Chapter 5 Toward IndependencePaul

Revere’s Midnight Ride as

depicted by

Grant Woods

• At the end of the French and Indian War, in 1763 the British treasury was depleted, and as English citizens were already taxed so high that to increase their taxes could lead to a rebellion in England, British Parliament determined that since protecting the colonies was such a high cost, the colonist should start paying their own way. This meant enforcing the Navigation acts. In addition to enforcement,

new taxes would be created Including import duties on sugar

and tobacco and excise levies on salt, beer and distilled spirits.

(Hard Liquor)

• Radical Whigs & conservative party landlords interpreted the results of the great war for Empire to mean that the “monied Interest” i.e. the Bankers who paid for the war- were now in control of the government.

• In protesting the Sugar Act in 1764, the Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives shifted the terms of debate from a revenue squabble to a confrontation over the “constitutional requirement of “no taxation without representation.” Protest subsided and the Sugar Act stayed, but the organizations of protest and the cry of “no taxation without Representation remained.• The Sugar act did not bring enough revenue to

the British, but it did encourage them to introduce more taxes. The next tax was the Stamp Act in 1765. Prime Minister George Grenville Imposed the Stamp act as a way for Colonists to pay for their own military support.

• It was a tax on all official documents (marriage, Property, wills, etc.) and you knew you paid the tax because there was a seal (stamp) placed on the document . would be out voted by the body of parliament.

At the same time they passed the QUARTERING ACT… which compelled the Colonial governments to provide barracks and food for the additional British soldiers.

Once again the Colonists Protested. Ben Franklin Proposed that American colonists be given representatives in Parliament to settle the issue, but Parliament, With the exception of William Pitt, Parliament rejected the idea, and said that the Colonies had “VIRTUAL” Representation because all citizens were represented by Parliament…. Most colonists did not like Franklin’s Idea either, because the few representatives they would be given would be out voted by the body of parliament.

• The Colonist had a more concerted effort to end the Stamp Act. They tarred and feathered tax collectors and the organized a boycott of British products, So that British Merchants demanded Parliament repeal the Stamp act. Lord Rockingham’s Ministry replaced Grenville’s and crafted a compromise in 1766 where they Repealed The Stamp act and sent a stern “Declaratory act” to the colonies asserting Parliament’s supreme authority to rule the colonies as they pleased. The Rockingham ministry fell apart shortly there after, and the King appointed William Pitt to be the Prime Minister.

• William Pitt was frequently, chronically ill, and so the Exchequer Charles Townsend, ran the government in his place. Townsend thought he could Tax the Colonists Indirectly (or impose an external tax) through import taxes levied before the paper, glass, paint, and tea products made it to the colonies, and the colonists would not notice it…. The tax would also pay the salaries of the Governors and other officials, so they would not be restrained by the power of colonial legislative purses.• The Colonists noticed and they Boycotted,

Tarred and feathered and protested again.• British Merchants convinced parliament for

the need to repeal. But The British sent an additional number of troops to Boston to confront the protestors.

• Townsend Also Imposed the Revenue Act of 1767, which reorganized the Customs service and created four vice-admiralty courts in colonial cities which threatened American autonomy.• Then he imposed the Restraining Act, which suspended the New York assembly

until the Port of New York obeyed the Quartering act and paid for the housing of soldiers..

• Parliament was in a constant tug-of-war between the Whigs, who believed the colonies were more valuable as a supplier of resources and a market for finished products, then it was a source of tax revenue…. And the conservatives who wanted to take a hard line against the colonies and enforce the supremacy of British rule, as well as compel taxes. When Lord North became Prime Minister, in 1770, He tried to Compromise by repealing all of the Townshend taxes except the Tea Tax.

• In April of 1770, a crowd of angry citizens converged on British soldiers at their guard post. The Soldiers in panic, fired into the crowd killing five civilians, one was an escaped Mulatto slave named Crispus Attucks, an unemployed dock worker. A Patriot, James Bowdoin wrote “ A Short Narrative of the Horrid Massacre In Boston” which accused the British of deliberately planning the killing. Others like publisher Samuel Adams perpetuated the story of the

“Massacre” John Adams, cousin of Sam Adams, stood up

to defend the soldiers and got them all off except one.

There was Much resentment of the Soldiers’ presence in Boston In addition to other reasons Soldiers were taking jobs away from civilians, so not all of thehostility was political.

• In 1773, It appeared that the Navigation Acts was actually hurting the British East India Tea Company, and since the biggest stockholder was the King, Parliament stepped in to help.• Because of the navigation acts, tea from India had to be brought to England to be sold to

a middleman (a British Merchant) before it could go on to the American colonies, this increased prices severely and made black market tea from the Dutch East India Tea Company so much cheaper that 90% of the tea sold in the colonies was Dutch. The Tea Act allowed British Tea to go directly to the colonies, cutting out the Middle man, so that now British tea was more competitive (cheaper) …. Even though there was a three cent tax on it. The Colonists still protested, “no taxation without representation. The Sons of liberty dressed up like Indians, boarded a ship, The Dartmouth, and Dumped the tea, valued at 10,000 pounds, into the harbor.

• The Kings tea, in todays terms would have been worth $1,000,000.00, So Parliament determined to punish all of Boston for this affront, passed the Coercive Acts, (also Known as the Intolerable Acts) which amongst other things, Closed Boston harbor until the tea was paid for. In response to the Coercive acts, the Patriot leaders called for a meeting of the First Continental Congress. Representatives from New England advocated both political Union and defensive military preparations. Others were not ready to prepare for war and a middle course was taken.

The 1st congress passed a Declaration of Rights and Grievances, which demanded the repeal of the Coercive Acts.

The “Patriot Movement” was strongest in the port cities where trade issues had greater impact on citizens, but for the movement to grow and be successful it would have to extend into the rural areas. Farmers Generally stayed out of politics. Their loyalties were at home with their families and their communities. The British demand that the sons of farmers should be drafted into the British military service, would push farmers into the patriot side of the conflict.Chesapeake Slave Owners rallied to the Patriot cause because they were concerned The British would seize control of the courts and especially the assemblies in the South, if they succeeded in doing so in Massachusetts .

The Patriot movement was a minority movement, many Americans chose, at least at first, to be left out, and some determined to stay loyal to the King. The Loyalists were Businessmen with military contracts, well to do lawyers, royal officials, and Ministers of the church of England. Their greatest fear was that this would unleash Mob Rule in the Colonies. as one Loyalist stated: “ No man can be in more abject state of bondage than he whose Reputation, Property, and Life are exposed to the discretionary violence… of the community.”

End of Chapter 5