Transcript The people, even the lowest ranks, have become more

“The people, even the lowest ranks,
have become more attentive to their liberties…”
Imperial Wars and Colonial Protest,
1754-1775
Empires at War
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The French, English and Spanish
carried on a series of wars from 1689
through 1763
The most important of these for the
colonists was the French and Indian
War, also known as the Seven Years’
War
The French and Indian War
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This pitted the French and Indians
against British regulars and colonists
The goal was to control the Ohio
River Valley
The Albany Plan of Union was
proposed by Benjamin Franklin as a
way to congeal colonial strength
The war was won by the British and
had many significant outcomes
Video Clip
The French and Indian War
Outcomes
 Colonists lose respect for the British
regulars
 British question colonial loyalties
 British are out of money
Results
 British begin to tax the colonists
 Colonists begin to think they can defeat
the British army
 The British crown imposes the
Proclamation of 1763
New Revenue and Regulation
Grenville:
 Sugar Act:
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Quartering Act
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Taxed everyday products and was the first direct tax
All taxes previous were indirect on imports
Stamp Act protest
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Colonists must house and feed British regulars
Stamp Act
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Raise money and tighten the enforcement of the
Navigation Act
Formation of the Sons and Daughters of Liberty
The Stamp Act Congress
Boycotts
Grenville is replaced in 1765
The Declaratory Act
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This act was largely symbolic
The British replaced George
Grenville and repealed the Stamp
Act because of the boycotts
They also simultaneously passed the
Declaratory Act of 1766
This stated that Parliament had the
power and authority to tax and
regulate the colonies
Charles Townshend
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He proposed another set of taxes in 1767
referred to as the Townshend Duties or
Townshend Acts
Tea, glass and paper were taxed as imports
Most didn’t protest initially because they
were indirect taxes
Sam Adams and James Otis were rabble
rousers that ignited colonial resistance
This is where the “no taxation without
representation” mantra was coined
Colonial boycotts again followed the
Massachusetts Circular letter and British
military presence was increased
Lord North
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Lord North was appointed Prime Minister
in 1770
North repealed the Townshend Acts and
created a small tax on tea
This repeal generally ended colonial
protest for a period of 3 relatively quiet
years, punctuated only by the Boston
“massacre”
During this time, the most fervent of the
Revolutionary leaders continued to agitate
for revolt through the Committees of
Correspondence
The Boston Tea Party
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The British government had given a tea
monopoly to the British East India Company
The colonists were still boycotting and largely
buying smuggled tea
The tea would be imported W/O the duty and be
much cheaper
Colonists still avoided the cheap tea
Buying the tea would recognize the British right
to tax
Colonists boarded a BEIC ship and dumped the
tea into Boston harbor, similar incidents occurred
in Virginia as well
As a response to the BTP, Lord North passed the
Coercive or “Intolerable” Acts designed to
punish the colonists
The Intolerable Acts of 1774
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The Port of Boston was closed and
blockaded until the colonists paid for the
tea
The Mass. Government Act moved the
royal governor’s salary to the King’s purse
The Administration of Justice Act said
Royal officers were to be tried in Britain
Expanded Quartering Act
The Quebec Act
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Catholicism becomes the official religion of
Quebec
Quebec’s boundary is moved to the Ohio
River