Eight revolutionary dominos Airton Fortes& Felisberto Gomes

U.S. History to 1877 (HIST- 1101 -61)
“EIGHT REVOLUTIONARY DOMINOS”
Airton Fortes
Felisberto Gomes

The Eight Moments in American history
that most reflect the division between
Britain and America.
By: Airton Fortes and Felisberto Gomes

Introduction
In the first 150 years in
American History, certain
events happened that
caused the division between
Britain and America. We
will be focusing on eight
specific events that were the
turning points.
1950 – The Quartering Act
1950 – The Sugar Act
1950 – The Stamp Act
1960 – The Townshend Act
1970 – Boston Massacre
1980 – Boston Tea Party
1990 – The Coercive Acts
1950 – Lexington & Concord

A source of tension between
inhabitants of the Thirteen
Colonies and the government in
London. (Boundless)

 Passed by Parliament in response to request by British
Lieutenant-General Thomas Gage because Colonists had
resisted providing housing and other provisions to troops
during the French and Indian War.
 The Act required that the colonies provide lodging, food
and other supplies and provisions to British troops, at
the Colonies’ cost.
Facts about the Quartering Act No. 1

• Colonists were amenable during the War, but did not
understand during peacetime following the war.
• Colonists felt it was in violation of ‘Bill of Rights’ which
did not allow for the raising or keeping of forces without
approval of Parliament.

 Since British troops were not
stationed in America before the
French and Indian War, America
questioned why they were needed
after war.
 Added to the Colonists’ suspicions of
British intent and added to their
feeling of unnecessary presence and
involvement of British in American
life.

 In 1766, New York refused
lodging to British soldiers.
Another early indication of
America’s growing discontent
which ultimately led to the
American Revolution.

The Sugar Act

Facts about the Sugar Act No. 1
Passed by English Parliament, passed by George Grenville
with the intention of reducing the national debt that England
had incurred as a result of the French and Indian War.

 The Act included stipulations that caused Colonial discontent in addition to simply
taxing sugar:
 Listed goods that could only be exported to England.
 Specified the methods and platforms for Customs agents to try those who violated
the stipulations of the trade components of the Sugar Act (would be tried in British
courts, rather than colonial jury trials where England was concerned about Colonial
sympathies not being impartial).

Colonists believed the Sugar Act and
the associated taxes were the cause of
their economic recession.

Colonists protested against England
and the passing of the Sugar Act,
again, leading to “unrest” that
ultimately added to the war.
Facts about the Sugar Act No.

The Stamp Act
 The Stamp Act was passed by the British Parliament on March 22,1765. The new
tax was imposed on all American colonists and required them to pay a tax on every
piece of printed paper they used. Ship's papers, legal documents, licenses,
newspapers, other publications, and even playing cards were taxed.

 Required that printed materials
and documents be printed on
paper that contained a seal or
“stamp” indicating that the paper
had been taxed and said tax had
been paid (by purchasing).
Facts about The Stamp Act No. 1

 Another instance of Colonists
feeling as if they were being
taxed without being properly
represented (by vote) in
Parliament.

• This act led to the Colonists
forming the first “unified protest
against British Taxation” called the
“First Congress of the American
Colonies” or “Stamp Act
Congress”.

 This was the first tax passed
that only applied to the
American Colonies, which made
the Colonists furious.

The Townshend Act
The Townshend Acts were named after Charles Townshend, the British
Chancellor of the Exchequer (Treasurer), and the taxes were imposed on glass,
lead, paint, paper, and tea. These taxes were imposed on the colonists in the 13
colonies in America.

 A series of Acts imposing taxes and
regulations put in place by
Parliament including:
 Revenue Act of 1767
 Indemnity Act
 Commissioners of Customs Act
 Vice Admiralty Court Act
 New York Restraining Act
Facts about The Townshend Act No.
1

 Caused a substantial amount of
discontent and resentment
towards England on the part of
the Colonists.
Facts about The Townshend Act No.
2

 In 1772 the British boat Gaspee was burned, adding to the conflict between Britain
and its colonies in America.
 The Boston Tea Party took place in 1773 in protest of the tea tax, in which a
shipment of British tea was dumped into the Boston Harbor.
 The colonists divided into the Patriots and the Loyalists (loyal to Britain), and the
two sides fought in the American Revolutionary War from 1775 to 1783.
 In 1783 a peace treaty between the British Empire and the new United States was
signed and the Townsend Acts were left to the history books.
Facts about The Townshend Act No. 3 & 4

Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was the killing of five colonists by British regulars on March 5, 1770.

Boston Massacre Facts
 The Boston Massacre occurred in the evening on March 5th, 1770 on King Street
in Boston.
 There was heavy military presence at the time, a result of the Townshend Act of
1767 which imposed taxes to help cover the cost of Britain's military assistance.

 At the time of the Boston Massacre there
were approximately 20,000 residents in
Boston and 4,000 British military troops.
 The day before the massacre there had
been a clash between Bostonians and
British troops at Gray's Ropewalk. At the
incident Private Matthew Kilroy argued
with Samuel Gray, one of the men to be
killed at the Boston Massacre. Kilroy is
later convicted of manslaughter for
Gray's murder.

 The four civilians involved in the Boston Massacre that were arrested were found
not-guilty.
 The Boston Massacre is also referred to as the 'Incident on King Street', 'The Bloody
Massacre in King Street', and the 'State Street Massacre'.
 The five victims of the Boston Massacre are buried at Granary Burying Ground in
Boston.
 Propaganda followed the Boston Massacre in attempts by both sides to make each
other look bad.

Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a political protest by the Sons of
Liberty in Boston, on December 16, 1773

Boston Tea Party Facts
 The Boston Tea Party took place a
few years after the Boston Massacre,
which took place on March 5th, 1770.
 Most American colonists consumed,
on average, 2 to 3 cups of tea each
day. This equaled approximately two
million pounds of tea among 3 million
colonists each year.

 It was estimated that
approximately 90% of the tea
being drank by American
colonists was smuggled in. Coffee
drinking increased as a result of
boycotts on British tea.
 The colonist group the Sons of
Liberty organized the Boston Tea
Party to protest the Tea Tax
created by the British.

 Tea marketed in America was done by shipment receivers (dealers) selected by the
East India Trading Company. The dealers in New York, Charleston, and
Philadelphia refused shipments prior to the Boston Tea Party, following pressure by
the Sons of Liberty. The tea sat on the ships in Boston Harbor for weeks, while the
people of Boston held meetings while trying to decide what to do.
 The dealers in Boston refused to allow the ships to leave and instead dumped the tea
in the harbor.
 Most of the tea from the East India Trading Company was actually from China, not
Britain.

Coercive Acts
The Intolerable Acts (also called the Coercive Acts) were harsh laws passed by
the British Parliament in 1774. They were meant to punish the American
colonists for the Boston Tea Party and other protests

Facts for the Coercive Acts
 The Coercive Acts are also known as the
Intolerable Acts and the Restraining Acts
 At the urging of King George III,
Parliament enacted the Coercive Acts in
response to the Boston Tea Party
 The intent of the Coercive Acts was to
reaffirm British authority over the
American colonies.
 The Coercive Acts consisted of four new
laws, and revised a fifth law.

 The Coercive Acts were a group of laws passed by Parliament in response to
the defiance of the colonists, and as disciplinary action for the Boston Tea
Party. (Boundless)
 Britain was trying to force the colonists to abide by British rule, and had
been so far, mostly unsuccessful. They decided they would make an example
out of Massachusetts. (Boundless)
 These Acts created more tension and “provoked higher levels of resistance”
amongst the colonists towards the British. (Boundless)
 The colonists felt the Coercive Acts were a direct violation of their rights as
citizens. (Boundless)

 The Coercive Acts affected the Bostonians most directly but many more
colonists agreed that the attack was against everyone’s own rights and
freedoms. (Boundless)
 Instead of dividing the colonies against Massachusetts, these Acts garnered
support from the colonies instead and unified them.
 The colonies called together representatives from each colony to meet up and
figure out a way to deal with Britain’s King, Parliament and the Coercive Acts.
(Boundless)
 This group was called the First Continental Congress. (Boundless)
 They petitioned the king, unfortunately to no avail. (Boundless)

Lexington & Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord, fought on April 19, 1775, kicked off the
American Revolutionary War (1775-83). Tensions had been building for many years
between residents of the 13 American colonies and the British authorities,
particularly in Massachusetts.

Lexington & Concord Facts
 On April 19th of 1775 approximately seven hundred redcoats arrived at
Lexington where they were met by around seventy seven armed colonists on
the town green.

 What exactly happened, that led to shots being
fired, is unclear. Greatly outnumbered the
colonist were about to disperse when a shot
was fired. Who fired the first shot is not known.
This resulted in several volleys being fired
leaving 8 colonists dead and several wounded;
only one British soldier was wounded.
 After this relatively small skirmish the colonist
retreated and the British headed out for
Concord unaware that most of the arms they
were looking for had already been moved to a
safer place by the colonist.

 Upon reaching Concord the Redcoats searched the town finding very few arms.
They burned what few arms they did find.
 The colonist (militiamen), who at this point numbered about five hundred,
exchanged fire with the British at Concords North Bridge eventually forcing
the British to retreat.
 The British march back to Boston which covered approximately 18 miles (29
kilometers) turned into a retreat as more-and-more militiamen (perhaps as
many as 3,500) joined the conflict. Shooting at the British soldiers from behind
trees and rocks and whatever cover they could find they inflicted significant
damage on the troops.
 The British troops, with the help of reinforcements, eventually made it back to
the safety of Boston.

Conclusion
 There was no one event, Act, tax or political incident that could claim to be the sole, or even
primary, cause of the American Revolution. The truth is that it took years to take shape and
was caused by a series of events much greater than the eight (8) events listed here. There
were many years of resentment, anger and uncertainty on the part of the American Colonists
that led to the war. Each and every one of these events brought the people a little bit closer
and each amendment, repeal and appeal became less and less effective in appeasing the
Colonists. They had become accustomed to governing and regulating themselves and it was
only a matter of time, as England tried harder and harder to figure out ways to effectively tax
the Colonies to earn back some of the money they had spent “defending them in the French
and Indian War”, before they were going to reach the ‘point of no return’ and attempt to
declare independence from England. The events and Acts that we have listed here are eight
(8) that we believe to have been the most influential causes of the war.

Bibliography
Boundless. “The Boston Massacre and Military Occupation.” US History to 1877. Boundless, 21 Jul. 2015. Web.
26 March 2016
Boundless. “The Boston Tea Party” US History to 1877. Boundless, 21 Jul. 2015. Web. 26 March 2016
Boundless. “The First Continental Congress.” US History to 1877.
Boundless, 21 Jul. 2015. Web. 26 March 2016 Boundless. “The Seven Years' War: 1754-1763.” Boundless U.S.
History.
Boundless, 21 Jul. 2015. Web. 26 Mar. 2016 HSTRY.
“Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride”. HSTRY. n.d. Web. 26 March 2016 George, Tim.
"The 4 Acts That Lead To The American Revolution." Off The Grid News. Web. 26 Mar. 2016. Land of the
Brave.
"Proclamation of 1763." Land of the Brave. Web. 26 Mar. 2016.
"The Intolerable Acts." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association. Web. 26 Mar. 2016. University of
Groningen.
"Effects Of The War." Web. 26 Mar. 2016.

Eight revolutionary dominos Airton Fortes& Felisberto Gomes

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