1. 8 Things that Ticked Off the Colonies!

2. If we are to understand the causes of the American Revolution, we must first understand the political, social, and economic factors that created the revolutionary environment.

3. The colonies operated under the Mercantile model of the mother country; England (Great Britain). Under this model, the colonies existed solely for the purpose of supplying raw materials to England and providing a market for finished goods.

4. RUM
SUGAR
SLAVES
We know that one of the most important trade cycles in the colonies was the so-called Triangular Trade; this fit right into the Mercantile model!

5. Like most colonial powers, England did not want her colonies to benefit other European countries or their economies, so England passed a series of laws to prevent her American colonies from trading with any country other than England.

6. 1650 thru 1660 Parliament passes “Navigation Acts” to
limit colonial trade
with England alone.

7. Since sugar was required to make the rum to trade for the slaves who produced the raw materials required by the mother country, what were the colonies to do?!?! That’s right! They smuggled sugar from French or Spanish colonies! The Navigation Acts are first on the list of things that ticked off the colonies!

8. By the mid 1750’s, most colonists realized that war with France was imminent. In the mid 17th Century, French explorer LaSalle had sailed from Canada down the Mississippi River, claiming the entire river basin for France. Obviously, competing claims for land in America caused friction between the two powers.

9. Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania proposed colonial unification to
face the looming threat
from France. Delegates
from the 13 colonies met
in Albany, New York to discuss his proposal.

10. 1754 Albany Congress proposes unification plan for. the. colonies;
1754 Albany Congress proposes unification plan for the colonies; the plan is rejected.

11. 1754 The French and Indian War;
Great Britain piles up debt fighting the French on American soil.

12. 1763 First Treaty of Paris ends the French and Indian War.

13. As a result of the French and Indian (7 Year’s) War, Great Britain amassed a HUGE debt! Literally half of the national budget was earmarked to merely PAY THE INTEREST on their debt! France (and any immediate threat to expansion) was gone, leaving only meager Spanish settlement to concern the English. Regardless, something had to be done to pay down the massive English debt!

14. Meanwhile, someone forgot to tell the Indians that the war was over
Meanwhile, someone forgot to tell the Indians that the war was over! Pontiac’s War (1763), an attack on Fort Detroit, convinced the British
that the only way to
maintain peace (and
stop all of the
expensive fighting!)
was to withdraw from the frontier!

15. 1763 Proclamation of 1763 prohibits colonial expansion beyond the Appalachian mountains.

16. With the Indian problem taken care of for the time being, Parliament got busy trying to raise revenue from the colonies. Their first attempt was to cash in on the “sugar leg” of the triangle trade! Parliament actually REDUCED the tax on molasses, but included provisions to eliminate smuggling and actually collect the tax!

17. 1764 Sugar Act; Parliament attempts to recoup funds used to fight the French and Indian War. “Taxation without Representation” is the colonial protest.

18. Since 1215 (Magna Carta), Englishmen had enjoyed the right to approve their taxation. Therefore this right was 549 years old when the Sugar Act was enacted. Naturally, the colonists resented the idea that Parliament apparently did not consider them as “official” Englishmen!

19. 1765 Stamp Act; Parliament taxes all legal documents in the colonies.

20. 1765 Stamp Act Congress; Colonies petition King George III and Parliament for relief.

21. The Stamp Act Congress reaches a few other decisions as well
The Stamp Act Congress reaches a few other decisions as well. First, they decide to BOYCOTT British goods. Second, they decide to defy the Stamp Act and refuse to purchase the stamps. Finally, colonies are encouraged to build industrial enterprise in the colonies to supplant English goods.

22. The boycott of goods and stamps WORKS
The boycott of goods and stamps WORKS! Parliament repeals the Stamp Act, but their huge debt remains! Chancellor of the Exchequer (Similar to our Secretary of the Treasury) Charles Townshend petitions Parliament, begging them to pass new revenue acts for the colonies!

23. 1767 Townshend Acts; Parliament passes a tax on glass, paper, paint, lead, and tea. Act contains writs of assistance allowing tax collectors to search and/or seize almost any cargo.

24. Writs of Assistance are especially hated by the colonies
Writs of Assistance are especially hated by the colonies! Tax collectors can search and/or seize any cargo they choose! Since no warrants or other evidence of probable cause are required, tax collectors line their own pockets with seized cargoes! In response to the Townshend Acts, colonists form resistance groups including the Sons of Liberty and Committees of Correspondence. No place despises the Townshend Acts as much as Boston; the busiest port in America at the time!

25. March 5, 1770 The Boston Massacre; Armed British soldiers fire into a crowd of rowdy colonists, killing five.

26. 1773 Tea Act; Parliament repeals the Townshend Acts but passes a tax on tea.

27. December 16, 1773 Boston Tea Party; Dressed as Native Americans, angry colonists board English ships and dump 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor.

28. 1774 Intolerable Acts; In response to the colonial uprising, Parliament acts to punish the colonies.

29. 1774 First Continental Congress; Delegates from every colony except Georgia meet to unify behind Massachusetts.