Path to Independence: The Coming Revolution

The events leading to revolution.

1. Credit: Ms. Susan M. Pojer
Horace Greenley HS
Chappaqua, NY

3. Remember Mercantilism?...
•A country’s economic wealth could be
measured by the amount of gold and silver
in it’s treasury, therefore it needed to
export more than it imported
–Colonies – supplied raw materials,
provided market for exports, tenants

4. Parliament enforced mercantilism
•Navigation Laws - Restricted commerce
to English ships
•“enumerated” products (tobacco)
shipped only to England. Colonies could
not ship their goods to foreign markets
even though prices might be higher
•Could not compete with British
manufactured goods – wool, beaver hats
•No Banks in colonies

5. Merits of Mercantilism
•Salutary Neglect – until 1763
•London paid price supports to colonial
ship builders
•Virginia tobacco planters – guaranteed
monopoly of British market
•Did not have to tax themselves to
provide for an army or navy
•Opportunities for self government
•Americans shared in British profits
•London officials worked for welfare of
entire empire

6. Menace of Mercantilism
•Limited economic freedom – colonies
could not trade or ship for best profits
•Southern colonies favored over
Northern – grew non-English products
•One-Crop Virginians – hurt when
tobacco prices dropped – “Liberty or
Debt”!
•Colonies felt “used” – never allowed to
come of age

7. Ben Franklin
“We have an old mother
that peevish is grown;
She snubs us like
children that scare
walk alone;
She forgets we’re grown
up and have sense of
our own.”

8. Acts on the Road to Revolution
•S – Sugar Act (1764) – duties on foreign sugar,
stop smuggling
•S – Stamp Act (1765) – tax on printed paper
•Q – Quartering Act (1765) – provided food and
shelter to soldiers
•D – Declaratory Act (1766) – repealed stamp tax
due to success of Stamp Act Congress and Boycotts ,
but still had right to TAX colonies
•T – Townshend Acts (1767) – indirect taxes on
tea, glass, and paper, Sam Adams and Otis wrote
Circular letter – boycotts and smuggling increased
•T – Tea Act (1773) – symbol of right to tax and
hoped to help British East India Co.
•I – Intolerable Acts (1774) – punished Boston

9. Tar and Feathering
•1760s – customs officials
were sometimes targeted
if they were suspected
of informing on
smugglers to the British
•Used to humiliated the
victims
•Boston leaders will
eventually call for an end
to practice, but some
colonists continued to use
it to intimidate loyalists

10. The Boston Massacre The Boston Massacre
((March 5, 1770March 5, 1770))

11. Boston Massacre
•Violent incident between British soldiers and
American colonists
•British soldiers opened fire on a crowd of unarmed
American colonists
•Led to the death of five colonists
•Who was truly to blame?
–Many believe the soldiers just shot at unarmed civilians
–Others believe that the colonists were throwing snowballs
filled with ice at the soldiers to provoke them into fighting
–What do you think?

12. The Gaspee Affair The Gaspee Affair (1772)(1772)
Providence, Providence,
RI coastRI coast
•HMS Gaspée  a British
customs schooner that had been
enforcing the trade regulations
imposed by the British
government
•The ship ran aground off the
coast of Rhode Island
•The colonists quickly seized
control of the ship and set fire
to the cargo on board

13. Committees Committees
of Correspondenceof Correspondence
PurposePurpose  work together to warn work together to warn
neighboring colonies about incidents neighboring colonies about incidents
occurring in New England with the occurring in New England with the
BritishBritish
 broaden the resistance broaden the resistance
movement throughout movement throughout
the the colonies. colonies.

14. Tea Act Tea Act (1773)(1773)
British East India Company:British East India Company:
Held a monopoly on British Held a monopoly on British
tea imports.tea imports.
Many members of Many members of
Parliament held shares in Parliament held shares in
the company.the company.
Permitted the colonists to Permitted the colonists to
sell tea directly to sell tea directly to
colonists without colonial colonists without colonial
middlemen (cheaper tea!)middlemen (cheaper tea!)
Lord North expected the Lord North expected the
colonists to eagerly choose colonists to eagerly choose
the cheaper teathe cheaper tea

15. Boston Tea Party Boston Tea Party
December December (1773)(1773)

16. Boston Tea Party
•Colonists were upset about the decisions that
the British government was making on their
behalf.
•A group of colonists, dresses as Native
Americans, dumped three shiploads of tea
into the harbor.
•Colonists felt that they should not have to pay
any type of tax without a voice in Parliament.
–“No taxation without representation”

17. The Coercive or Intolerable Acts The Coercive or Intolerable Acts
(1774)(1774)
Lord NorthLord North
1.1.Closed the port of BostonClosed the port of Boston
2.2.Gov’t Act –decreased Gov’t Act –decreased
power of Mass. legislaturepower of Mass. legislature
4.4.Administration of Justice Administration of Justice
Act – accused royal officials Act – accused royal officials
were to be tried in a court in were to be tried in a court in
EnglandEngland
3.3.New Quartering ActNew Quartering Act

18. The Quebec Act The Quebec Act (1774)(1774)
•Extended the province of
Quebec to the Ohio River
•Official religion was Roman
Catholicism
•Set up government without a
representative assembly
•Upset Americans because it was
a denial of expectations of
westward expansion and it set up
an autocratic government

19. First Continental Congress First Continental Congress
(1774)(1774)
55 delegates from 12 colonies met 55 delegates from 12 colonies met
in Philadelphiain Philadelphia
AgendaAgenda  How to respond to How to respond to
the Intolerable Actsthe Intolerable Acts
-passed Suffolk Resolves- -passed Suffolk Resolves-
denounced Intolerable Acts denounced Intolerable Acts
called for non-importation, and called for non-importation, and
preparation of militiapreparation of militia
-Rejected Galloway Plan – called -Rejected Galloway Plan – called
for union of colonies within for union of colonies within
empire and rearrangement of empire and rearrangement of
relationsrelations