Chapter 7
The Road to the American Revolution
Standard 8-2: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the causes of the American Revolution and the
beginnings of the new nation, with an emphasis on South Carolina’s role in the development of that nation.
Indicators
8-2.1 Explain the political and economic consequences of the French and Indian War on the relationship of the
South Carolina colonists with Native Americans and England.
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.
American Revolution
the war fought between Britain and America for American independence
Revolution
a sudden change—overthrowing the government by the people.
Independent
To have freedom to be on your own and make your own laws/decisions
Liberty
Freedom
Boycott
To stop buying or using a product to affect change
Propaganda
information that is deliberately spread to try to persuade someone.
Repeal
to take back such as a law or tax – to make null or void
Tyranny
Being ruled by someone with too much power (a tyrant)
Tax
Money the gov’t collects from its citizens and then uses to benefit society.
Duty
a tax that is placed on an import or export.
Representation
the right of being represented by a delegate who has a voice or vote in gov’t.
Sons of Liberty
a group of men that was created to fight for their rights as English citizens.
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1.
2.
What did the American
Revolution create?
Most colonists considered
themselves citizens of what
country?
The Age of Revolution
The American Revolution was one of the most important events
in American History. Not only did it create a new and
independent nation, but it was also the basis of many of our
beliefs today—liberty, equality, pursuit of happiness. The end
result of this war will be the creation of the United States of
America_.
The Proclamation of 1763
3.
What did the colonists begin to
desire?
The Proclamation of 1763
4.
How did the British help the
colonies win the French and Indian
War?
5. What did the Proclamation of 1763
say?
6. Why did the colonists believe the
British should not make laws for
them?
At the end of the French and Indian War in America, most people
who lived in the colonies considered themselves loyal subjects of
England. However, the colonists began to desire more freedom
to make decisions for themselves. They had become
independent. The actual break from Britain started after the
French and Indian War. The British gov’t sent soldiers to the
colonies to fight in the French and Indian War and the British
won. When the war was over, many colonists moved into the
new area only to be told by the King that they could not live west
of the Appalachian Mts. This law was called the Proclamation of
1763. The colonists saw the law as a limit to their freedom and
they had no vote in British gov’t to make that decision since they
had no representation in Parliament.
George III wants the colonies to pay for the French
and Indian War
When George III became King, he felt like the French and Indian
War had been fought to protect and benefit the colonists, so he
believed that America should help pay the debt the war left with.
The colonists did not feel like they should have to pay taxes for a
war they gained nothing from. Remember, the Proclamation of
1763 did not even let them use the land they fought for. They
7. Why did King George III think the also had no representation in the British gov’t, so they didn’t
colonists should pay for the French
think it was fair for them to be taxed without representation. The
and Indian War?
only taxes the colonists felt like they should have to pay were the
ones that their own colonial government assemblies agreed to
pay.
8.
What 2 reasons did the colonists
feel they should not have to pay
taxes for the war?
2
New Taxes for the American
Colonies
9.
What 2 things did the Sugar Act
tax?
10. What did the Stamp Act tax?
New Taxes for the American Colonies
The King decides to tax the colonists anyway. Here come the
first of those taxes—
 The Sugar Act taxed sugar and molasses. The colonists
resisted by smuggling the taxed goods into the colonies.
 Stamp Act—A tax that had to be paid for all legal
documents and many paper products, like newspapers,
playing cards, birth certificates, marriage licenses, etc.
All of these items had to be stamped to show the tax was
paid.
11. How did officials know if you
paid the tax?
American Reaction to the New Taxes
American Reaction to the
New Taxes
12. These taxes began to make the
colonists angry. What became a
popular slogan of the day?
13. How else did the colonists protest
the Stamp Act?
14. Why do you think the Carolina
Gazette articles did not change
many attitudes in the Back
Country?
The American people were angry about these taxes and felt like the
British gov’t was not looking out for their needs. They felt this way
because they did not have representation in the British Parliament who
was passing these taxes. The slogan often heard on the streets was “No
taxation without representation_”
As in many big cities, the colonists in Charleston protested the Stamp
Act. The Carolina Gazette newspaper began to print propaganda and
articles protesting the new taxes. This began to change the attitudes of
many minds in the _Low Country.
Stamp Act Congress
In October of 1765, the Stamp Act Congress met in New York to
boycott English goods until the Stamp Act was repealed. From South
Carolina, Christopher Gadsden, John Rutledge, and Thomas Lynch
Stamp Act Congress
were elected delegates to the Stamp Act Congress. They all agreed to
15. What was the purpose of the Stamp
the boycott English goods. This led to the repeal of the Stamp Act, but
Act Congress?
not an end to the anger and frustration.
16. Who were the 3 delegates from
SC?
Sons of Liberty and
Daughters of Liberty
17. What group formed in many large
cities to protest British laws?
18. Who was the leader of the Sons of
Liberty in SC?
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Sons of Liberty and Daughters of Liberty
Groups of men in many of the bigger cities, including Charles Town,
formed groups called the Sons of Liberty_. They began to protest in
the streets and spread _propaganda . Christopher Gadsden, a wealthy
merchant from Charleston, was the spokesman for Sons of Liberty in
Charles Town. He organized protests in the city and he spoke about
19. What did Gadsden encourage
settlers to fight for
20. Give 3 examples of some of the
ways the colonists protested.
21. What group did many of the
women form?
how the taxes were a way for Britain to have _power_ over the colonies
and the colonies should not allow it. He encouraged the people of
South Carolina to stand ready to fight for their liberty.
Some ways the colonists protested…
 They burned effigies of tax collectors
 Harassed tax collectors
 Intimidated those who tried to follow the British laws
 Wrote articles /letters in the newspaper
 Made posters that were hung around the city in protest
 Made speeches
 They carried a coffin labeled “American Liberty” through the
city and buried it. What is the symbolism of this coffin?
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Women were not expected to protest as boldly as the men because it
would not have been the behavior of a “lady”. The women did,
however begin the Daughters of Liberty. Their protests were usually a
little more subtle; for example, serving coffee at a party instead of tea to
protest the tax on tea.
22. Why could women not protest
outwardly?
More Laws and Taxes Passed by the King
More Laws and Taxes
Passed by the King
23. What law stated that British
Parliament could declare laws for
the colonies?
24. What did the Townshend Duties
tax?
Boston Massacre
25. How did the Boston Massacre
begin?
26. Why did the soldiers shoot into
the mob?
27. Explain why this was not really a
massacre and why it became
known as one.
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 Declaratory Act—stated that Parliament had the right to pass
laws for the colonies—again the colonists were not happy
because they have no representation in the British gov’t to help
make these laws.
 Townshend duties—taxed paper, glass, paint, lead and tea.
FYI--The Regulator movement that we learned about was going on about the
same time the Townshend Duties were passed.
Boston Massacre
In 1770, a mob of angry citizens in Boston insulted and began throwing
snowballs & ice chunks at British soldiers standing guard. The
soldiers panicked and opened fire on the mob killling five people and
wounding six others. Using propaganda, the newspapers, blew the
event out of proportion. The event was called the Boston Massacre and
the colonists cried out for justice for the colonies.
The Controversy Over Tea
and the Boston Tea Party
The Controversy Over Tea and the Boston Tea
Party
28. By 1770, what product had the
King not repealed the tax from?
By 1770, the King had repealed almost all of the taxes except for the
one on tea. The colonists were pleased, but they still boycotted English
tea.
29. How did the boycott affect the
British East India Tea Company?
30. Under the tea act, who had a
monopoly in the tea market of the
colonies?
31. Even though the Tea Act was not
a tax and it lowered the price of
tea, why were the colonists still
angry about it?
32. The people of Boston continued to
boycott English tea. In 1773, when
the ships arrived with tea, what did
the Sons of Liberty do?
Three years of boycotts went by and Britain’s East India Tea Company
was nearly bankrupt. To encourage the colonists to buy English tea,
the King passed the Tea Act which was not a tax. It actually cut the
price of tea so much that even with the tax, it was still cheaper than the
smuggled tea. This act gave the British East India Company exclusive
rights to sell tea in the colonies (a monopoly). Parliament passed the
Tea Act to try to help_ the company. Colonists were still angry though
and the Sons of Liberty feared that the availability of cheap tea would
threaten the effectiveness of the boycott. That, in turn, would make the
colonists less likely to fight for their equal rights and for representation.
The Boston Tea Party
In 1773 several shiploads full of millions of dollars worth of tea came
into the Boston Harbor to be unloaded. The ships were told by the Sons
of Liberty to leave or else. After the deadline was up, and the ships
were still sitting in the Harbor, the Sons of Liberty dressed as Native
Americans, snuck onto the ships and dumped the tea into the ocean.
This was known as the Boston Tea Party_.
The Charles Town and Georgetown Tea Parties
While the people of Boston protested with the Boston Tea Party,
Charles Town and Georgetown, SC were involved in one of their own.
When ships arrived in the two SC harbors loaded down with chests of
tea, the Sons of Liberty hosted their own “tea parties” here as well.
33. What two locations in SC also had
“tea parties”?
The Colonists in Charles Town stole the tea and hid it in the Old
Exchange Building. They sold the tea for weapons during the
American Revolution.
34. What happened during the
Charleston Tea Party?
The King Reacts to the
Boston Tea Party with the
Intolerable Acts
35. What 2 reasons was the King
furious with the tea parties?
36. For what reason did the King pass
the Intolerable Acts?
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The King Reacts to the Boston Tea Party with the
Intolerable Acts
This tea was worth millions and the king was furious—not just because
of the money, but also because the colonists were getting out of hand
and not respecting English law_. He passed the Intolerable Acts to
punish the colonists.
The Americans Summon a
Continental Congress
37. Who were the SC delegates for the
First Continental Congress?
38. What group was created to be the
law in SC since the colony had
chosen to no longer maintain
loyalty to the King.
39. How did the SC delegates feel
about independence?
40. What 2 things did the First
Continental Congress decide we
needed to do just in case of war?
41. To boycott British goods, they
passed what 2 agreements?
42. What product did SC want to
continue to export?
43. Why did SC feel they needed to
continue the export of rice?
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The Americans Summon a Continental Congress
In 1774, colonial leaders met in Philadelphia for the First Continental
Congress. Representatives from SC met in Charles Town and choose
the SC delegates to the Continental Congress. Christopher Gadsden
and Edward Rutledge were chosen as our representatives. The group
also established a General Committee of 99 to govern SC. This group
would be the government of SC for the time being since they were
defying the King’s authority.
At the First Continental Congress, the discussion of independence_
began and the men from SC were in supuport of independence from the
British government. At this meeting, several decisions were made, but
two key decisions were…
1. To begin forming an armyof some sort and begin stockpiling
weapons just in case they ended up at war.
2. The continuation of the boycott on English goods, by creating
the non-importation and non-exportation agreement. This
simply meant that the colonies would not import or _export
goods to or from England. Gadsden and Rutledge argued that
SC rice should be removed from the list of forbidden exports
because rice was essential to the survival of SC. The
Continental Congress allowed SC to continue the rice trade.
In the next chapter, we will see how the war actually began.