1. The Road to Revolution LESSON 1

2. 8-2.2 Summarize the response of South Carolina to events leading to the American Revolution, including the Stamp Act, the Tea Acts, and the Sons of Liberty.

3. Controlling the Colonies When Charles II became king, Britain was in financial trouble, so a number trade laws were passed. These laws were meant to increase wealth by regulating trade and raising taxes on all items transported through Britain. Britain wanted the colonies to help pay its increasing debt, but the colonist didn’t want to. In response, Britain implemented Mercantilism.

4. Implementing Mercantilism This economic policy required all goods sold in Britain to be shipped on English ships employing English crews. Crops grown in the colonies could only be sold in Britain. The main goal was to increase British profits. The new policy added to the growing unrest in the colonies. Americans Colonists felt they were being treated unfairly.

5. How did Britain try to control the Colonial economy? Navigation Acts o Trade only with Britain and other British colonies. o Led to smuggling. Sugar Act o Tax on sugar, molasses, wine, silk, indigo, and coffee. o Intended to stop illegal trade with France o Violators sent to Britain for trial before British judge. Currency Act o Colonists prohibited from printing their own money. Stamp Act o Tax on all printed materials, like wills, contracts, playing cards, and newspapers. o Direct tax

6. Controlling the Colonies How did colonists react to the new laws and policies?

7. What was the Sons of Liberty? The Sons of Liberty were groups of men who protested Britain’s new laws. The two most active groups were in Boston and Charles Town. Sam Adams led the group in Boston, while Christopher Gadsden led the Charles Town group.

8. What were the Daughters of Liberty? Women took part in their own boycott and organized “Spinning Bees.” Played a key part in organizing boycotts. Instead of buying and using thread made in Britain, they spun there own thread and yarn to make American fabric.

9. How did Charles Town refuse to cooperate? The colonists in Charles Town seemed to be most upset about the Stamp Act. They built a 20-foot gallows and hung an effigy of the stamp collector in protest. The protestors were so persistent that the men who were enforcing the Stamp Act said they wouldn’t tax the colonists until Britain had a chance to reconsider.

10. What was the Stamp Act Congress? Representatives from the colonies met in New York City to discuss the Stamp Act. Letters were mailed to Parliament demanding that Britain repeal the law. Colonists argued that since they didn’t have representatives in Parliament, Parliament couldn’t make laws the directly affected them. “NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION!” Britain argued that they had virtual representation, so the colonists decided to boycott British goods.

11. What did Parliament mean when it said the colonies had “virtual representation”? Can the same be said for Americans who are not old enough to vote? Are you virtually represented?

13. What were the effects of the boycott & protests? Ships stopped coming in and out of Charles Town, which hurt British trade. British merchants lost money. The courts shut down because colonists refused to pay the tax for a court order. Britain repealed the Stamp Act in 1766. The colonists threw parades in Charles Town to celebrate.

14. Wilkes Controversy John Wilkes was a member of Parliament and editor of North Briton; he was critical of the British gov’t. Parliament kicked Wilkes out for being disloyal to Britain. South Carolina representatives provided funds to pay Wilkes’s legal fees. British officials were unhappy with South Carolina’s donation to Wilkes, so they wrote new rules about how the colony could use money from its treasury. This controversy leads to South Carolina lending support to the Revolution.

15. How did Britain respond to the repealing of the Stamp Act? Parliament passed the Declaratory Act a law declaring that it could make any laws affecting the colonies that it desired. Britain took complete control over the colonies. The Quartering Act allowed 10,000 British troops to stay permanently in the colonies. The colonists were angry about the Quartering Act because it required them to house and feed British troops.

16. What were the Townshend Acts? Britain imposed new taxes on paper, paint, glass, and tea. These new laws attempted to take away the power of the purse from colonial assemblies. Colonists responded with a new round of boycotts. In South Carolina, Britain gave non-native South Carolinians positions of extreme authority.

17. What was the Boston Massacre? Across the colonies, protests were becoming more violent. On March 5, 1770, a scuffle between colonists in Boston and some British soldiers resulted in the soldiers firing into a crowd of colonists. Five people were killed. The first being Crispus Attucks, a free black man. John Adams later represented the British soldiers in court and argued that the soldiers acted in self defense. Adams was successful in defending a majority of them. Lord North, the new prime minister, took back all the Townshend Duties except for the tax on tea.

18. Paul Revere’s engraving of the Boston Massacre Historians identify this as an early example of American propaganda. How so? How could the use of the word “massacre” fit in with the idea that this is propaganda?

19. What was the Tea Act? Colonists continued to boycott tea because of a duty (tax) imposed by the Townshend Acts. Parliament passed the Tea Act in an attempt to force colonists to buy tea from the British East India Company. The law gave the company exclusive rights to sell its tea tax-free in the colonies, making it cheaper to buy. Lord North thought this would trick colonists into buying the British tea … He was mistaken!

21. What are “Tea Parties”? Sons of Liberty are afraid colonists will buy tea at the new lower price In Boston, a group of colonists dressed up as Native Americans, climbed aboard a ship carrying tea, and dumped all the tea into the harbor. The event became known as the “Boston Tea Party.” Georgetown and Charles Town also had small “tea parties” that were not as large as the Boston protest, but did not allow the tea to be sold.

23. What are the Intolerable Acts? Britain responded to the Boston Tea Party by passing the Intolerable Acts in Massachusetts. o The new laws closed the port in Boston until the tea was paid for. o They suspended the Massachusetts colonial assembly. o They allowed British soldiers to live in private homes.

24. These laws were also called the Coercive Acts. Why? What was Parliament trying to coerce from the colonists? Why do you think the colonists called these new laws the “intolerable”?

25. What was the First Continental Congress? In response to the Intolerable Acts, colonial leaders, including cousins Sam and John Adams, George Washington, Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee called for a special meeting in Philadelphia. 55 delegates from 12 colonies met for the First Continental Congress. (Only Georgia refused to attend. For what reason did Georgians refuse to attend?) Delegates agreed to continue their resistance to British policies.

26. What was decided at the First Continental Congress? The Congress issued a Declaration of Rights, which proclaimed loyalty to Britain, but denied Britain’s right to tax the colonies. Delegates agreed to stop all trade (imports and exports) with Britain until their demands were met. Because of South Carolina’s economy, delegates agreed that the colonies could still export rice to Britain. Before they adjourned, the delegates agreed to meet again in 1775.

27. Why do you think most delegates to the First Continental Congress were not yet ready to discuss independence?

28. How does South Carolina form an independent government? During a meeting to select delegates to the First Continental Congress, South Carolina leaders created the Committee of 99, which became the de facto government. The committee raised an army, issued currency, enforced nonimportation, and commissioned the writing of what would become part of the Articles of Confederation (the first US constitution). Although a new royal governor had not yet arrived, most of the citizens obeyed the Committee of 99.