American REvolution

1. AIM: What caused the colonists to rebel
against the British?
Do Now: What is the difference between
the policy of Salutary Neglect and
Mercantilism? What event changed Britain’
s policies towards the colonies from
Salutary Neglect to Mercantilism?
HW: American Revolution, Parent/Child
Analogy Worksheet.

2. Proclamation
of 1763
Townshend
Act
Stamp Act
Boston
Massacre
Boston Tea
Party
Intolerable
Acts
Causes for
American
Revolution
Sugar Act

3. A Revolution of Ideas
“What do we mean by the American Revolution?
Do we mean the American war? The Revolution
was effected before the war commenced. The
Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the
people…This radical change in the principles,
opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people
was the real American Revolution.” – John Adams,
February 13th
, 1818
What is John Adams saying about the American Revolution
in this quote?

4. Proclamation of 1763
● The Proclamation of 1763,
signed by King George III of
England, prohibited any English
settlement west of the
Appalachian mountains.
● It required those already settled
in those regions to return east in
an attempt to ease tensions with
Native Americans.

5. Response of Proclamation of
1763
● Colonists resented not
being able to settle west
of the Proclamation line,
especially in places like
the Ohio Valley.
● With the French removed,
they believed it their right.
● Moved in anyway,
angered the British.

6. Sugar Act of 1764
●The Sugar Act was passed by
Parliament to pay for the war debt
brought on by the French and
Indian War and to help pay for the
expenses of running the colonies
and newly acquired territories.
●This act actually decreased taxes
on imported sugar, however it
enforced the tax, prosecuting
smugglers who tried to avoid
paying the tax.

7. Stamp Act of 1764
● In March, the Stamp Act
was passed by
Parliament imposing the
first direct tax on the
American colonies, to
offset the high costs of
the British military
organization in America.
Thus for the first time in
the 150 year old history
of the British colonies in
America, the Americans
will pay tax not to their
own local legislatures in
America, but directly to

8. Stamp Act of 1764
● Under the Stamp
Act, all printed
materials were
taxed, including:
● newspapers
● pamphlets
● bills
● legal documents
● licenses
● almanacs
● dice and playing
cards.
Colonist
Response

9. ● Why were many colonists angry at the
passage of the new acts, especially the
Stamp Act?
● How could the Stamp Act limit the freedom
of the press?
● Was the British government justified in
implementing the acts in the colonies in an
attempt to reduce their national war debt
and defend the colonies?

10. Response to the Stamp
Act
● The American
colonists quickly
united in opposition,
led by the most
influential segments
of colonial society -
lawyers, publishers,
land owners, ship
builders and
merchants - who
were most affected
by the Act.

11. Colonial Protests Intensify
● Tax resistance among the
colonists took three forms:
● Intellectual protest
● Economic boycotts
● Violent intimidation

12. Intellectual Protest
● Colonial leaders wrote pamphlets,
drafted resolutions, gave speeches, and
delivered sermons to persuade colonists
to defy the new taxes.
● Patrick Henry, a member of the Virginian
House of Burgesses, drafted a radical
document called the Virginia Resolves
(1765).

13. ● “Resolved therefore, That the General Assembly of
this colony, together with his majesty or his
substitutes have, in their representative capacity the
only exclusive right and power to lay taxes and
imposts upon the inhabitant of this colony; and that
every attempt to vest such power in any other
person or persons whatever than the General
Assembly aforesaid is illegal, unconstitutional, and
unjust, and has a manifest tendency to destroy
British as well as American liberty.” – Patrick Henry,
May 29th
1765Why did the Virginia House
of Burgesses consider this
resolve to be too radical for
passage?

14. Violent Intimidation
● Those who opposed British taxes started
calling themselves Patriots.
● A group called the Sons of Liberty formed
to lead protests. Lead by Samuel Adams,
cousin of John Adams.
● People who openly supported Britain’s tax
policy were attacked in the streets of
Boston. By the end of the year, every
stamp collector in the colonies had
resigned, leaving no one to collect taxes.

15. Colonist pouring hot tea
down the throats of a tax
collector after he has been
tarred and feathered.
How do you
think this type of
artwork affected
colonists still
loyal to the
British Crown?

16. Economic Boycott
● Some colonials opposed the tax, but also
opposed the violent reactions.
● Stamp Act Congress (1765) held in NYC,
where members encouraged a consumer
boycott of goods imported from Britain.
These were called nonimportation
agreements.
● Threatened British merchants and
manufacturers with economic ruin.
● Daughters of Liberty.

17. STAMP ACT REPEALED!!!
● …however, British passes a declaratory
statement saying that they have the right
to levy taxes on the colonist.

18. Townshend Acts
● In 1767, The English Parliament passed
the Townshend Revenue Acts, imposing
a new series of taxes on the colonists to
pay for the costs of administering and
protecting the American colonies. Items
taxed included imports such as paper,
tea, glass, lead and paints.

19. Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre
occurred when a mob
harassed British soldiers
who then fired their
muskets pointblank into
the crowd, killing three
instantly, mortally
wounding two others and
injuring six.

20. Boston Massacre Response
● The Boston Massacre was, of course, not a
“massacre,” in the classic sense. Colonialist
responded through propaganda and immediately
capitalized on this incident, using it to fan colonial
passions of seeing the British unjustly governing
the colonies.
● British, feeling the tension mounting, repealed the
Townshend Act, but kept the tax on tea.
● British tea was still lower than imported tea.
Colonist weren’t buying it.

21. Boston Tea Party
On the evening of December 16, 1773, a
group of men calling themselves the
"Sons of Liberty" went to the Boston
Harbor. The men were dressed as
Mohawk Indians. They boarded three
British ships, the Beaver, the Eleanor and
the Dartmouth, and dumped forty-five
tons of tea into the Boston Harbor.

22. Boston Tea Party
● The Boston Tea
Party was a direct
response from
colonists who
opposed tea which
was taxed by
someone other than
their own
representatives.

23. Intolerable Acts
● The Intolerable Acts (or Coercive Acts)
were a series of laws sponsored by
British Prime Minister Lord North and
enacted in 1774 in response to the
Boston Tea Party. The laws were these:
● Boston Port Act
● Quartering Act
● Massachusetts Bay Regulating Act
● Impartial Administration of Justice Act
Colonist
Response

24. Boston Port Act
● Closed the port of Boston in 1774 until
the price of the dumped tea was
recovered, moved the capital of
Massachusetts to Salem, and made
Marblehead the official port of entry for
the Massachusetts colony
Intolerable
Acts

25. Quartering Act
● Allowed royal troops to stay in houses or
empty buildings if barracks were not
available
Intolerable
Acts

26. Massachusetts Regulating
Act
● Made all law officers subject to
appointment by the royal governor and
banned all town meetings that didn't
have approval of the royal governor
Intolerable
Acts

27. Impartial Administration of
Justice Act
● Allowed the royal governor of a colony
to move trials to other colonies or even
to England if he feared that juries in
those colonies wouldn't judge a case
fairly
Intolerable
Acts

28. Response to the Intolerable
Acts
● These were by far the harshest of the
acts passed. Those living in Boston and
Massachusetts would lose money from
the Boston Port Act and be forced to
provide housing to soldiers through the
Quartering Act.
● The colonists called for a convention,
resulting in the First Continental
Congress.