The Stirrings of Rebellion The mounting tensions in the colonies.

The Stamp Act March, 1765: George Grenville persuades Parliament to pass the Stamp Act. This act requires colonists to purchase special stamped paper for every legal document, license, newspaper, pamphlet, and almanac. The special “duties” were also imposed on dice and playing cards. Colonists who disobeyed this new act were to be tried in Vice-Admiralty courts.

Protests and Propaganda Boston shopkeepers, artisans, and laborers organize a secret resistance group. They become known as the Sons of Liberty. One of its founders was Samuel Adams, a powerful activist of his time. The Sons of Liberty would harass customs officials, stamp agents, and even royal governors. Many agents resigned due to fear of being tarred & feathered.

Colonial Resistance Between 1765 & 1766 the colonial assemblies confronted the Stamp Act measures and argued that only their own representatives could tax them. Although the British repealed the Stamp Act, they issued the Declaratory Act which asserted that Parliament had the right to create laws in the colonies. In Oct. 1765, delegates from 9 colonies met in NYC to form a Stamp Act Congress which drafted a Declaration of Rights and Grievances. “No taxation without representation,” becomes the ideal in this Congress. Merchants in the cities begin to boycott imported manufactured goods from Britain. The boycott works, and the act is repealed in March, 1766. Early American Propaganda against Stamp Act

The Townshend Acts Charles Townshend, a government minister in Britain, pushed for the Townshend Acts to be passed in 1767. How were the Townshend Acts different from the Stamp Act? The Stamp Act was a direct tax, while the Townshend Act was indirect. It taxed materials such as glass, lead, paint and paper. It also placed a three-penny tax on tea. Colonists were outraged by these new taxes and organized boycotts against the British. All levels of society joined by making their own clothes and forgoing British luxuries.

Conflicts Intensify In June 1768, British Agents seize John Hancock’s ship Liberty (how ironic) for supposedly smuggling wine and not paying customs taxes. Riots break out against customs agents resulting in the British stationing 2,000 Redcoats in Boston. The presence of Redcoats in Boston led to a hostile environment that was set to erupt at any moment. Clashes broke out and protests turned violent.

Boston Massacre On March 5, 1770, a fist-fight broke out between colonists and Redcoats over jobs in the shipyards. That evening, a mob gathers outside the Customs House and taunted the guards. Crispus Attucks and several dockhands appeared on scene and an armed clash erupted. Attucks and four others were killed.

Boston Massacre cont… Using the picture on page 98, what is notable about the engraving by Paul Revere that makes it Anti-British propaganda? The colonists are without weapons. The British soldiers are led by Captain Prescott to fire upon the colonists. The dog in the street (to lick up the blood of the victims), and the sign on the building (Butchers Hall), grossly overdramatize the incident.

The Boston Massacres Impact Although this event was explosive, tensions cooled for two years following until 1772. A group in Rhode Island attacked a British schooner that patrolled for smuggling. They burned the vessel to the waterline, inciting further issues with the King. King George names a special commission to hunt down the suspects to be extradited to Britain for trial. In response, colonists establish committees of correspondence to spread word of British activities. Probably a more true depiction of the event…

The Boston Tea Party In 1773, Lord Frederick North (Prime Minister) needed to solve the issue that the colonial boycott of tea had caused. The British East India Company was nearing bankruptcy with a 17million pound surplus of tea in its warehouses. North passes the Tea Act, which sold tea directly to colonists thus bypassing or cutting colonial merchants out of the trade. This would make tea cheaper for the colonists, which seemed to be a good deal. Colonists reacted with violent protests and on December 16th, 1773, a group of Boston rebels disguised as Native Americans took action by boarding 3 ships and dumping 18,000lbs of tea in the harbor. An event later known as The Boston Tea Party.

The Intolerable Acts Angered by the Tea Party, King George III pressured Parliament to pass the Intolerable Acts.

First Continental Congress The committees of correspondence acted quickly when King George III instituted martial law in the colonies. They assembled the 1st Continental Congress. In September 1774, 56 delegates met in Philadelphia and drafted a declaration of colonial rights. These rights included the right to run their own colonies, protest, and use force is attacked. They also planned to reconvene in May 1775 if these demands were not met.

Fighting Erupts Military preparations began in the eastern New England towns, and militias of minutemen stockpiled arms and ammo. General Gage reacts to rumors of stockpiles and militias by sending agents to scout Concord, MA in March, 1775. Rumors also stated that John Hancock and Samuel Adams, the two prominent leaders of the resistance, were staying in Lexington. British Regulars are sent down Lexington Road to Concord to seize and destroy any munitions they can find.

“The Regulars Are Coming!” Doctor Joseph Warren was placed in charge of the resistance while Adams and Hancock were in hiding. Warren discovered what the British were planning and sent Paul Revere, a member of the Sons of Liberty, to warn Adams, Hancock, and townspeople along the way. Revere organized a network of messengers and on April 18, William Dawes, Samuel Prescott, and he rode to Lexington to spread the word. All three were detained, but released when shots rang out.

Lexington & Concord April 19, 1775, the Regulars reached Lexington to find 70 minutemen in lines on the village green. They were told to disperse and as the militia left a shot rang out and a 15 minute battle ensued. The Regulars moved on to Concord to find an empty arsenal, and to be ambushed by 3,000-4,000 minutemen. The minutemen used trees, walls, and other structures as cover to quickly defeat the British.

Conclusions The Tea Party, Boston Massacre, and Battle of Lexington and Concord showed the rising tensions in the colonies. These events began the American Revolution for independence, but not all colonists were behind the decision to go to war. The birth of America was in the uniting of the separate colonies to discuss what to do next, and although all did not agree at first, they soon realized that they must unite or perish.

Reminders HW: SPNotes Ch.4 Sect.3 Hand in Make-up work as you leave, if you are missing two assignments you will have a Sunday Study Hall! Push in your chairs and leave the room better than you found it… Have a great day!