Building Colonial Unity Chapter 5, Sections 2 and 3

British Troops As more taxes were being enacted by the King, more enforcement was needed. British troops were sent to the colonies to enforce the new tax laws. Larger cities meant more British troops.

Troubles in Boston Colonists felt that military soldiers stationed in Boston violated their rights and freedom. On March 5, 1770 the tension between colonists and the British soldiers (redcoats) erupted. Angry townspeople began throwing snowballs, stones, oyster shells and wood at the soldiers on duty. The colonists also came armed with sticks, shovels and clubs.

FIRE!!! When one British soldier was knocked down by a stone, the soldiers became nervous and fired on the colonists.

Crispus Attucks After several shots were fired, five colonists lay dead. One victim was an African free man named Crispus Attucks

The Boston MASSACRE Colonial leaders used news of the killings as propaganda (information designed to influence opinion) against the British. Samuel Adams placed posters all over Boston that described the incident as a slaughter of innocent Americans by bloodthirsty redcoats. The Boston Massacre led colonists to boycott against British goods.

Paul Revere’s propaganda poster

The Crises Over Tea Due to colonists boycotting British goods the King of England removed all of the taxes on the colonists… except for one… TEA

Time for a Party The tax on tea was an insult to the colonists. The king had missed the point! The Sons of Liberty organized the Boston Tea Party because they objected to paying a tax on tea.

The Boston Tea Party On December 16th, 1773 the Sons of Liberty disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians. Armed with hatchets they marched to Boston harbor, boarded the ships, and dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor. $2.3 million in today’s money!

The King is Furious! To punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party, the king and parliament passed the Coercive Acts. Many colonists called these acts the “Intolerable Acts” because they were so harsh and could not be ignored.

CLOSED INTOLERABLE ACTS 1. It closed Boston Harbor until the ruined tea was paid for. CLOSED

Intolerable Acts 2. It banned all town meetings ILLEGAL

GUILTY Intolerable Acts 3. Crimes committed by colonists were to be tried in Britain. GUILTY

Intolerable Acts 4. The Quartering Act forced citizens of Boston to let soldiers stay in their homes.

The Continental Congress In September 1774, 55 men arrived in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Their purpose was to establish a political body to represent American interests and challenge British control. They called this new organization the Continental Congress.

Congressmen Members of the Continental Congress included: Samuel Adams, John Adams, Patrick Henry and George Washington.

The Continental Congress First, the Continental Congress drafted a statement of grievances against the king. Second, they voted to boycott all British products. Thirdly, they called for the formation of militias (citizen soldiers) to defend colonists against the British.

War is Near When the colonists began forming militias, both colonists and British redcoats knew that war was near. Many colonists referred to themselves as minutemen because they said they were prepared to fight on a minutes notice. Britain knew that the colonies were forming militias and were stockpiling weapons and ammunition.

British on the Move The British soldiers (700) in Boston were ordered to march to Concord (a town 20 miles west of Boston) and destroy artillery and ammunition.

The First Battles of the War On April 18, 1775 a man by the name of Paul Revere received word that the British were marching towards Lexington and Concord. He rode along the moonlit countryside yelling “the regulars are out!”

Paul Revere was joined by Samuel Prescott and William Dawes on the ride to alert men in Lexington and Concord.

Lexington 700 British troops were sent to Lexington in order to capture John Hancock and Samuel Adams. When they reached Lexington, Hancock and Adams had already evacuated. In Lexington, British soldiers were greeted by 70 minutemen.

Shot Heard ‘round the World No one knows who fired the first shot at Lexington. By the time the smoke cleared eight minutemen lay dead. Lexington was the first battle of the American Revolution. It was known as “the shot heard around the world.” The 700 British troops left Lexington and headed to Concord.

Attack at North Bridge When the 700 British troops reached Concord they found that the gunpowder they were looking for had already been removed. On their march back to Boston the British forces came under heavy fire by minutemen. The attacks began at Concord’s North Bridge and would last for a 20 mile march all the way back to Boston!

The Retreat from Concord Farmers, blacksmiths, saddle makers and clerks hid behind trees, rocks, fences and picked the British troops off one by one. By the time the British troops made it back to Boston 174 were wounded and 73 were dead.

Choosing Sides As American colonists heard about these battles taking place, they faced a major decision. Should they join the rebels or remain loyal to Britain?

Loyalists Those who remained true to Britain and the king were known as Loyalists.

Patriots Those who took the side of the rebels for independence were known as Patriots.