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AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY WAR. AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY WAR. CAUSES OF CONFLICT. NO TAXATION. WITHOUT REPRESENTATION. 1651. NAVIGATION ACTS
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1651 • NAVIGATION ACTS In the 1660’s, the British Parliament passed a series of acts designed to ensure and increase Britain’s wealth and carry out her policy of mercantilism. Mercantilism was the philosophy by where a country could establish colonies and trade with those colonies to increase the empire’s wealth. - Only ships built in England or the colonies could carry goods to and from the colonies
- Most of the sailors on the ships had to be from England or the colonies. - Ships carrying European goods to the colonies had to first stop in England, where England could collect taxes on the goods. - Enumerated Articles: Certain goods (tobacco, cotton, sugar) could only be shipped to England, where England would sell them to other countries.
BENEFITS OF NAVIGATION ACTS - Encouraged colonial shipbuilding - Made New England a center for shipbuilding - Ready English markets for Enumerated Articles DRAWBACKS OF NAVIGATION ACTS - Colonists felt England was treating them like children by telling them what they could and could not do - European goods cost more once shipped to England and taxed
TRADE WITH ENGLANDVALUE OF TRADE IN THOUSANDS OF STERLING POUNDS
COLONIAL RESPONSE TO NAVIGATION ACTS Colonists largely ignored many parts of the Navigation Acts. New England’s smuggling of goods became a constant practice for colonial shippers. This did not help England’s treasury.
1686 • DOMINION OF NEW ENGLAND Due to New England smuggling, in 1866, England’s King James II combined all the colonies from Massachusetts to New Jersey into the Dominion of New England. Colonial assemblies were dismissed and a military governor, Sir Edmund Andros, was placed to rule the region. In 1688, when James II was overthrown, the Dominion of New England was ended.
1763 • PROCLAMATION OF 1763 Due to the end of the French and Indian War, the colony of America extended west of the Appalachian Mountains to the Mississippi River. King George III said the Indians were now his loyal subjects and deserved protection. The proclamation forbid American settlers from moving west of the Appalachian Mountains. This angered colonists.
1763 • BRITISH DEBT After the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the British government found itself in huge debt. They had spent heavily on the French and Indian War to assure victory and expand their empire holdings in North America. The British Parliament thought it reasonable to pass some of the war’s expense on to its’ American Colonies.
1764 • SUGAR ACT Parliament approved the Sugar Act, which put a new tax on molasses. Molasses was used in the making of rum, a very vital product in triangular trade. The Sugar Act of 1764 replaced an earlier one, which had been higher. Merchants and shippers had ignored the earlier tax, and they did the same in 1764.
1765 • STAMP ACT Passed by Parliament, this act placed a tax on legal documents (marriage papers, playing cards, almanacs, newspapers, etc.). The stamp on products showed the tax had been paid. A Stamp Act existed in Britain, but never before had Parliament required the colonies to participate in one.
1765 • STAMP ACT CONGRESS Met in New York City. The Stamp Act Congress sent petitions to King George III and to Parliament, saying Parliament had no right to tax the colonies. Parliament and the king ignored the petitions. The Stamp Act Congress chose to impose a “boycott” of all British goods. As a result, British trade fell by 14% and British merchants suffered loss. In 1776, Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, but, passed the Declaratory Act, stating they could tax the colonies if they wished.
1766 • THE QUARTERING ACT OF 1766 This act said colonists would have to pay for the housing of British troops, which arrived in America to safeguard against protests and protect British customs officials. Colonists said the act was just another British attempt to force a tax on colonists, without their consent. Tents on the Boston Common were seen as a reminder that Britain was trying to bully the colonies.
1767 • TOWNSHEND ACTS Parliament passed the Townshend Acts, which taxed such items as glass, silk, paper, and lead. Customs officials were allowed to use “writs of assistance” to search warehouses and cargo ships for taxable items not bearing the tax stamp.
1767 • NONIMPORTATION AGREEMENT In response to the Townshend Acts, colonial merchants and planters signed these agreements, agreeing to stop importing British goods taxed under the Townshend Acts. Promoters of these agreements had to ensure full cooperation among American merchants for their effectiveness.
1767 • SONS OF LIBERTY • DAUGHTERS OF LIBERTY These groups formed during the Stamp Act protests. The Sons of Liberty agreed to stop drinking English tea and stop using any goods that were taxed by the British. The Daughters of Liberty wore dresses from homespun cloth, rather than from British cloth. Both the Sons and Daughters hung Lanterns in “Liberty Trees” and burned customs officers in effigy.
1770 • THE BOSTON MASSACRE On the night of March 5, 1770, a crowd of colonists gathered outside the Boston customs house. Colonists shouted insults, such as “lobsterbacks” at the British soldiers dressed in red coats. Colonists began throwing snowballs, oyster shells, and sticks at the soldiers. A shot rang out.
The soldiers fired into the crowd. When the smoke cleared, five colonists lay dead or dying. Sam Adams wrote the other colonies about the “Boston Massacre”, and Paul Revere made an engraving of the scene. Word spread of the incident and colonist’s anger grew.
1770 • COMMITTEES OF CORRESPONDENCE The Townshend taxes were repealed by Parliament. The tea tax was left to force colonists to accept that Parliament had the right to tax them. The colonists ended their boycott, but ignored the tax on tea. Sam Adams created the first Committees of Correspondence to keep colonists informed of future British actions. The committees helped unite the colonies against British taxes.
1773 • BOSTON TEA PARTY On the night of December 16, 1773, Sam Adams and other Sons of Liberty sent a letter to the Massachusetts Royal Governor Thomas Hutchinson, insisting three ships loaded with British tea leave Boston Harbor. The governor refused. The Sons of Liberty left their meeting and went home and dressed as Indians.
1773 • TEA ACT Parliament had passed the Tea Act to help the British East India Company, and to get the colonists to pay a hidden tea tax. Parliament assumed the colonists would readily purchase the less expensive tea directly from the British East India Company , and thereby accept the American tea merchants loss of business
The Sons of Liberty boarded the tea ships. Their leader ordered them to take tomahawks, chop into the tea chests, and throw the tea chests overboard. The job took three hours. 342 chests of tea floated in Boston Harbor. Most New England colonists praised this action. Some colonists worried this action may lead to lawlessness in the colonies. Benjamin Franklin condemned the action as wastefulness.
1774 • INTOLERABLE ACTS In response to the Boston Tea Party, the British Parliament: 1) Shut down Boston Harbor 2) Limited town meetings to one per year 3) British officials could only be tried in England 4) New Quartering Act - placing troops in homes
1774 • QUARTERING ACT Parliament passed the first Quartering Act in 1766, which required colonists to pay for the housing of British soldiers. In 1774, as part of the Intolerable Acts, the British Parliament passed the Quartering Act which required colonists to accept British soldiers in their homes.
1774 • QUEBEC ACT Parliament set up a government for Canada. This act protected the rights of French Canadians. The act included the land between the Ohio and Missouri Rivers. The Quebec Act angered American colonists because it placed a military governor over Canada and did not allow for an elected assembly.
