The Townshend Acts
- __________________________ was appointed minister of finance in 1766 which put him in charge of finance for Great Britain
- Like others before him, Townshend had little interest in the _____________________
- However, he saw them as a good source of _________ for Great Britain as Townshend was responsible for new set of tax laws
What Were the Townshend Acts?
- The Townshend Acts were passed in 1767 as these acts reduced the colonists' ____________________ to govern themselves
- New taxes were placed on many items important to the colonists, including _________, _____________, & ______________
- Protests became stronger than before as the colonists agreed to boycott _______ ______ and trade soon slowed down greatly
- The boycott hurt the British and it also caused serious problems for the colonial merchants
- Many people lost their jobs in _____________ ___________ where trade was important
- For many people, it became harder to make a living and easier to be angry at the __________________
What Fight Did Samuel Adams Lead?
- _______________, the largest city in New England, soon became the center of action against this new British taxation policy
- Samuel Adams, a member of the Massachusetts legislature, organized ________ _________________ in Boston
- A group called the ______ of _____________, first set up in 1765 to protest the Stamp Act, took charge of the city
- Great Britain sent extra regiments of troops to Boston to protect ______ ____________________
- Fights broke out between soldiers and towns-people
- By the beginning of 1770, about _____________ British soldiers were in Boston
- The soldiers were in daily contact with _________________ Bostonians under Samuel Adams
What Was the Boston Massacre?
- One evening early in March of ____________, a crowd gathered near a group of British soldiers
- The crowd began throwing ____________ and _______________ at the soldiers
- The soldiers then fired a round of shots into the crowd
- The first to fall was a free African, ________________________
- A few colonists were killed, and several were wounded
- News of the ___________ _____________, as it was called, spread throughout the colonies
- The people of Boston demanded that the British soldiers be removed from the ______________
How the Government Reacted to the Boston Massacre
- The _______________ of Massachusetts agreed to remove the soldiers to prevent more trouble
- The same day, all of the Townshend taxes were repealed except for the tax on __________
- Great Britain had lost a good deal of money due to the __________________
- It was believed that the tax on tea was kept mainly as a symbol of the British __________ to __________
How Did the Colonists Organize and Protest?
- The colonies steadily lost much of their earlier freedom as British ____________, chosen by the king, could do as they pleased
- British governors became very __________
- ____________ _________ encouraged the leaders of cities to meet & talk about what to do about the British
- The committees wrote strong statements of American __________ & _____________
- The statements were given out all over the colonies
- This helped to bring the _____________ ________________ in opposing their common enemy, the British
- Neither King George III nor Parliament took the colonists seriously
- The king looked upon the colonies as weak and certainly as no match for the mighty British _______& _________
The Mason-Dixon Line
Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, set up the boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania between 1763-176. This
boundary is called the Mason-Dixon line. After Mason and Dixon set up the boundary, it became a symbol of the division
between the North and the South
Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784)
Phillis Wheatley was the first acknowledged African poet in America. A native of Africa, she was born around 1753. At age
eight, she was kidnapped and taken on a slave ship to Boston. There she was purchased by a wealthy tailor as a servant for his
wife. Unlike most enslaved Africans, Wheatley was allowed to learn to read write English. She studied Greek mythology,
history, and poetry. At age 13 she wrote her first poem, "To the University of Cambridge in New England." Her first book was
published when she was 20. Despite her early reputation, she was very poor and practically unknown when she died at age 30.
Thought Provoker
Do you think Samuel Adams was right to organize protests that often ended up in fights? (Why or Why Not?)
Writing about History: Homework Assignment
Write a one-page letter to a family member living back in Britain about what happened at the Boston Massacre as if you were
really there. Talk about how the event changed you as a person.