Unit 2 Part 1-American Revolution (Causes, War, and Aftermath) A Path To War Unit 2 Part 1-American Revolution (Causes, War, and Aftermath)

Committees of Correspondence To spread news about the British threats to the rights of the colonists, Sam Adams organized a group of letter writers called the Committees of Correspondence. Sam Adams was waiting for a big issue to “arouse the continent.”

TEA ACT In 1773 Adams got the issue he wanted when Parliament passed the Tea Act. This law gave the British East India Company a monopoly, or complete control, of sales of British tea in the colonies. Colonial merchants thought this would put many of them out of business. They also feared monopolies on other products to follow. monopoly- complete control

Question? How do you think the colonists reacted to the Tea Act? How would you react?

Colonial reaction to The Tea Act The Tea Act only allowed the British East India Company to import and sell tea in the colonies. The colonists responded to the Tea Act with a boycott. Boycott- refuse to buy In Boston , on the night of December 16, 1773, the Sons of Liberty staged the Boston Tea Party. Disguised as Mohawk Indians they boarded 3 British East India Company ships and dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor.

Boston Tea Party

Boston Tea Party

Question? Why did the Sons Of Liberty dress up as Mohawk Indians during the Boston Tea Party? What do you think eyewitnesses saw?

British Reaction To Punish Massachusetts, Parliament passed a series of laws called the Coercive Acts. The Coercive Acts 1774-closed Boston port until the destroyed tea was paid for. It also suspended town meetings. It also appointed a military governor of Massachusetts. The colonists called the Coercive Acts the Intolerable Acts.

Intolerable Acts

Question? Why did the colonists call The Coercive Acts the Intolerable Acts?

First Continental Congress At last the colonies united sending representatives to a Continental Congress in September 1774, in Philadelphia, PA. They met to “consult upon the present unhappy state of the colonies.” There the representatives of the First Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Rights and Grievances which condemned the Coercive Acts and affirmed the rights of life, liberty, and property. The declaration denied Parliament’s right to tax the colonies. The Congress recommended that the boycotts on British goods continue. The colonies now stood on the brink of war.

First Continental Congress