Download What were the Causes of dissatisfaction in the Colonies

What were the Causes of
Dissatisfaction in the Colonies
Paying the Dept
• The British government
wanted the Americans to
pay for the dept occurred
during the 7 Years War
• British politicians blamed
the American colonists
for causing trouble with
the French and First
Nations
Rich Rule the World
• Europe was still ruled by
the rich
- Less than 5% of people
could vote
- Ordinary people have no
political power
The British needed money
and wanted the colonies to
provide
1764 Sugar Act
• British government
passed the Sugar Act
which changed taxation
on sugar and its byproducts such as
molasses
• The price of sugar and
rum increased
• Colonists protested by
refusing to buy products
with sugar
1765 Stamp Act
• Took the form of a stamp
that had to be purchased
and stuck on items bought
and sold
• Stamps had to be bought
for documents ex. License
• Affected everyone- made
everything more expensive
• Colonists responded with
violence and anger
“No Taxation Without Representation”
• American enraged at
all of the taxes
• American colonists
had no
representatives in
British parliament
- Felt like they were
being taxed without
their consent
Try to Make Me!
• Officials sent out to enforce
the Stamp Act were
attacked
- Public outraged!!!
- Mobs destroyed houses of
government officials
- Tarred and feathered
collectors
Act was repealed in 1766 as
most were afraid to enforce
it
Townshend Acts of 1767
• Imposed duties on glass,
lead, paints, paper and
tea imported into the
colonies.
• Britain wanted to prove
that it could tax the
colonies as it saw fit
Townshend Acts Repealed
• In 1770, Parliament
repealed all the
Townshend duties except
the tax on tea
• Tax on tea kept to
support the British East
India Company who
controlled the supply of
tea
Liberty
•The state of being free
within society from
oppressive restrictions
imposed by authority
on one's way of life,
behavior, or political
views.
•James Madison wrote
the first drafts of the
U.S. Constitution and
4th president of the US
Resistance Growing
• British troops were
stationed throughout the
colonies
- To combat growth of
open resistance
• Local families were
forced to put soldiers up
in their houses
- Called quartering
Boston Massacre of 1770
• A street fight that occurred
on March 5, 1770, between
"patriot" protesters,
throwing snowballs, stones,
and sticks, and a squad of
British soldiers.
• The soldiers fired into the
mob, killing 3 on the spot
and wounding 8 others
Boston Massacre Impact
• It led directly to the Royal Governor evacuating
the occupying army from the town of Boston.
• It would soon bring the revolution to armed
rebellion throughout the colonies.
• It became an anti-British propaganda tool for
the patriot colonists
Sons of Liberty
• Organized groups of
American Patriots who
challenged the British
government at every
opportunity
• Dedicated to resisting
British taxes and trade
restrictions
• By the end 1765 the Sons
of Liberty existed in
every colony.
Boston Tea Party- Story Time
• On the night of December
16, 1773, the Sons of
Liberty boarded three
ships in the Boston harbor
• Dressed as Mohawks
• Threw 342 chests of tea
overboard.
• This resulted in the
Intolerable Acts of 1774
and pushed the two sides
closer to war.
A political protest by the Sons of
Liberty in Boston, on December 16,
1773.
• Purpose was to:
- protest against the Tea Act
that still protected the
British East India
Company
- Protest the Boston
merchants because they
refused to boycott
shipments of tea coming
into the harbour
Boston Tea Party Significance
• This was a powerful
message that colonists
were tired of unfair
taxation and would
give up something they
loved in order to
standup to the
government
Intolerable Acts 1774
• acts established by the
British government
created to punish
Bostonians for their Tea
Party and assert British
dominance
• American colonists
believed that the acts
violated their natural and
constitutional rights and
freedoms
• The Boston Port Act: closed the port of Boston until
the East India Company was paid for the lost tea.
• Massachusetts Government Act: modified the
Massachusetts Charter of 1691, taking away many of
its rights of self-government.
Administration of Justice Act: provided that British
officials accused of committing crimes in a colony might
be taken to England for trial.
• The Quartering Act: allowed the British to quarter
British soldiers in colonial buildings at the expense of the
colonists, including colonists' homes, if there were
insufficient space in other buildings.
• The Quebec Act: extended the boundaries of the
province of Quebec.
First Continental Congress September
1774
• all colonies except Georgia
sent delegates to the First
Continental Congress in
Philadelphia
• met in reaction to the
Intolerable Acts
- Leaders demanded a boycott
of British goods and began
cutting economic ties with
Britain
• From 1774 to 1789, the
Continental Congress served
as the government for the
colonies
Preparing for Conflict
• The British react to the
Continental Congress
by reading thousands
of British troops in
Boston
• In turn, patriotic
colonists began to
train and collect
weapons and
ammunition
Don’t Bite the Hand that Feeds You
American colony leaders
found it difficult to
organize opposition to the
British
• Most people had closer ties
to Britain than the colonies
• Many dependent on trade
with Britain
• Many owned property back
in the home country
Join or Die