.

8 DEGREES OF SEPARATIONTurning Points contributing to the American

Revolution

1754 1764 1765 1765 1767 1770 1773 1774

The French & Indian War

The Sugar Act

The Stamp Act

1st Continental Congress

The Stamp Act

Congress Townshend Acts

Boston Massacre

Boston Tea Party

Wentworth Institute of Technology

Team Paine David TassinariDavid LudwigGraden Foley

HIST 1101-62Prof. Jared Haas

7-24-16

The French & Indian War (1754-1763)• French expansion into the Ohio

River Valley created conflicts with British colonials, especially Virginia.

• British laid claim to the area for settlement by Virginians and Pennsylvanians.

• The territorial claims of Britain were based upon the explorations of John Cabot in the 15th Century.

• France’s claim to the Ohio river valley was based on its claim to the Mississippi valley, which includes the Ohio.

The French & Indian War (1754-1763)• War was formally declared in

1756, and British forces were facing difficulty, due to lack of support from home.

• During the early period, there were also rivalries among American colonies.

• William Pitt, the new British leader turned the tides in 1757, seeing the colonies as the key to building a significant British Empire.

• Borrowing money heavily to fund the War in Europe, and reimbursing colonial troops, Pitt managed to seize control of Canada.

William Pitt

The French & Indian War (1754-1763)• 1758 – The British win their first significant victory at Louisbourg.• The British then focused on Quebec. • In 1760, the Spanish joined the French and the war continued until

1763, when France ceded Canada to the British, and Spain ceded Florida, leaving Louisiana in Spanish control (History.com Staff).

The French & Indian War (1754-1763)• The British victory

strengthened the American colonies by removing rivals to the north and south, and opening the Mississippi valley to westward expansion (History.com staff).

Key Facts:• The French & Indian War

was actually part of the first “World War”. In Europe, the war is referred to as the Seven Years War, even though the war lasted 9 years.

The French & Indian War (1754-1763)Contributions to the Revolution• Colonial soldiers fought alongside

the British, including Revolutionary commanders.

• Insight was gained into British military tactics and strategy.

• The war was waged and won by borrowing funds. This will later contribute to an increase in economic restrictions on colonies in America.

The Sugar Act (1764)• British Law, passed by the

Parliament of Great Britain on April 5, 1764, that was designed to raise revenue from the American colonists in the 13 Colonies.

• Decreased the tax on Molasses from 6 pence to 3 pence per gallon, but ensured the tax could be collected by leftover British military forces stationed in the colonies following the French & Indian War.

The Sugar Act (1764)• What it taxed:

• Wines• Coffee• Cambric• Printed calico• Timber• Iron• Molasses

The Sugar Act (1764)• Why it was enforced:

• Designed to stop the trade between the New England and Middle colonies and the French, Dutch and Spanish in the West Indies (Land of the Brave).

• Other Purposes• Establish British

Admiralty courts • Reduce smuggling

and bribery

The Sugar Act (1764)Key facts:1. The Sugar Act was really

about the manufacture of rum. Molasses is a key ingredient in rum (Land of the Brave).

2. The Molasses Act, or Navigation Act was never enforced due to the British Policy of Salutary Neglect.

3. The sudden increase in enforcement caused significant economic and constitutional issues for the colonies.

The Sugar Act (1764)Contributions to the Revolution• Colonies were forced to

comply with the tax where previously, they could circumvent the ill-regulated Molasses Act.

• British military forces remained in the colonies following the war, which created tension between the colonies and the British.

• Constitutional Issues regarding taxation without representation became more pronounced.

The Stamp Act (1765)• The apparent purpose was to raise £60,000 yearly

in the colonies in order to help support the cost of maintaining British troops there, a cost totaling £350,000 annually.

The Stamp Act (1765)• The first direct tax on American colonies• Every legal document had to be written on special

stamped paper, showing proof of payment (ushistory.org).

The Stamp Act (1765)• What it taxed:

• Deeds• Wills• Marriage Licenses• Documents were not recognized

as legal unless they were printed on this paper.

The Stamp Act (1765)• James Otis of Massachusetts was one of the

outspoken colonials opposing the Act.That the colonists, black and white, born here are freeborn British subjects, and entitled to all the essential civil rights of such is a truth not only manifest from the provincial charters, from the principles of the common law, and acts of Parliament, but from the British constitution, which was re-established at the Revolution with a professed design to secure the liberties of all the subjects to all generations.

– James Otis, The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved, 1764 (ushistory.org)

The Stamp Act (1765)Contributions to the Revolution• This was the last straw for the

colonies, and boycotts and protests began.

• Radical groups emerged, such as the Sons and Daughters of Liberty who harassed those who did not comply with the boycott.

• The colonists established the Stamp Act Congress.

• The Stamp Act and its subsequent protest caused enough of a problem for British merchants, that parliament repealed the Act in 1766. Setting a precedent that British laws could be protested and changed with success.

The Stamp Act Congress (1765)

The Townshend Acts(1767)• 29 June 1767 Parliament passes the Townshend Acts

• Introduced by Chancellor Of the Exchequer Charles Townshend in 1767.

• The hope was to defray imperial expenses in the colonies.

• Imposed taxes on glass, lead paints, paper and tea that were imported into the colonies.

The Townshend Acts(1767) - Continued

• Many Americans considered taxation as an abuse of power.

• This lead to agreements to limit importsfrom Britain.

• Parliament repealed all of theTownshend taxes, except tea, in 1770.

• A temporary truce between the two sides entailed.

"Merchants ... agreed to the Resolutions of the City of New York--not to write for any Goods after the First of June, nor Import any after the first Day of October, until the Act Imposing Duties on Glass, Paper, etc be repealed-- “ (Rowe, 1768)

The Townshend Acts(1767) - Continued• Americans like Benjamin Franklin argued against

Parliament’s power to impose the Stamp Act.

• The said this was a direct tax on the colonies and shouldn’t be allowed.

• Parliament repealed all of the Townshend taxes, except tea, in 1770.

• A temporary truce between the two sides entailed.

The Townshend Acts(1767) - Continued

• Main reason they kept the tea tax was to assert their right to tax the colonies.

• Truce ended in 1772 with the burning of the British patrol boat Gaspee.

• Resistance to the tea tax became a symbol of American Patriotism.

The Townshend Acts(1767) - Continued

“As Samuel Adams, speaking for the Massachusetts legislature, put it: ‘In all free states, the constitution is fixed; it is from thence, that the legislature derives its authority; therefore it cannot change the constitution without destroying its own foundation.’” (Foner and Garraty, 1991)

• Francis Bernard, Governor of Massachusetts, dissolved legislature when it issued a Circular letter.

• This letter described measures taken against the Townshend Acts.

• Lead to series of Non-Importation Agreements.

• Reduced colonial imports from Britain in half between 1768 to 1769.

The Boston Massacre (1770)

The Boston Tea Party (1773)

The First Continental Congress (Philadelphia 1774)

• Created in response the British government taxing the colonies.

• Fifty-Six delegates from all of the colonies, except Georgia, met at Carpenter’s Hall in Philadelphia.

• Served as the government of the 13 American colonies.

• Elected Virginian Peyton Randolph as the first president of Congress.

The First Continental Congress (Philadelphia 1774)

• Structured to allow equality of participants.

• Allowed and promoted free debate

• Drafted a declaration of rights and grievances.

• Affirmed loyalty to the British Crown.

• Disputed British Parliament’s right to tax the colonies.

The First Continental Congress (Philadelphia 1774)

• Passed the Articles of Association

• Called on colonies to stop importing British goods starting on December 1, 1774.

• If Britain failed to redress the colonists’ grievances then they would reconvene on May 10, 1775.

• And as of September 10 1775 the colonies would refuse to export goods to England.

The First Continental Congress (Philadelphia 1774)

KEY FACTS:

• Georgia did not take place due to warring with Native Indians and needing support of the British Government.

• John Adams, George Washington and John Jay, (future U.S. Supreme Court Chief justice) all attended The First Continental Congress.

The First Continental Congress (Philadelphia 1774)

• The First Continental Congress disbanded on October 26, 1774.

• Britain ignored these requests.

• 1775. Due to Britain ignoring the First Continental Congress, the Second Continental Congress began.

• Declared independence from Britain.

Works Cited

History.com Staff. "French and Indian War." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 20 July 2016.

"Sugar Act." Land of the Brave. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 July 2016.

"The Stamp Act Controversy." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web. 20 July 2016.

The Reader’s Companion to American History. Eric Foner and John A. Garraty, Editors. Copyright © 1991 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Found on History.com.

John Rowe diary 5, 2 May 1768, page 751. Retrieved from www.masshist.org/revolution/Townshend.php

The Continental Congress. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/the-continental-congress

1774 First Continental Congress convenes. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-continental-congress-convenes