Download Notes on Acts

Notes on Acts
I. Background
A. British citizens already heavily taxed
B. Greenville thought colonists should share the financial load because
1. colonies had become more expensive to run due to stationing of soldiers and cost of
new territory
2. colonist benefited more than the people of England
C. Trade Laws
1. designed to stop colonies from trading with other nations
2. colonists typically ignored
3. colonist had never questioned the right of Parliament to pass trade laws since they
had regulated colonial trade for a while
D. Colonists used to direct representation
1. almost all head of household white males could vote
2. representatives in colonial assemblies spoke directly for people that elected them
3. colonial assemblies were composed of colonists and thus knew the taxes colonists
could afford
4. colonial representatives had to pay the taxes as well
5. Parliament didn’t know colonists this well and Parliament did not have to pay the
taxes they imposed on the colonies—even more, by taxing the colonies, the people
in England paid less taxes
6. thus colonists denied idea of virtual representation and said colonial interests could
only be represented by colonial assemblies and thus only colonial assemblies could
tax colonies
II. Sugar Act
A. Greenville prompted Parliament to pass in 1764
B. did 3 things
1. halved duty on foreign-made molasses (hoped colonists would pay lower tax than
risk arrest)
2. placed duties on previously untaxed imports
3. strengthen enforcement of laws- allowed prosecutors to try smugglers in a viceadmiralty court as opposed to a colonial court
a. one judge, no jury
b. judge received 5% of any cargo the court confiscated from convicted
smugglers
c. guilty until proven innocent (Opposite of British law!)
d. Could be tried in a distant location (ex. tried in Nova Scotia when live in
Georgia)
C. Colonists’ Reactions
1. complained the Act would decrease profits
a. thought would wipe out trade with non-British West Indies suppliers
b. argued without this profit, they could not continue to buy British goods at the
rate they had been and thus British businesses would lose more money than
was gained in the tax
2. felt Britain was violating their rights
3. claimed Britain had no right to tax because they had no representation in Parliament
D. Really only effected merchants and trader
III. Stamp Act, February-March 1765
A. First tax that directly affected colonists because it was levied on goods and services
1. previous taxes were indirect because they involved duties on imports
B. Impacted ALL colonists- rich and poor
C. Required colonists to purchase stamped paper for legal documents, licenses, newspapers,
pamphlets and almanacs, and placed special duties on things such as playing cards and dice
D. Colonist Reactions
1. With passage of the act, many colonists realized their interests were different and
colonial political leaders began mobilizing working class
2. Worried if the law took effect, Parliament’s right to tax colonies would be set
3. Sons of Liberty
a. Colonists heard about Act in May; Boston shopkeepers, artisans, and
laborers organized a secret resistance group called Sons of Liberty
(1) One founder was Sam Adams
b. Sons of Liberty threatened and harassed customs agents and royal governors
c. Believed if could get stamp distributor in each colony to quit, the law could
never go into effect
(1) successful- all agents quit but Georgia’s
(2) act only went into effect briefly in Georgia
4. Many colonial assemblies passed measures stating England’s inability to tax colonies
directly
a. most famous was Virginia Resolves
5. Boycotts
a. Merchants added their power to the protest
b. October 1765, about 200 NY traders agreed to a non-import policy of British
goods until Act repealed
(1) Violation of mercantilism
c. Boston and Philadelphia merchants followed suit
d. Colonists figured since they imported about 40% of British exports, British
merchants would force Parliament to respond
6. Stamp Act Congress
a. October 1765, delegates from nine colonies met in NYC and issued a
Declaration of Colonial Rights and Grievances
b. stated Parliament lacked power to impose taxes on subjects because colonists
were not represented in Parliament and colonists had same rights and
liberties as the King’s subjects in England
E. British Response to Stamp Act Congress
1. Parliament responded by defending their right to tax colonies
2. Agreed Britons could only be taxed with consent or consent of their representatives
3. Argued colonists represented
a. They may not have voted, but 90% of people in Britain didn’t either
b. Argued all Britons had virtual representation
c. Parliament members defended interests of all, not just those of the people
that elected them
d. Thus Parliament could tax colonists as it could all Britons
F. Colonial response
1. colonists denied idea of virtual representation and said colonial interests could only
be represented by colonial assemblies and thus only colonial assemblies could tax
colonies (see I, D for explanation)
2. Colonial attitudes had changed- few still thought of British government as friends
still
3. By 1774, Committees of Correspondence formed a communication network linking
colonial leaders
G. Colonial actions worked!
1. Act repealed March 1766
IV. Declaratory Act
A. Passed same at same time as repeal of Stamp Act
B. Asserted Parliament’s full right to make laws to “bind the colonies and people of
America… in all cases.”
C. Done to make power of Parliament clear- it could pass any law it desired for the colonists
V. Townshend Acts
A. Charles Townshend, newly appointed minister decided on a new way to gain revenue from
the colonies- Parliament passed series of laws in June 1767, collectively known as
Townshend Act
B. Indirect tax (custom duties) on imports of glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea
C. Money raised was used to pay salaries of royal governors which had been paid by colonists;
took away exclusive right to tax colonies\cut power over Governors and royal officials
D. Colonial Reactions
1. Considered it a tax law
2. Protested, boycotted, and spoke out
3. Women of all ranks stopped buying British luxuries and joined spinning bees
a. Spinning bees were public display of spinning and weaving of colonial made
cloth to show determination to boycott British cloth
b. Shared tea recipes
c. Sometimes called themselves Daughters of Liberty
E. All repealed on March 5, 1770 (same day as Boston Massacre) with exception of tax on tea
VI. Tea Act, May 1773
A. Lord Frederick North became Prime Minister in 1770
B. Designed to help struggling British East India Tea Company
1. Allowed British East India Tea Company to sell tea directly to colonists tax-free
a. cut out tea seller that had to pay the taxes
2. Hoped to make British Tea cheaper than smuggled tea from the Netherlands
C. Colonial Response
1. Colonists felt it was a trick to get them to pay a tax on tea
2. Patriots wanted to keep British tea out of colonies
a. Local committees in Philadelphia and NY convinced captains of ships
carrying British teas to turn around and go back to England without
unloading tea
b. Charleston- tea ship entered but no one claimed shipment customs agents
seized tea and locked it in basement of custom’s house
c. Boston unable to get tea ship to turn around but thought seized tea would
end up in circulation—will continue this situation with the Boston Tea Party
VII. Intolerable Acts, March to May, 1774
A. King George III furious by the organized destruction of British property an pressed
Parliament to act
B. Parliament passed a series of measures as punishment for the Boston Tea Party
C. Became known as the Intolerable Acts in the colonies because they were viewed as
unbearable
D. Individual Acts
1. Quartering Act, March 24, 1774
a. Authorized British commanders to house soldiers in vacant private homes
and building
2. Boston Port Bill, June 1, 1774
a. Closed the port of Boston until damages from the Boston Tea Party were
paid
3. Administration of Justice Act, May 20, 1774
a. stated British officials could not be tried in provincial courts for capital
crimes  They would be extradited back to Britain and tried there 
effectively gave British free reign to do whatever they wished, because no
justice would be served while they were still in the colonies
4. Massachusetts Government Act, May 20, 1774
a. Annulled charter of Massachusetts, giving the British Governor complete
control of the town meetings, and taking control out of the hands of the
colonialists
b. General Thomas Gage, Commander in Chief of British forces in North
America, appointed new Governor of Massachusetts,
(1) arrived in Boston in May 1774
(2) placed Massachusetts under martial law to keep the peace
VIII. Wrap-up
A. King George had hoped to single out and isolate Massachusetts but actually helped
strengthen colonial unity
B. Colonist rallied to support Boston
1. sent food and money to Bostonians out of work due to dock closure
C. Committees of correspondences acted quickly and assembled the first Continental
Congress