An Era of Colonial
Protest
The Imperial Wars

French & Indian War was one of four costly wars
fought between 1689-1763

British monarchs wanted colonists to bear the
cost of fighting these wars/rebuilding the British
empire

Thought colonists should also pay for their
protection
New Revenues & Regulations

Sugar Act (1764)- Placed taxes
on foreign sugar and other
luxuries


Chief purpose was to raise
money for the crown
Quartering Act (1765)Required all colonists to
provide food and living quarters
for any British soldiers
stationed there
New Revenues & Regulations

The Stamp Act (1765)required stamps be placed on
all paper documents
(newspapers, pamphlets,
advertisements, etc.)

Colonists paid for the price of
these stamps- money was
collected directly from them

First direct tax paid by the
colonists
The Stamp Act

Angered the majority of colonists- no taxation without representation

1765- Stamp Act Congress resolved only elected representatives had
legal authority to approve taxes


Not the monarchs
Sons and Daughters of Liberty violently intimidated tax collectors

Destroyed stamps, tar and feather
The Stamp Act

Boycotts were the most
effective form of protest

Colonists refused to
purchase British goods

Sharp drop in trade
 Parliament
forced to
repeal the Stamp Act
Declaratory Act of 1766

Colonists rejoiced at news of the
Stamp Act being repealed

Parliament enacts a face-saving
measure called the Declaratory Act

Parliament had the right to tax and
make laws for the colonies “in all
cases whatsoever.”

Led to renewed conflict between
Britain and the colonists
Townshend Acts

New taxes collected on
imports of tea, glass, and
paper

Higher tax rates to pay
the British officials in the
colonies

Suspended NY’s assembly
for defiance of the
Quartering Act
Townshend Acts

Most colonists accepted these taxes
because they were paid by the
merchants

Indirect taxes

Eventually boycotts threatened British
revenue and the acts were repealed in
1770

Parliament keeps a small tax on tea as
a symbol of their power over the
colonies
Renewed Conflict

Boston Massacre, Gaspee
Incident, and Boston Tea
Party all renewed the
conflict/violence between
the British and the
colonists

In response to the Boston
Tea Party, Parliament
passes a series of punitive
acts
The Coercive Acts (1774)

Directed mainly at Boston and
Massachusetts

Closed port of Boston until
destroyed tea was paid for

Reduced power of Massachusetts
legislature

Royal officials accused of crimes in
the colonies could be tried in
Britain

A fourth law expanded the
Quartering Act
Quebec Act (1774)

An effort to organize lands won from France in French &
Indian War

Established Roman-Catholicism as official religion of
Quebec, set up a government without a representative
assembly, extended Quebec’s boundaries to the Ohio River

Colonists viewed this as a direct attack on their rights

Took away lands they claimed along Ohio River

What if Parliament enacted similar laws in the colonies?
?

Why is the French & Indian War relevant to colonial protest and the
American Revolution?

How did Parliament decide they would collect money from the
colonists? Give some examples.

What was the primary reason colonists were so upset about the Stamp
Act?

Even though they repealed the Stamp Act, what did Parliament do in
response to the colonial boycotts and protest?

How did Parliament respond to the Boston Tea Party? Give details.