THE ROAD TO REVOLUTION The Stamp Act

THE ROAD TO REVOLUTION

The Stamp Act • Direct taxation by the British • Colonies- “No Taxation without Representation!” • Some colonists start using the word slavery in response to the acts imposed on the colonistst

“Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” • Patrick Henry • House of Burgesses • Actual vs. virtual representation • Colonies must consent to taxation

The Stamp Act Congress • Samuel Adams (Top) • James Otis • Patriots or Terrorists?

Stamp Act Congress (con’d) • Created in 1765 • Delegates from 9 states • Pledged alliance to the crown • Continued “No Taxation without Representation” theme • Colonies would boycott goods until Stamp Act was repealed • Stamp Act repealed in 1766 • Daughters of Liberty formed in 1767 • Homespun

Where did ideas for independence come from? • Salutary Neglect • Colonial Newspapers • Political Clubs/Gatherings • Growth of colonial libraries • First Great Awakening • New colleges and universities • Yale, Columbia, Princeton, Rutgers, Brown, Dartmouth

The Boston Massacre • Boston Custom’s House • British troops protected house and made sure payments were received

The Boston Massacre • https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=2 L 0 JLVDnpt 4 • https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=F 2 nzwbkj 9 TU

The Boston Massacre • March 5, 1770 • Fight between snow throwing Bostonians and the British Army • Armed conflict • 5 Bostonians killed • Commanding British officer and eight soldiers put on trial • Soldiers defended by John Adams • Seven found not guilty/Two convicted of manslaughter

• Crispus Attucks • “First martyr of the American Revolution”

The Boston Tea Party • Tea drinking was popular in colonies • Britain’s East India Company had a surplus of tea • B. E. I. C. sold tea in colonies • Colonist felt surplus tea was dumped (no pun intended) on them • Tea is also taxed (Tea Act of 1773) • 12/16/1773 - 300 chests of tea are dumped into the Boston Harbor • $4 million worth of tea

The Intolerable Acts (1774) • IA were the British government’s response to the Boston Tea Party • Led to creation of First Continental Congress

The First Continental Congress • September 1774 • Every colony sent a representative except Georgia • Representatives agreed to a colony wide boycott of all British goods, as well as no trading with any part of the English empire • Decided to meet again in 1775

“The British are coming, the British are coming!” • Paul Revere • April 18, 1775 • Famous horseback ride to warn that the British were getting close to Concord, MA • “One if by land, two if by sea. ”

“The Shot Heard Round the World. ” • April 19, 1775 • Lexington and Concord, NH • Who fired the first shot? • 49 Americans/73 British soldiers killed • Phrase coined by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Second Continental Congress • May 1775 • Creation of Continental Army • Money to pay for it • Appointed George Washington as commander of the forces • In response, Britain • Declared colonies in a state of rebellion • Dispatched thousands of troops • Closed all colonial ports

Olive Branch Petition • July 1775 • Written by the Continental Congress to King George III • Reaffirmed American loyalty to the crown • Hoped to reconcile with the king • Rejected by the king • British government declares colonies in rebellion • Thomas Paine

Independence? Whose side are you on? • Many colonists still uncertain about the idea • Patriots • Largest groups were from Virginia and Massachusetts • Local militias • Problems faced by troops included low supplies, poorly equipped and rarely paid

• Loyalists or Tories • 60, 000 American Tories • Largest group of Tories were in New York, New Jersey, and Georgia • After the war, many flee to Canada or Britain

• Native Americans • Many Native Americans supported the British • British promised to limit colonial settlement in the West • African Americans

The Battle of New York (1776 -1777)

Washington’s Crossing

• Thomas Paine’s The Crisis • “These are times that try a man’s soul. ” • December 25, 1776 • Nor’easter • Washington’s troop crossed the Delaware River into Trenton, NJ • Troops attacked some bands of Hessian (German) troops stationed at • • garrisons in Trenton British troops were in NYC for the winter No colonial troops died Victory was a morale booster Needed support for Washington-both moral and needed resources from Congress

Retreat at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania • Winter 1777 -June 1778 • Continental army lost Battle of Philadelphia • NYC and Philadelphia now in British control • Retreat to Valley Forge • Miserable winter • Supplies from Congress were slow to arrive • In June 1778, British left Philadelphia for New York • Continental army resumed fighting • Bravery of those who survived • War started to change in favor of the colonists

Important Battles of the War • Battle of Saratoga (October 1777) • American forces surrounded British army • Key victory for Americans • **France recognized US** • **France and Spain responded with military assistance**

• In January 1781, American forces won key battles in North and South Carolina • Battle of Yorktown (October 1781)- American and French forces controlled key land sea areas at Yorktown, Virginia • After defeat, British General Lord Cornwallis surrendered • **British support for the war at home ended** • Peace negotiations began • Treaty of Paris (1783)

The Treaty of Paris (1783) • An important accomplishment under the Articles of Confederation • Treaty of Paris • Britain recognized United States as an independent nation • Mississippi River-Western boundary of U. S. , Great Lakes as the Northern boundary, Florida-Southern boundary • U. S. would have access to Mississippi River