Level 1
Essential Questions
 How did colonial protests against Britain escalate?
 What specific British policies galvanized public
opinion in the colonies?
Vocabulary
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Zenger Case: Court case that promoted the freedom of the press
Proclamation of 1763: forbade the settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains
Sugar Act: tax on sugar
Currency Reform: didn’t allow colonist to use paper money and had to pay taxes in hard
currency
Stamp Act: tax on paper
Declaratory Act: declared Parliament in control of colonies and could tax them
Townshend Acts: import tax on glass, lead, paint, paper and tea and gave the ability to
search property
Boston Massacre: British soldiers killed five people that were part of the hostile crowd
around them.
Tea Act: tax on tea
Intolerable Acts: closed the port of Boston, one town meeting a year, British officials
charged with a crime would be tried in Britain, British officials could quarter troops
wherever they chose in a town, allowed Catholicism and French civil law in Canada
Sons of Liberty: organization of rebels set on rebelling against British laws
Rebels: (Patriots) wanted to rebel against Britain and start their own country
Loyalists: loyal to the King and wanted to stay with Britain
Common Sense: pamphlet by Thomas Paine that called for the creation of an American
independent republic
New British Attitude Toward Colonies
Following Victory Over France
 The British thought that the:
 colonies could not protect themselves
 colonies were not paying a fair amount toward their
support
New British Policies Antagonized Many Americans
 Zenger Case 1735
 Editor of the New York Weekly
Journal
 He was put on trial for printing
false and rebellious statements
about colonial officials.
 His defense was that his
statements were not wrong
because they were true.
 Zenger was found innocent.
 Importance of the Case:
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Idea that freedom of the press was
a right.
New British Policies Antagonized Many Americans
 Proclamation of 1763: forbade the
settlement west of the Appalachian
Mountains
 Why did the British make the
Proclamation of 1763?
 Britain could not defend the frontier
because there were more attacks by
Native Americans on settlements
and forts.
 Why did the Proclamation of 1763
anger colonists?
 They saw the French and Indian
War as a way to settle the land past
the Appalachian Mountains.
New British Policies Antagonized Many Americans
 Introducing the Tax Acts
New British Policies Antagonized Many Americans
 The Sugar Act: (1764) lowered taxes on molasses and
placed a tax on sugar, indigo, coffee, wines and linens.
 Purpose: help pay for the protection of the colonies
 Importance: raised the question of taxation without
representation
 Effect: colonists were upset about the tax since the
money collected from it was revenue to pay for colonial
expenses, instead of a tax to regulate trade
New British Policies Antagonized Many Americans
 Currency Reform (1764): made colonists use coins
made of gold or silver instead of paper money; there
was not a lot of this in the colonies.
 Purpose: silver and gold are more reliable than paper
money.
New British Policies Antagonized Many Americans
 The Stamp Act: (1765) documents had to be written or printed on
paper carrying a stamp from the British treasury office
 Purpose: raise money to protect the colonies
 What and who did this affect?
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colonial industry and trade; lawyers, merchants and editors.
 Effects:
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Virginia made the Virginia Resolves that said Parliament had no right to tax
the colonies without representation and that only the Virginia legislature
could tax Virginians
Stamp Act Congress: said only colonial legislatures could tax the colonists.
They agreed to not purchase British goods showing the colonies could work
together.
The Sons of Liberty coordinated the colonies resistance to British policy.
Made the issues between Britain and the colonies known:
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Status of colonists in the British Empire
Taxation powers of Parliament over the colonies
 Parliament repealed, took away, the Stamp Act in 1766.
New British Policies Antagonized Many Americans
 Declaratory Act: (1766)
stated Parliament had
power over the colonies in
“all cases whatsoever.” This
meant it had the right to
tax the colonies.
New British Policies Antagonized Many Americans
 Townshend Acts: (1767-1770)
 import tax on glass, lead,
paint, paper and tea.
 Made a Board of
Commissioners in the
colonies to enforce the
Navigation Acts and tax
collection.
 Writs of Assistance: search
warrants by British custom
officials allowed them to
search businesses, homes and
ships for smuggled goods.
New British Policies Antagonized Many Americans
 The Townshend Acts (1767-1770) (Continued)
 What was the purpose of the Townshend Acts?
 Raise money to defend the colonies
 Why were the colonists against them?
 They were taxes to raise revenue and not a trade
regulation.
 Taxation without representation
 Searching and seizing without probable cause was wrong.
 How did the colonists resist the Townshend Acts?
 Tarred and feathered custom agents
 Harassed troops that had tried to keep peace and order.
New British Policies Antagonized Many Americans
 The Boston Massacre (March 5,
1770):
 British soldiers killed five people
that were part of the angry
crowd around them.
 Effects:
 published in newspapers as a
massacre against unarmed
colonists with engravings by
Paul Revere and pamphlets by
Samuel Adams
 anti-British feeling increased
 Following the link below to view
a short Video
http://www.history.com/shows/
america-the-story-ofus/videos/boston-massacre
New British Policies Antagonized Many Americans
 The Tea Act (1773): Britain allowed the East India Company
to bring tea right to the colonies instead of having to go to
Britain first. This made British tea cost ½ of what smuggled
tea cost.
 Why were the colonists against it?
 Taxation without representation
 Effect: The Boston Tea Party
 Men dressed as Mohawk Indians went on 3 ships in Boston
Harbor and threw tea into the Boston harbor.
 Following the link below to view a short Video
http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/americanrevolution-history/videos/the-sons-of-liberty-and-the-bostontea-party
New British Policies Antagonized Many Americans
 Intolerable Acts: (1774) was a response to the Boston Tea Party and
consisted of 5 acts.
Boston Port Act: closed the port of Boston until the colonist paid for tea
Massachusetts Government Act: allowed one town meeting a year;
colonists couldn’t elect representatives to the upper house of their
legislature; they were appointed by the Crown.
Administration of Justice Act: if officials of the Crown committed a crime
while enforcing British laws, the trial could be moved to Great Britain.
The Quartering Act (1774): British officials could quarter troops wherever
they chose in a town.
The Quebec Act: to keep the loyalty of the French; allowed Catholicism
and French civil law in Canada and created the boundaries of Quebec as
the Ohio River on the south, the Mississippi River on the west, and the
Proclamation Line of 1763 on the east. The colonists had two problems
with this act:
1.
2.
3.
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5.
1.
2.
Protestants hated the Catholics
Changed colonial charters claims to lands west of the Appalachian Mountains
Public Opinion was Shaped in Different Forums
 Political bodies
 Sons of Liberty: was formed
by a group of artisans and
shop keepers in response to
the Stamp Act
 Loyalists: colonists who
stayed loyal to the Crown
throughout and after the
American Revolution
 Rebels (Patriots): colonists
that resisted British policies
and eventually wanted
independence which many
of them fought for
Public Opinion was Shaped in Different Forums
 Public display and
demonstration
 Boston Tea Party
 Harassment of the soldiers
before the Boston
Massacre
 Tar and feathering of
custom agents
Public Opinion was Shaped in Different Forums
 Print media
 “Common Sense”: pamphlet by
Thomas Paine that called for
the creation of an American
independent republic
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Wanted to end of the Crown and
nobility
Wanted a republic to get its power
from the people it governed
Influenced the writers of the US
Constitution and they prohibited
grants of titles and nobility
 Paul Revere: Engraving of the
Boston Massacre
Thomas Paine
Wide Variety of Viewpoints Evolved
 Complete separation
 More autonomy for the colonies
 No change in status quo: the Loyalist position
Review Questions
What was the British Attitude Towards the colonist?
What incident helped establish Freedom of the Press?
Why did the Proclamation of 1763 anger the colonist?
Why did the British start placing tax3es on the Colonist?
What was the colonist reaction to these taxes?
Whose fault is the Boston Massacre?