • 49 colonists dead, 43 wounded or missing

  37. A video http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/american-revolution-history/videos/first-revolutionary-battle-at-lexington--concord

  38. Colonists were inspired • 20,000 volunteers met in Cambridge • Each colony raised a militia with thousands of men, surrounded Boston

  39. Second Continental Congress • May 10, 1775 • Philadelphia, PA • Believed Great Britain had started a war • Still unwilling to support independence • Appointed George Washington as Commander-in-Chief of the military

  40. Battle of Bunker Hill • June 17, 1775 • Aka Battle of Breed’s Hill • MA • Colonial forces inflicted significant casualties against the enemy • Colonial loss • Battle provided them with an important confidence boost

  41. A video http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/battle-of-bunker-hill

  42. Olive Branch Petition • Congress petitioned Parliament asking to resolve the dispute • Angered George III • Said the 13 colonies were in “an open and active rebellion.” • Parliament cut off all trade with colonies

  43. Common Sense • Published January 9, 1776 • Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet setting forth his arguments in favor of American independence

  44. A video http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/american-revolution-history/videos/thomas-paine

  45. Decision for Independence • On July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress voted for independence • On July 4, the Declaration of Independence was issued to: • Justify the Americans’ desire to separate from England • Articulate the principles on which the new nation would be established

  46. Declaration of Independence (1776)

  47. The Decision for Independence • The colonies divided: • Supporters of independence were called “Patriots” or “Whigs” • Colonists that opposed independence were called “Loyalists” or “Tories” • There were many “neutral” colonists who were conflicted by the prospect of independence

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