From Protest to Revolution Coach Kuntz United States History

Fighting Breaks Out in Boston -Passed in 1765, the Quartering Act was a British law that required colonists to provide housing, candles, bedding, and beverages to British Soldiers stationed in the colonies. -Britain sent two regiments of British troops to Boston, MA to protect customs officers (tax collectors) from local citizens. -March 5, 1770- Outside of a Boston customs house, 300 to 400 Boston resident’s gathered to shout at British soldier’s and eventually began throwing snowballs, oyster shells, and chunks of ice at the soldiers.

Fighting Breaks Out in Boston (Cont.) -After being attacked, the soldier’s fired into the crowd, hitting eleven men and killing five people. One of those killed was a free black sailor named Crispus Attucks. -This event was called the Boston Massacre by the colonists. -Paul Revere fanned anti-British feeling with an engraving that showed British soldiers firing on unarmed colonists. -The soldiers were arrested and tried for their crimes. A colonial lawyer named John Adams was their attorney. -The soldiers were only convicted of manslaughter and received a branding on the hand.

Britain Rolls Back Taxes -In 1770, Britain eased tensions in the colonies by repealing most of the Townshend Acts and the Quartering Act. -However, King George asked Parliament to keep the tax on tea so that the British government could still show the colonists that England had the right to tax the colonies

A Dispute Over Tea -The Tea Act of 1773 allowed British tea merchants to sell directly to colonists, cutting colonial tea merchants out of the tea trade. -Colonists responded to the new tax by boycotting British tea. -The Sons of Liberty refused to allow tea to be unloaded and, in some ports, tea was left on the docks to rot.

Throw It In The Harbor! -In December 16, 1773, three ships containing tea were anchored in Boston harbor and Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty demanded the tea remain aboard the ship. -The Governor of Massachusetts rejected the request and said that the tea would be unloaded as usual. -In what became known as the Boston Tea Party, the Sons of Liberty (dressed as Mohawk Indians) boarded the ships and dumped 342 chests/92,000 pounds/$1million worth of tea. - “The destruction of the tea is so bold, so daring, so firm…it must have such important and lasting results that I can’t help considering it a turning point in history” said John Adams.

Parliament Strikes Back -In response to the destruction of tea in Boston, British Parliament passed four laws known as the Intolerable Acts in 1774. These laws: 1. Shut down the port of Boston until all of the destroyed tea had been paid for. 2. Colonists could only hold town meetings once a year and juries could now be selected by the king’s officials rather than elected by the citizens. 3. British customs officials (tax collectors) could not be tried in Massachusetts courts. They had to be tried in Britain or Canada. 4. Britain renewed the Quartering Act, forcing colonists to house British soldiers in their homes. -Parliament also passed the Quebec Act, moved the boundary of Quebec onto lands that were already claimed by some American colonies.

The Colonies Prepare For A Fight -In September 1774, 12 of the 13 colonies sent delegates to meet in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This meeting became known as the First Continental Congress. Only Georgia did not attend. -The delegates passed a resolution that backed Massachusetts in its struggle and agreed to (1) boycott all British goods and (2) not export good to Britain until the Intolerable Acts were repealed. -Each colony was also encouraged to set up a militia (a group of citizens who serve as soldiers during emergencies).

The Midnight Rider -In Massachusetts, an elite group of militia known as “minutemen” trained regularly. They earned this name because they were prepared to fight in a minute’s notice. -They collected gunpowder and weapons in towns near Boston. -On April 18, 1775, 700 British troops, commanded by General Thomas Gage, left Boston to seize the arms from the town of Concord. -The Sons of Liberty hung lamps from the the Old North Church in Boston to signal to their horse messengers that the British were coming. -Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott rode towards Concord to warn the residents of the upcoming British attack.

“The Shot Heard Round the World” -April 19, 1775- The British arrive at the town of Lexington and are faced by 70 minutemen. The British order the minutemen to leave and they begin to go home. A shot was fired by an unknown soldier and the battle killed 8 colonists. -The British then pushed on to Concord but they found no weapons. But, as they left to return to Boston, they were faced by 300 minutemen on the bridge outside Concord. During the battle, the British lost 73 men and another 200 were wounded or missing. -These would be the first shots of the American Revolution.