Lesson 4 From protest to Revolution Chapter 5 Lesson 4 From protest to Revolution

I. Tea Time A. Tea was very popular. By 1770, 1million Americans brewed tea twice a day. B. Tea was brought to colonies by British East India Company. C. Colonists refused to buy the tea. (tax) D. 15 million pounds sat in warehouses- unsold E. British East India Co. was struggling to survive

II. Tea Act Parliament passed the Tea Act of 1773 to help the British East India Co. Allowed the company to bypass selling to the merchants and sell directly to the colonists. Colonists would still have to pay the tea tax, but not the higher price charged by tea merchants. (cost less) Colonists protested the Tea Act Americans felt they were being forced to buy tea from BEIC and not being allowed to conduct free enterprise. Saw it as a trick

F. Colonists responded with a boycott 1 F. Colonists responded with a boycott 1. Daughters of Liberty served coffee or liberty tea made of raspberry leaves 2. Sons of Liberty kept the British E. India Co. from unloading cargoes of tea. G. Boston Tea Party 1. November 1773-3 ships loaded with tea reached Boston Harbor 2. 12-16-1773- Sam Adams and the Sons of Liberty demanded that the ships leave the harbor. Governor rejected the demand. 3. Sons of Liberty, dressed as Indians, dumped the tea into the harbor (342 chests of tea)

III. Parliament Strikes back Colonists had mixed reaction about Boston Tea Party. Some saw it as a firm protest against unfair law. Others feared it would promote lawlessness. British government was furious over what they saw as Boston’s lawless behavior. Parliament and the king passed four laws meant to punish Massachusetts. Colonists called them the Intolerable Acts because they were very harsh.

IV. Intolerable Acts A. First, Parliament shut down Boston Harbor 1. No ships were allowed to leave or enter 2. Remain closed until colonists paid for all the tea and personal property. B. Second, forbade Massachusetts colonists from holding town meetings more than once a year. 1. Had to have governor approve meetings 2. All juries would be selected by king’s officials instead of being elected by colonists C. Third, all customs officers or other officials that may be accused of a crime would be tried in Britain or Canada.

D. Colonists protested because they thought the officers and officials would get away with crimes E. 4th, Parliament passed a new Quartering Act that forced colonists to house all British soldiers when no other places were available V. Quebec Act A. It set up a government for Canada and gave religious freedom to French Catholics Extended the borders of Quebec to include land between the Ohio and Missouri Rivers. C. This angered colonists because some of the colonies claimed land in this area.

V. Other colonies support Boston September 1774- colonial leaders called a meeting in Philadelphia. Delegates from 12 colonies gathered at the First Continental Congress, Georgia did not send delegates. 1. Backed Boston in its struggle 2. Asked to boycott all British goods until Intolerable acts were repealed 3. Urged each colony to set up and train a militia 4. Planned to meet again May 1775

VI. Preparing for the Powder Keg A. Massachusetts colonists were already preparing to resist the Intolerable Acts. B. Newspapers called it “the Massacre of American Liberty” C. Volunteers known as minutemen trained regularly. 1. Men who were prepared to fight at a minute’s notice. 2.Minutemen collected weapons and gunpowder D. British built up its own military forces. E. More British troops came to Boston, raising the total to 4,000 F. 1775- British scouts were sent out to spy in towns near Boston 1. In Concord, Mass. which is 18 miles from Boston, minutemen had a huge store of weapons. 2. General Thomas Gage planned a surprise march to Concord to seize the arms.

VII. Sounding the Alarm April 18 1775, 700 British soldiers left Boston in Darkness. Their goal was to seize colonial weapons. Sons of Liberty were watching. When the British were left, Americans hung two lamps from the Old North Church in Boston. It signaled the colonists across the Charles River that the Redcoats were on the way Messengers mounted their horses and headed toward Concord. One midnight rider was Paul Revere. He shouted the message “ The redcoats are coming! The redcoats are coming!” as he passed through each village along the way

VIII. “The shot heard around the world” A. Daybreak on April 19, 1775, redcoats reached Lexington, town near Concord. B. 70 minutemen were waiting on the redcoats, they were commanded by John Parker. C. Minutemen were outnumbered, so they began to leave. 1. A shot rang out when most of the minutemen were leaving. 2. After a struggle, 8 colonists were killed. D. The British pushed on to Concord and found no weapons.

E. On return to Boston, British were met by 300 minutemen. 1 E. On return to Boston, British were met by 300 minutemen. 1. Fighting broke out, Redcoats were forced to retreat 2. By the time they reached Boston, 73 Redcoats were dead and 200 more were wounded or missing 3. Colonial sharpshooters were firing from the woods and fields. Women were firing from the bedroom windows. F. News of the two battles spread quickly, Colonists thought that the fighting ended all hope of a peaceful solution G. Only war would decide the future of the 13 colonies