The Thirteen Colonies Rebel Revolutionary War Notes #1 --write what is in blue--

Q: How does our society help its citizens overcome situations that are unfair? 1) Talk with your partner for two minutes and work out some solutions. 2) With one person talking at a time, share those ideas with the class. (4 minutes)

Revolution: A sudden or momentous change in a situation. It can be political, cultural, economic, or scientific.

Question: Why were Americans willing to rebel against their own king and country?

Reason #1 The attitudes of the Americans and the British

The Americans 1. Had not been taxed 2. Had been allowed to govern themselves 3. Had created a world in which hard work made the person…people could be equal

The British 1. Believed the colonists were like children 2. Believed it had the right to tax it 3. Believed the taxes were to help pay for American expenses 4. Acted with a superior attitude 5. British Parliament and King became angry when Americans questioned their authority

Reason #2 French & Indian War Global war between France & England. England wins vast amounts of land. England is overextended and broke. Indians attacking forts in Great Lakes area. England responds with Proclamation of 1763 and tax laws.

Reason #3 Proclamation Act of 1763, “cracking down” on smuggling by enforcing the Navigation Acts, and the Sugar Act of 1764

French & Indian War left England broke and with Indian troubles. Proclamation of 1763 was law that said that colonists could not settle west of the Appalachian Mountains. Owning land meant everything to a colonist. Those without land had no position in society. They could not even vote. Colonists ignored it. To enforce it, King George III left 10,000 soldiers in colonies and passed the Quartering Act in The leader was Thomas Gage. British warships began enforcing Navigation Acts. Navigation Acts said everything imported or exported from colonies must go to England and be on English ships.

Navigation Acts As early as 1660, Britain controlled trade in three ways. 1) Colonial trade goods (exports & imports) all had to be carried on English ships. 2) Some Colonial products like tobacco, sugar, furs, and forest products could only be sold in England. 3) Any imports coming into Colonies had to pass through England.

Reason #4 Stamp Act of 1765 First attempt to tax colonists directly. Stamp Act required people to go to a stamp- tax office to buy stamped paper. The tax had to be paid in silver coin (a rare item in colonies). And anyone disobeying law was to be tried in courts in which there was no trial by jury. If Parliament could pass a law like this without colonists consent, why not take lands and everything produced.

Protesting the Stamp Act “No taxation without representation” became the rallying cry in riots. Nine colonies sent delegates to a Congress in New York City to draw up a petition against the Stamp Act. Colonists boycotted British goods. Some formed secret societies like the Sons of Liberty and the Daughters of Liberty. They staged protests …not all were peaceful. In 1766, Parliament repealed the Stamp Act in It passed the Declaratory Act that said England did have authority over the colonies.

Reason #5 The Townshend Acts 1767 Britain didn’t want trouble with colonies, but still badly needed money. Townshend said he could tax without offense. These Acts suspended assemblies. Colonists MUST house troops. Taxes were placed on glass, paper, paint, lead, and tea. Taxes must be paid in gold & silver. Writs of Assistance allowed officers to search any building for any reason. Colonists wondered “Were their liberties at risk?” Once again protests, riots, challenges, petitions, boycotts, tempers were high.

Reason # 6 The Boston Massacre March 4, 1770 A clash between British troops and a group of Bostonians in which five colonists were killed.

Results: Soldiers are put on trial, defended by John Adams, and found innocent. Britain repeals the taxes, except on tea. Colonists cool off, but form Committees of Correspondence to keep communication. Propaganda No problems for about 2 years.

Old State House

Reason #7 The Gaspee Incident 1. HMS Gaspee (June 9-10, 1772) commanded by Lt. William Dudingston. The Gaspee was a British Royal Navy ship assigned to customs duty. Dudingston had been sent to enforce the Stamp Act & stop smuggling. Captain Lindsey deliberately sailed the Hannah to unsafe waters to run the Gaspee aground. On June 9, 1772, the Gaspee was chasing a merchant ship believed to be smuggling goods. The Gaspee ran aground in Narragansett Bay, near Providence. The next night, a group of men boarded the Gaspee and set the ship on fire.

Reason #8 Tea Act of 1773 East India Company would have monopoly. Tea would be cheaper, but taxed. American shipping and merchant businesses hurt. What right did they have?

Reason #9 Boston Tea Party December 16, 1773 A protest against British trade policies in which Patriots (Sons of Liberty) boarded vessels of the East India Tea Company and threw the tea cargo into Boston Harbor.

On Thursday, December 16, 1773, the evening before the tea was supposed to be landing, the Sons of Liberty, three groups of 50 Boston residents each organized by Samuel Adams, burst from the Old South Meeting House and headed toward Griffin's Wharf, dressed as Mohawks in hopes to disguise their true identities to avoid reprimand and punishment.

Three ships were loaded with hundreds of crates of tea. The men boarded the ships and began destroying the cargo. By 9 p.m., they had opened 342 crates of tea (worth approximately £10,000) in all three ships and had thrown them into Boston Harbor.

They took off their shoes, swept the decks, and made each ship's first mate agree to say that the Sons of Liberty had destroyed only the tea.

Old South Meeting House

Reason #10 The Intolerable Acts 1774 The Coercive Acts (called the Intolerable Acts by the Colonists) Britain responded by closing down Boston Harbor, putting Massachusetts under siege UNTIL Bostonians paid money lost for tea and apologized.

Colonial Reaction They set up Committees of Correspondence because they needed to communicate with each other. October 1774, First Continental Congress met. Ban on all trade, each colony would train soldiers, and they called for a Colonial Convention in May of 1775 in Philadelphia to discuss a course of action. Parliament did not repeal. It stood firm and sent more troops to colonies.

Reason #11 Lexington/Concord April 19, 1775 Gage orders troops to Concord to destroy supplies. Sons of Liberty ready. They sent Paul Revere to warn the countryside. In Lexington, Revere and Dawes warned Sam Adams and John Hancock. At dawn, British reached Lexington and found Minutemen blocking their route. A shot is fired. British troops kill eight and march to Concord. Minutemen peppered them all the way back to Boston. The war had started.

Colonel Smith, The British officer who led the march to Concord

Tax Laws Navigation Acts – 1660’s-1750’s Proclamation of 1763 Sugar Act – 1764 Stamp Act – 1765 Declaratory Act – 1766 Townshend Acts – 1767 Tea Act – 1773 Coercive Acts (also called Intolerable Acts)