ROAD TO REVOLUTION
The British had 10,000 troops in North America at the end of the French and Indian War. The British felt they
had, and were, spending a great deal of money to defend the colonies. These massive forces were needed to
protect the Colonists from Indian attacks. By war’s end, the British found themselves in debt to the tune of 140
million pounds, an enormous sum for those times. The British tried to address both their problems: governing
and protecting the Colonists, as well as, keeping their costs down. First, they issued new proclamations to protect the Indians from further encroachment by the colonists. They hoped this effort would decrease the violence
between the Colonists and the Indians, thus decreasing the need for troops. Second, the British government decided to increase the enforcement of existing taxes on the Colonists and impose additional taxes, with the hopes
of at least covering the cost of the British troops stationed in North America.
In 1763, the British issued the Proclamation of 1763. The proclamation tried to protect the Indians from
further encroachments by the settlers. It said “And whereas great Frauds and Abuses have been committed in
purchasing Lands of the Indians, to the great Prejudice of our Interests and to the great dissatisfaction of the said
Indians.” WATCH http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=509SFtIA2hk UNTIL 1:04.
The proclamation outlawed the purchase of land from the Indian, unless the land was licensed by the British.
The proclamation established a western boundary for colonial settlement, along the Appalachian Mountains. To
the west the lands were reserved for the Indians.
The Colonists responded to the proclamation with a combination of anger and disdain. They were angry with
the government for interfering and trying to limit their economic growth. They had disdain for the government,
since in their view, there was little chance this proclamation could be enforced. The Colonists felt there was no
way any proclamation could stop the natural movement of the Colonists westward. Map done by George Washington
The second British action was to pass the Revenue Act of 1764, oth-
ated
erwise known in the colonies as “The Sugar Act”. The Sugar
Act actually lowered the tax on molasses, a key import of the colonies.
The previous tax was seldom enforced. The new act provided strong
methods of enforcing the tariff on molasses. It also placed a tax on the
importation of additional items, such as silks, wines and potash.
The American colonists responded with outrage to the new law. They
took whatever actions they could to ignore defy the new laws. Often
with the blatant help of colonial officials, molasses and other goods
would be smuggled into the colonies without paying the required taxes.
WATCH http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hy5y942_2_k&feature=rel
The Colonists defied the new Revenue Acts as best they could. An example of that defiance is the case of the
Sloop Polly. Soon after the Revenue Act was passed, the ship sailed into Newport Harbor carrying a load of molasses. Her owner, Job Smith, reported he had sixty-three casks of molasses on board and paid the required taxes
on that amount. The revenue official of the port, John Robinson, did not believe that a ship of that size would
only have such a small amount of molasses. Once the ship sailed from the port he sailed after it with a British
Man-of War. Robinson overtook the Polly, and after a lengthy inspection, found out it carried twice the amount
of molasses reported by its owner. Robinson seized the vessel, under the terms of the revenue act. However,
he did not have the crew to sail it back to port. Robinson returned to Newport in search of help. While he was
away, forty men in disguise boarded the ship. These men took off the molasses and anything else of value, and
then they beached the ship. Robinson retrieved the ship, but he was arrested and charged with destroying the
ship. This is just one of many examples of what took place in the colonies, while the British tried to enforce the
Revenue Act. These were the first acts of blatant defiance by the Colonists against the British government.
Many of the Colonists accepted as inevitable that they would have to start paying taxes to help pay for the cost
of defending the colonies. It was, however, the method these taxes were imposed that raised anger in the colonies. The fact Colonists were not consulted about the taxes and the fact that the new taxes interfered with the
ability of Colonists to trade.
The imposition of the Revenue Act began the path to the revolution. Not only did it (1) begin the first acts of
resistance, it also (2) stirred the political thoughts that led to the revolution.
The best example of that was a speech by James Otis. Otis had been Advocate General of the province of Massachusetts. Otis resigned and instead appeared in court on behalf of the Boston merchants to argue against the
Writs of Assistance. These writs allowed customs officials to break into homes, warehouses, and ships that were
suspected of carrying smuggled goods.
To Otis, the writs violated the fundamentals of the British unwritten constitution. He stated that even though
the British Parliament has passed these writs, they should not be enforced by the local government, and should
be repealed. Otis lost his case, but the issue of writs, which the enforcement of the revenue act brought forth,
became one of a growing list of colonial grievances against England.
1) State, in your own words, what the Proclamation of 1763 intended to do and why it was passed by the King.
State the British Point of View:
State the Colonial Point of View:
2) State, in your own words, what the Revenue Act of 1754 (The Sugar Act) intended to do and why it was
passed by the King.
State the British Point of View:
State the Colonial Point of View: