Britain Taxes the Colonies George Grenville’s plan: Tax the colonies! Money raised from taxing would be used to help pay the costs of defending the colonies King George III and Paliament supported the idea of taxing the colonists To them, the tax seemed fair The colonists were benefitting from the British army, so the colonists should help pay costs

The Stamp Act In 1765, Parliament passed the Stamp Act Placing a tax on printed materials in the colonies such as legal documents, newspapers, and playing cards Whenever a colonist bought these items, they had to purchase a stamp to show they paid for the item “No Taxation without representation!” Colonists never had a say in Parliament so they believed they should not be taxed

Colonists Protest Patrick Henry, a young Virginia lawyer, was not afraid to speak out against the Stamp Act In Williamsburg, Virginia, Henry went in front of the House of Burgesses (colony’s legislature) Made an intense speech warning King George III that he had no right to tax the colonists Other colonists were inspired and protested the new tax

Stamp Act Congress October 1765: leaders of 9 colonies held a meeting in NYC where they urged Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act Colonies were beginning to unite against British taxes Samuel Adams of Massachusetts soon became a very important leader

Sons of Liberty Samuel Adams organized the Sons of Liberty A group of protesters against the new tax these groups were started in all different towns throughout the colonies Members burned stamps and threatened stamp agents People who were hired to collect the stamp taxes

Sons of Liberty threaten! In Boston, Adams and other members made a life size puppet and hung it from a tree They hung a sign on the puppet that said “What greater joy did New England see, than a stamp man hanging from a tree.” Threats worked! No agent dared to sell the stamps

Stamp Act REPEALED! Leaders in Britain saw that it was not going to work so they repealed the Stamp Act in 1766 Colonists celebrated, but Britain still felt they had the right to tax the colonies

King George III and Charles Townshend Charles Townshend was the treasurer of Britain He agreed with the King – Britain has a right to tax the colonies! 1767 – Parliament passes the Townshend Acts

The Townshend Acts Placed a tariff (tax on imported goods) on paper, wool, tea, and other goods imported from Britain These acts were used not only to get money but to show the colonies who was really in CHARGE

New Protests The acts caused colonies to protest AGAIN! From New Hampshire to Georgia colonists boycott British imports A refusal to buy goods Colonists rather not have British goods than pay the new taxes

Friday, March 2, 2018 Homework: page 282 # 2,3,4 Do Now: In your own words, describe the Boston Massacre

The Tea Act In 1773, Committees of Correspondence began writing about the Tea Act A new law that said the East India Tea Company would be the ONLY company allowed to sell tea to the colonies This meant that if you owned a store in the colonies, you could only buy and sell the tea from that company (YOU HAD TO PAY THE TAX)

The Tea Act There was 2 goals: Help the struggling business – The East India Company Get the colonists to pay taxes to the British

Colonists Rebel! The colonists had refused to pay taxes up until now…WHY SHOULD THEY START?!? The colonies declared that ships bringing British tea would not be allowed to unload in any colonial port

The Boston Tea Party In 1773, 3 British ships carrying tea were at Boston Harbor The members of the Sons of Liberty dressed as Mohawk Native Americans and rowed out to the ships They were shouting “Boston Harbor a teapot tonight! They opened the chests of tea and dumped it into the Harbor…Britain was furious Britain believed the colonists must be punished!

Britain Punishes Boston New laws were enforced! The British soldiers were sent back into Boston The colonists must house and feed the soldiers The colony of Massachusetts was put under the rule of British general Thomas Gage The port of Boston was CLOSED until the colonists would pay for the tea they had destroyed These new laws became known as the Intolerable Acts to the colonists

Colonies come together The economy of Boston was hurt and many people were out of work Other colonies began sending food, money and supplies Colonists must choose sides between Boston and Britain Patriots vs. Loyalists

Continental Congress September 1774 – representatives from all colonies except Georgia met in Philadelphia This became known as the First Continental Congress George Washington represented Virginia A wealthy farmer and member of the Virginia House of Burgesses

Continental Congress Washington and his fellow Patriots voted to stop all trade with Britain until the Intolerable Acts were repealed They also voted to form militias in each colony Volunteer armies Some colony armies called themselves minutemen because they could be ready at a minute’s notice

Liberty or Death March 1755 Patrick Henry makes a famous speech in Richmond, Virginia: Warned Virginia’s militias to prepare for battle “I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” King George III was also not willing to back down. Both knew war was about to begin

If you were a colonist in 1773, would you choose to be a patriot or a loyalist? Explain (minimum 1 paragraph response)

The British are coming… April 8, 1775 – 700 British soldiers began marching from Boston to Concord A town about 20 miles northwest of Boston British soldiers were on their way to “seize and destroy” the weapons that the colonial militias had been storing in Concord

The British have another goal There were rumors that they wanted to arrest Samuel Adams and John Hancock, both men were staying in Lexington They did not want either of the militias in Lexington or Concord to know they were coming They ordered no one was allowed to leave Boston

Paul Revere and William Dawes Paul Revere had gotten word about the British He set out to warn the militias He rowed across the Charles River He then rode through the streets warning the British are coming William Dawes, a shoemaker, talked his way out of Boston He rode towards Lexington to spread the warning

Revere reached Lexington first warning Adams and Hancock They prepared for their escape Revere and Dawes met up and rode towards Concord together Samuel Prescott joined them British soldiers spotted the 3 riders Revere was captured Dawes jumped from the horse and ran into the woods Prescott rode on to warn the Concord militia

Minutemen get ready 5 AM on April 19th – the drums were sounded This was the warning to get ready John Parker, captain of the Lexington minutemen gave the soldiers orders Don’t fire until fired upon Someone fired, no one is sure who Battle begins! 8 minutemen killed and 9 wounded Only 1 British soldier was wounded

The shot heard round the world That first shot at Lexington becme known as the shot heard round the world The British marched off from Lexington towards Concord The militias were ready for the British The British must retreat back to Boston but suffered many losses – 250 soldiers were killed or wounded THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION HAS BEGUN

Breed’s Hill Colonel William Prescott marched 1,200 Patriot men to the hills of Charlestown If they could control these hills, they could bring up cannons and fire down at the British They built a fort on Breed’s Hill More than 2,000 British soldiers prepared to attack

The British attack British ships fired on the fort Prescott’s men waited The British began to march up the hill to the fort Again, Prescott’s men waited Finally, once the British were close, the men fired back The British were pushed back twice

Battle of Bunker Hill Prescott’s men were now low on ammunition The British attacked a third time This is known as the Battle of Bunker Hill The British won this battle Although they lost, Patriots were proud of the way they had fought