Journal # 15

1. Boycott – when people refuse to buy certain goods • Repeal – to end, usually refers to a law • Propaganda – information giving only one side in an argument • Writs of assistance – special forms which allowed tax collectors to search for smuggled goods Journal #15

2. Trouble in the Colonies 5.3 and 5.4

3. What was the name of the war fought between the Wampanoag and the English settlers? • How did the French and Indian War start off? Who eventually won? • What was the name of the treaty that ended the French and Indian War? • This law prohibited settlers from living west of the Appalachian Mountains Bonus Questions

4. Britain was in debt because of the French and Indian War (Seven Year’s War) • Britain was also paying money to keep an army in North America to protect colonists • Prime Minister George Grenville asked Parliament to tax the colonists Great Britain’s War Debts

5. The Sugar Act was passed by Parliament in 1764 • This law put taxes on molasses and sugar imported by colonists • This was the first act passed specifically to raise money, not to regulate trade The Sugar Act

6. Colonies cannot print their own money • Ships are searched for smuggled goods • Ships had to give officials a list of their goods • The British give courts the power to punish smugglers harshly • Courts had no juries • Suspected smugglers are guilty until proven innocent Other British Policies

7. Colonists begin to argue that Parliament cannot take property without personal consent or representation in government • James Otis and Samuel Adams are leaders they argued that: • The colonists were never asked about being taxed • The colonists had no representatives in Parliament • Colonial Assemblies did not influence Parliament • These two men spread the slogan – “no taxation without representation” Colonists Speak Out

8. Born in Boston, Massachusetts • 1 of 12 children (only 3 lived past age 3) • Came from a Puritan family • Graduated from Harvard, and was an unsuccessful tax collector and businessman before he became a politician • Spoke out against many British policies in the colonies • Started committees of correspondence which shared information about British laws and how to change them • Wrote a letter which further divided the British Parliament and Massachusetts and contributed to the Boston Massacre • Founding Father of the United States • Cousin of John Adams (2nd President) • Did he simply guide people toward independence or use propaganda to start mob violence? Samuel Adams (1722-1803)

9. Grenville proposed the Stamp Act in 1765 as an alternative to the Sugar Act • This act required colonists to pay for an official stamp every time they bought paper • Legal documents, licenses, newspapers, pamphlets, and playing cards • Those who refused to pay were fined or jailed • People paid similar taxes in Britain, but the colonists protested the Stamp Act immediately • A popular method of protesting British laws was the boycott The Stamp Act

10. In some places, colonists formed secret societies • Samuel Adams helped start the Sons of Liberty • These groups sometimes threatened tax collectors Secret Societies

11. In May 1765 he presents a series of resolutions to the House of Burgesses in Virginia • Says that the Stamp Act violates colonists’ rights • Taxation without representation, no jury trial • The Colonial Assembly of Virginia supports some of Henry’s ideas Patrick Henry

12. 1st and 6th post-colonial governor of Virginia • Known as one of the most influential, radical advocates of the American Revolution • Founding Father of the United States • “Give me Liberty, or Give me Death!” Patrick Henry

13. Word of Virginia’s action spreads and in October 1765 delegates from 9 colonies meet • They declare that the Stamp Act violates their rights and ask Parliament to repeal the act Repealing the Stamp Act

14. Pressure to repeal the act grows • London merchants said their trade was suffering from colonial boycotts • Benjamin Franklin tells Parliament that colonists will buy goods when the act is repealed • The Stamp Act is repealed in 1766 • The colonists celebrate with fireworks • They thank King George and promise to be loyal • Parliament is upset that the colonists have challenged their authority Repealing the Stamp Act

15. New Taxes and Tensions 5.4

16. In 1767 Parliament passed the Townshend Acts • Placed duties (tax) on imported glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea • The money paid for military costs and the salaries of colonial governors • The British had guaranteed there wouldn’t be a peacetime army without the colonists’ consent • The British used writs of assistance which allowed tax collectors to search for smuggled goods The Townshend Acts

17. Colonists hated these laws and began boycotting British goods • The Daughters of Liberty support the boycott • Colonial legislatures also protest the acts Response to the Townshend Acts

18. In 1768 tax collectors seize a ship on suspicion of smuggling • The owner of the ship, John Hancock, was unhappy • The Sons of Liberty support Hancock and begin attacking the houses of customs officials • Governor Francis Bernard breaks up the Massachusetts legislature and calls British troops in to Boston Response to the Townshend Acts

19. Colonists and British soldiers disliked each other – name calling and fights were common • On March 5, 1770 a British soldier got into a fight with a colonist • A crowd gathered and began throwing snowballs and shouting insults • As more people and troops arrive, the soldiers fire into the crowd, killing several colonists • Significance: one of the events that contributed to the American Revolution The Boston Massacre

20. Samuel Adams and others used the event as propaganda against the British • The soldiers and their officer are charged with murder, 6 are found not guilty, 2 are found guilty and given minor punishments • The soldiers’ lawyer was John Adams (Samuel’s cousin and future president) The Boston Massacre

21. To reduce tension, Parliament repealed almost all of the Townshend Acts except the tax on tea • The colonies were smuggling most of their tea to avoid the tax • The British pass the Tea Act in 1773 which would allow Britain to sell its tea to the colonies at very low prices • Colonial smugglers and merchants feared that cheap British tea would put them out of business A Tax on Tea

22. A ship carrying British tea arrived in Boston in 1773, two others arrived later • The Sons of Liberty demanded that the ships leave – the Massachusetts governor won’t let them leave • On the night of December 16, colonists disguised as Indians snuck onto the 3 ships and dumped 90,000 pounds into Boston Harbor The Boston Tea Party

23. The British were united against the colonists • It rallied support for revolutionary colonists like Samuel Adams • Other colonists, like Benjamin Franklin, thought it was wrong and wanted to repay England (Lord North) Reaction to the Boston Tea Party

24. Lord North and the British Parliament decide to punish Massachusetts for the Tea Party • In 1774, they pass the Coercive Acts, which colonists called the Intolerable Acts • Boston Harbor was closed until Boston paid for the lost tea • The Massachusetts charter is cancelled • Royal officials’ trials are moved to Britain • Colonists are forced to house and supply British soldiers (the Quartering Act) • General Thomas Gage becomes the new governor of Massachusetts The Intolerable Acts

25. The British hoped that these steps would bring back order and make Massachusetts an example • This backfired and made citizens even more angry at Britain • Colonial leaders in Boston propose a boycott of all British goods in the colonies Reaction to the Intolerable Acts