1. Radicalization of the Colonies
Action & Reaction

2. The New Approach Parliament implements the Townshend Acts (1767)
Indirect tax on items only legally imported from England (glass, lead, tea, paper, paint)
Indirect tax paid by the importer
Tax would pay governors and judges to enforce laws in the colonies

3. Another Founder You Haven’t Heard Of Before
Colonies renew boycotts
John Dickenson writes Letters from a Pennsylvania Farmer in response to the Townsend Acts
Said colonies were sovereign in internal affairs
Parliament could regulate trade/make war/etc.

4. “Always Massachusetts & Boston disturbing the King’s Peace”
Massachusetts General Court sends the Circular Letter (1768) to all other colonies
Calls for unified action against Townsend Acts
Written by Otis & Sam Adams
England considers this treason
Suspends the General Court
Places Boston under martial law

5. British Reaction Boston put under martial law
Gen. Thomas Gage
British troops clash with Sons of Liberty
Coercive force sent to oppress
Competed with for jobs
Massachusetts forms Committees of Correspondence to spread news & ideas

6. The First Blood is spilled
Troubles culminate in Boston Massacre
March 5, 1770
Troops fire on an angry mob
5 killed including former slave Crispus Attucks
Demands for action by Sam Adams
John Adams served as defense attorney
Tension drops after troops found not guilty of murder

7. From Protest to Independence
1773 Parliament passes the Tea Act
Lowers tax and gives the British East India Company a monopoly on selling tea in the colonies
To keep the company from bankruptcy
Colonists see as a plot to establish a precedent of accepting taxes
Sons of Liberty destroy load of tea in Boston Tea Party ( )

8. The Last Straw for the British
Furious Parliament passes the Coercive or Intolerable Acts (1774)
Closed Boston Harbor
Quartering Act
Town meetings outlawed
Gage made military gov.
Quebec Act gave land in the Ohio Valley to Quebec

9. Colonial Response to the Intolerable Acts
Many Colonists begin to favor independence
Washington
John Adams
Ben Franklin
Colonists hold First Continental Congress (1774) in Philadelphia in response to the Intolerable Acts

10. The First Continental Congress
Issue statement of rights
Pledged loyalty to King
Asked for redress of complaints
Called for boycotts
Called for a second congress in 1775 if not satisfied