Taxation without Representation

 Relations with Britain – Proclamation of 1763 – problems  Britain’s Trade Laws  Smuggling  Writs of assistance

 1764  Lowered the tax on molasses  Let officers seize goods from smugglers without going to court  Angered the colonists

 1765  Placed a tax on all printed materials – newspapers, formal documents, dice and cards  Parliament taxed the colonists without their consent  Boycott of British goods

 Patrick Henry – member of the House of Burgesses urged colonists to take action  Samuel Adams – started the Sons of Liberty

 1766  Parliament had the right to tax and make decisions for the British colonies “in all cases”

 1767  Taxed imported goods – glass, tea, paper, lead  Colonists were outraged

 March 5, Evening of,  Fighting broke out between British soldiers and colonists – 5 dead J Adams defense  Crispus Attucks Boston Massacre Explained

 1773  Gave a British tea company the right to ship tea to colonies without paying all the taxes – boycott

 Three ships arrive in Boston loaded with tea  Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty disguised themselves as Mohawks, boarded the ships, and threw the tea into the ocean

 1774  Very harsh laws used to punish the colonists  Closed Boston Harbor  Banned town meetings

 Forced colonists to have soldiers in their homes

 Set up a permanent government for Quebec, Canada

 The First Continental Congress – voted to support Massachusetts – urged each colony to set up a militia

 Minutemen  British commander heard about weapons in Concord  Sons of Liberty were watching  Paul Revere warned “the regulars are out!”

 April 19, 1775  British troops continued to Lexington where they met 70 minutemen – shots are fired – 8 colonists were killed  A second fight at the North Bridge killed 73 British soldiers  The British were defeated

 Second Continental Congress – 55 delegates   Olive Branch Petition – asked the king to repeal the Intolerable Acts  Continental Army is established  George Washington made commander in chief 

 First major battle – June, 1775  Proved Americans could fight bravely and would not be easy to defeat

 Written by Thomas Paine  Attacked having kings and queens as rulers  Encouraged independence

 Chosen to write the Declaration of Independence  July 4, 1776

 Preamble – explanation  Lists unalienable rights – life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness  Lists the grievances against the king  Declared our independence and that we are the United States of America