Chapter 8: “The Road to War”

Lesson 1: Trouble over Taxes King George wanted to tax the colonies to pay for the expenses of soldiers to protect the colonists .

Stamp Act of 1765 Placed a tax on all printed materials such as legal documents, newspapers, and even playing cards. King George III and Parliament agreed this would be a fair way to pay for the soldiers’ protection from Indians and French invasions.

Stamp Act King George III and Parliament Believe the act is fair Think the colonists should pay for the costs of keeping the soldiers The colonists will benefit from the army’s help Colonists Already had a long traditions of self-government Never voted for Parliament and disagreed with them making the decisions for them Wanted to send a representative from the colonies to reperesent them in Parliament Thought a representative would make better decisions for colonies. Protested “No taxation without representation!”

Patrick Henry Spoke out against the Stamp Act to the House of Burgesses. Warned King George III that Britain had no right to tax the colonies His speeches inspired other colonists to protest the Stamp Act

Stamp Act Congress Was created of colonial leaders to urge Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act

Popular Protest Cry: “No taxation without representation!”

Samuel Adams From Massachusetts Organized the Sons of Liberty—a group that led protests against the new tax They burned stamps and threatened stamp agents The stamp agents were too afraid to sell stamps

End of Stamp Act After determining they would get no money from the Stamp Act, it was repealed in 1766. Colonists celebrated with fireworks and parades. But….Britain still needed the money, and King George III insisted that Britain had the right to tax the colonies.

Townshend Acts Britain still believes they have the right to tax the colonies As treasurer of the British government, Charles Townshend agrees. He calls for a new tax called the Townshend Acts which placed a tariff (tax) on imported goods The British government hoped to show the colonists who was in charge. The Townshend Acts caused new protests in the colonies.

Protest Boycott—refuse to buy goods They refused to buy British goods They boycotted British tea and began making their own “liberty tea”

Daughters of Liberty Women joined the protest and were called Daughters of Liberty They made “liberty tea” of berries and herbs They began weaving cloth to use instead of British wool.

Britain’s businesses were hurting because of the boycott. In 1768, British warships arrived in the Boston Harbor. They hoped this show of force would stop the protesting.

Benjamin Franklin warned that this would only increase tension and lead to more violence. He was right.

Lesson 2: The Colonists Rebel

The Boston Massacre Soldiers and colonists were seen fist fighting in the streets all the time. March 5, 1770 angry colonists surrounded a group of soldiers. The soldiers panicked. They fired in the crowd killing 5 people. A massacre is the killing of people who cannot defend themselves.

Crispus Attucks Born into slavery and escaped at 27 Worked as a sailor One of the victims of the Boston Massacre

The British soldiers were put on trial for murder in Boston.

John Adams Lawyer brother of Samuel Adams Disliked having British soldiers Defended the British soldiers in court Felt the soldiers deserved a fair trial Court ruled the soldiers were not guilty of murder

Townshend Acts Repealed The boycott was hurting British businesses. The British government repealed all taxes except the ones on tea. The goal was to show the colonists they still had the right to tax

Committees of Correspondence Committee—organized group of people Correspondence—communicate The Committees of Correspondence were formed by Samuel Adams to speed communication between colonies concerning what was happening with the British. Letters were sent from one committee to another by way of “express riders” on fast horses. One was a silversmith named Paul Revere.

Express Riders Paul Revere and other express riders could make it from Boston to New York in about a week.

Tea Act The Tea Act passed by Parliament stated that the colonists could only buy tea from one British company. If you owned a store in the colonies, you would have to buy tea from this company and STILL pay the tax on tea. It had 2 goals 1. to help the struggling tea company 2. get the colonists to pay taxes

The colonists did not like being forced to buy tea from one company. They declared that ships bringing British tea would not be allowed to unload in any colonial port.

Boston Tea Party On the night of December 16, 1773, 3 ships sailed into Boston’s Harbor The Sons of Liberty disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians. They rowed shouting “Boston Harbor, a teapot tonight!” They boarded the boats, opened the chests of tea with axes, and dumped the tea into the harbor. This was known as the Boston Tea Party British leaders found out and were furious…….

Colonists were singing a new song: “Rally Mohawks! Bring your axes and tell King George, we’ll pay no taxes!” King George and Parliament believed the colonists should be punished.

Punishment for the Colonists British soldiers who had been removed after the Boston Massacre would come back and the colonists would quarter (feed and house) them. British general, Thomas Gage, was put in charge of the colony of Massachusetts. Port of Boston was closed—no ships could come or go until the tea was paid for by the colonists COLONISTS CALLED THESE “THE INTOLERABLE ACTS”

The closing of the port hurt Boston badly because their economy depended on trade. It also forced many colonists to choose sides in the conflict between Boston and Britain.

Patriots Colonists who oppose British rule

Loyalists Colonists who remain loyal to King George and the British government

The First Continental Congress Leaders from 12 colonies agreed to meet in Philadelphia to discuss the Intolerable Acts in September, 1774. Virginia representative was George Washington. They voted to stop all trade with Britain until the Intolerable Acts were repealed. They also agreed to start militias (volunteer armies). Some called themselves minutemen (they could be ready to fight in a minute) They also agreed to meet in a year if things had not changed.

Liberty or Death Patrick Henry made his most famous speech in a church in Richmond, Virginia. He warned the militia to prepare to fight. “I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” King George was also ready to fight.

Lesson 3: The Revolution Begins

Paul Revere April 18, 1775—British began their march from Boston to Concord to seize weapons the colonists had been storing. It was also rumored that the soldiers had orders to arrest Samuel Adams and John Hancock. They were staying in Lexington, a town between Boston and Concord. The British hoped the attack would be a secret and would not allow colonists to leave Boston that night to warn anyone. Paul Revere snuck out to warn the militias in Lexington and Concord. He rode through the night yelling that the British were coming. He warned Adams and Hancock who escaped. He rode with William Dawes and Samuel Prescott. Revere was captured. Dawes jumped and escaped. Prescott escaped and rode on to warn the militia at Concord.

Shot Hear Round the World April 19—Militia in Lexington gather British soldiers march in and surround the minutemen British major demanded that militia put down their arms A fire rang out. (No one knew which one fired first.)

Lexington and Concord A shot rangThe first shot at Lexington came to be known as the “shot heard around the world.” Wounded minutemen—17 Wounded British soldiers—1 British victory On to Concord—Upon arrival, the British found no weapons because the women had already moved them. Battle at Concord led to a retreat of the British soldiers

The Battle of Bunker Hill William Prescott Patriot colonel Led about 1,200 men up the hills of Charlestown His men worked all night to build a fort out of earth and logs on Breed’s Hill

Notice how close Bunker Hill and Breed’s Hill are to Boston Patriot leaders knew if they could control these hills, they could bring up cannons and fire them down on the British in Boston.

When the British woke the next morning, they were shocked to see the fort. British generals decided it was time to take the hill back before it was too late. More than 2,000 British soldiers prepared to attack.

Tired and hungry after a long night’s work, the Patriots prepared to fight.

Colonel Prescott gave his men some last minute advice: “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes.”

The Battle Begins After British ships fired on the fort, British soldiers marched up Breed’s Hill. “The enemy advanced and fired very hotly on the fort,” Prescott said. But the Patriots just waited.

Wait for it… When the British got within a hundred feet of the fort, the Patriot guns exploded with a blast of deadly fire, driving the British back. British soldiers attacked again and were driven back again.

Now Prescott’s men were nearly out of ammunition. Yelling, “Push on!” the British attacked a third time and captured the hill. The battle was over.

Though the fighting took place on Breed’s Hill, this battle is known as the Battle of Bunker Hill for a nearby hill.

Cost of the Battle Though the British had won, it was a costly victory. More than 1,000 British soldiers were killed or wounded. About 400 Patriots were killed or wounded. Although they had lost, the Patriots were proud of the way they had fought.

THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR HAS OFFICIALLY BEGUN!