Road to the Revolutionary War:Acts and Taxes

Ms. Koleczek/Mrs. AndersonTeam Voyager

Words to Know!• Writ of assistance-legal document that enabled

officers to search homes and warehouses for goods that might be smuggled

• Internal tax- taxes paid inside the colonies• External tax- taxes paid when goods entered the

colonies• Act- a legal document stating the ideas of a

committee (In our case, taxes)• Coercive- to force someone to do something they

do not want to do using intimidation (In our case, taxes)

Why Create the Acts?

• Britain was in great debt after the French and Indian War– William Pitt (Secretary of

State of Britain) used any measure possible to secure victory

– Created a giant amount of debt for the country

Why Create the Acts?

• Britain prohibited Colonists from moving west of the Appalachians to secure a constant trade source– To enforce this policy, the King placed 10,000

troops at the border– How will the King pay his soldiers? Tax the

Colonists!

Navigation Acts

• Originally created in 1651• Strictly enforced in 1760 by writs of assistance– Why? Starting to gain debt from the French and

Indian War!• External tax• Purpose– Anything imported or exported from the Colonies had

to be shipped on British ships– 75% of crew had to be British– ONLY ALLOWED COLONIES TO TRADE WITH BRITAIN!

The Sugar Act

• Created in 1764• External tax• Purpose– Lowered the tax on imported molasses• Hoped this would encourage Colonists to pay the tax

and not smuggle cheaper sugar in from other countries– Allowed officers to seize (or take without

permission) goods from smugglers without going to court

– Also taxed: wine, whale fins, silk

The Currency Act

• Created in 1764• Got rid of Colonists’ form of money– What did the Colonists have to use now? British

pound• The pound was based on gold, but there were not gold

mines in the Colonies-Where did the colonies get the pounds? Britain shipped them over.

• Why would this upset the Colonists?– They now had to depend on Britain for one more

thing: their money source. They lost some independence!

The Stamp Act• Created in 1765• First internal tax!• Purpose– Taxed most printed products: newspapers, wills, land

deeds, legal documents and playing cards– All printed material received a stamp after tax was paid

• Why did this upset the Colonists?– Taxed without consent– Britain interfered with colonial affairs– Boycotted (refused to buy) British and European goods

• Repealed (canceled) because the merchants were losing business!

The Quartering Act

• Created in 1765 • Purpose– Forced Colonists to provide housing and food to

the troops

• Why would this upset the Colonists?– Invasion of privacy– Financial burden on the Colonists

The Declaratory Act

• Created in 1766 – Effective the day the Stamp Act was repealed

• Purpose– British government could create laws WHENEVER

and HOWEVER they wanted– Parliament had the right to tax and make

decisions for Colonies “in all cases.”

The Townshend Acts

• Created in 1767• External tax• Purpose– Tax only imported goods like paint/oil, glass, tea and

paper at port of entry (where ever the goods entered the colonies)

• Any British tax angered Colonists– Boycotted – Daughters of Liberty made goods that were boycotted

rather than buy the British goods

The Townshend Acts• The Boston Massacre– March 5, 1770– Colonists were frustrated with the taxes and formed a

mob outside the tax collectors’ customhouse, which was protected by British soldiers

– Sticks and stones were thrown, which frightened the tax collector

– A soldier was knocked down, which caused other soldiers to fire

– Five Colonists were killed– Townshend Acts repealed, except for the tax on tea

The Tea Act

• Created in 1773• Purpose– To save the British East India Company– Allowed BEIC total trade control over tea trade in

America– Actually lowered cost of tea– BEIC was able to sell directly to shopkeepers• Eliminated the merchants who normally distributed tea• Why would this upset the Colonists?

The Tea Act

• The Boston Tea Party– December 16, 1773– A group of male Colonists disguised as Mohawk

Indians threw 342 chests of tea overboard• Why?????• Colonists were boycotting and forcing ships to turn

back• One ship did not, and the governor ordered it to be

unloaded, which upset the Colonists

The Intolerable/Coercive Acts• Created in 1774 once King George III heard news of the

Boston Tea Party– “We must master them or totally leave them alone”

• Called Intolerable by Colonies• Purpose– Punish and isolate the people of Massachusetts for

resistance• Other colonies supported Boston by sending them supplies

– Closed Boston Harbor until Colonists paid for ruined tea– Took away rights

• Banned town meetings in New England except for one a year• Forced to shelter troops

The Quebec Act

• Created in 1774• Purpose– Set up a government in Quebec– Gave Ohio River Valley to Quebec, which ignored

the Colonists’ claims to the area