1.2.4 Unrest in the Colonies

Unrest in the Colonies
Learners can:

• identify what caused the colonists to meet in the First Continental Congress

• summarize the outcome of the First Continental Congress

Vocabulary: rebellious-to act out or go against the rules
Patriot-colonists who were against British actions and laws
redcoat-another name for a British soldier because of the red coat that they wore

By Sierra Scaggs

In another lesson, you learned that Parliament in Great Britain passed several laws that would change the daily life of the colonists in America.

• The colonists could not settle west of the Appalachian Mountains.

• They had to pay taxes on goods such as sugar, glass, paint, paper, and tea.

• They had to provide food and a bed for British soldiers.

1764: The Sugar Act

In 1764, the Sugar Act was one of the first acts put in place to raise money from the colonies for England. The act increased taxes on sugar and molasses that came to the colonies from countries that were not British. Molasses is a thick, dark, syrup.
1764: The Currency Act

For many years, the colonists would often run out of money to use for trading. So, they made their own money.

In 1764, Parliament passed the Currency Act, which banned colonial money and forced the colonists to use the pound sterling, which was what money was called in Great Britain.
1765: The Quartering Act

During the French and Indian War, Great Britain required many troops. The Quartering Act, passed in 1765, required that the colonists feed and house British soldiers. This usually happened in the homes of the colonists.

British soldiers did not treat their hosts well. They stole from them and sometimes got into fights with them.
1765: The Stamp Act

To pay their debts from the French and Indian War, Great Britain passed the Stamp Act in 1765. This act required that all printed materials in the colonies be printed on stamped paper shipped from London. This paper was very heavily taxed. Colonists could not print newspapers or even make decks of playing cards without paying the tax.
1766: The Declaratory Act

Many colonists refused to pay taxes on the stamped paper. In 1766, Parliament canceled the Stamp Act. The cartoon in the image is of Parliament carrying the Stamp Act to its grave.

In fear that canceling the Stamp Act made it look like it was giving up control over the colonies, Parliament passed the Declaratory Act in 1766. This act stated that Parliament could make laws “in all cases whatsoever" on the American colonies.
1767: The Townshend Acts

The Townshend Acts, named after the person who suggested them, were a series of acts designed to generate money from the colonies. They also were meant to punish colonists for not respecting the Quartering Act. The acts taxed glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea.
The taxes that were collected after the French and Indian War, like sugar, paper, and tea, were important to the colonists. They were goods that they used every day.

The colonists had no say in what was taxed. The actions of Great Britain made the colonists angry.

The Townshend Acts

In 1767, Parliament passed the Townshend Acts, named after Charles Townshend, the man who created the act. The acts taxed goods such as glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea.

The colonists kept avoiding or boycotting the products that the British government was taxing.
The colonists also refused to provide a bed and food for British soldiers, which was required by the Quartering Act.

But because the colonists boycotted the goods, Great Britain was not earning money off of those taxes. On March 5, 1770, Parliament repealed, or canceled, the Townshend Acts, except for the tax on tea.

Even though some of the taxes were reduced through the repeal of the Townshend Acts, some goods were still taxed. The colonists were still angry with Great Britain.
The Center of Colonial Protests

Through its laws and actions, Great Britain continued to have control and power over the American colonists. The colonists were angry, especially in Boston, Massachusetts.

Boston was a city known for its rebellious colonists. Someone who is rebellious will act out or go against the rules.
When Great Britain issued taxes on goods, riots in Boston often broke out. Colonists would display anger and violence in the streets or around businesses that sold the goods that were taxed.

Many colonists in Boston were Patriots. Patriots were colonists who were against Britain’s actions and laws.
The Redcoats

On March 5, 1770, the same day the Townshend Acts were repealed, more British soldiers arrived in Boston, Massachusetts. The arrival of British troops, or the redcoats, as they were called because of the color of the coat they wore, angered the colonists in Boston.

That evening, angry colonists in Boston gathered in the streets. Their anger would cause a deadly event called the Boston Massacre.

Press through the screens below to learn more about the events of the Boston Massacre.
The British soldiers who shot and killed five colonists were sent to trial for murder. Their lawyer and loyal Patriot, John Adams, believed that everyone deserved a fair trial. The soldiers were not found guilty of murder.

After the Boston Massacre, Great Britain removed the soldiers from Boston. Great Britain also ended most of the taxes. However, the tax on tea remained in effect.

Colonists Gathered

On the evening of March 5, a group of colonists gathered in the streets of Boston.

The group was worried that soldiers would cut down the “Liberty Tree." The tree was a place where the colonists gathered to protest the laws that Parliament passed. It was an important tree to the colonists.
An Angry Crowd

As the crowd of colonists moved through the streets of Boston, they threw snowballs at the British barracks, which was a group of homes where the soldiers lived. The soldiers did not come out of their homes.

Then, a crowd of about 60 colonists decided to surround and pick on one British soldier who was standing outside of a building near the Old State House.
Shots Fired

Eight British soldiers quickly came to help the lone British soldier, who was surrounded by a crowd of colonists.

While throwing snow, ice, and oyster shells at them, the crowd yelled at the soldiers, daring them to shoot their guns.

Out of fear, the soldiers opened fire and shot five colonists. The colonists lost their lives.
Soldiers at Trial

John Adams, a colonist who was known as a Patriot, offered to defend the British officers in court. Adams disapproved of the British being in Boston but believed that they deserved a fair trial. None of the soldiers were found guilty of murder.

Multiple Choice

What angered the colonists in Boston on the night of the Boston Massacre?

• 
  loss of voting rights

• 
  increased taxes on tea

• 
  arrival of the British troops

• attacks by Native Americans

Boston Tea Party

After the Boston Massacre, Great Britain agreed to stop all taxes, except for the tax on tea. Parliament still wanted to tax tea to show that they still had control over the American colonies. Tea was the most popular drink among the colonists.

Colonists did not agree to the taxes on tea, so they decided to stop buying tea from Great Britain.
King George III did not like that the colonists were boycotting tea from Great Britain. In 1773, he passed the Tea Act, which lowered taxes only on the tea that came from Great Britain.

Great Britain thought they were helping the colonists by selling them tea for less. The colonists only saw the act as another way Britain controlled them.
The colonists did not like the Tea Act, because it gave Great Britain an unfair advantage. The Boston Tea Party was an uprising against the Tea Act by a secret group that the Sons and Daughters of Liberty had organized.

Press through the screens to learn more about the Boston Tea Party.
The Boston Tea Party angered King George III. He immediately passed laws to punish colonists for the Boston Tea Party.

​Smuggled Tea

Parliament began taxing tea with the Townshend Acts in 1767.

Because of the tax, the colonists boycotted British tea from the British East India Company.

They smuggled, or secretly bought, tea from other countries to avoid paying taxes on tea.
A Failing Company

Since the colonists were not buying tea from the British East India Company, the company had a lot of tea that needed to be sold. The company was in danger of failing.

In addition, Great Britain was not making money from selling the tea or collecting the taxes that were placed on the tea.

The image shows ships from the British East India Company.
The Tea Act

In 1773, King George III passed the Tea Act, which lowered taxes only on the tea that came from Great Britain.

It was thought that cheaper tea would encourage the colonists to stop smuggling tea from other countries, and less smuggling meant that more money would be collected through taxes.
Three Ships Arrive

In November of 1773, three ships full of crates of tea arrived in the Boston Harbor.

A group called the Sons of Liberty, led by Samuel Adams, would not allow the tea to be unloaded from the ships.

The crates of tea would stay on the ships for 19 days.
The Boston Tea Party

On the evening of December 6, 1773, about 50 men from the Sons of Liberty dressed up as Native Americans and marched to the harbor.

They boarded the three ships and began to open about 342 crates of tea and toss them into the water of the Boston Harbor.

The destroyed tea was worth about 2 million dollars in today's money.

The Coercive Acts

In 1774, in response to the Boston Tea Party, Parliament passed four laws to punish the colonists in Massachusetts. The British called them the Coercive Acts.

The Coercive Acts included:

1. Boston Port Bill-Ships could not load or unload in the Boston Harbor.

2. Massachusetts Government Act- Required that all positions of government be chosen by the king or Parliament.

3. Administration of Justice Act-
   British officials who broke a law in Massachusetts could have their trial in another colony or England.

4. Quartering Act-British troops in Boston could be housed in any building that was not already lived in.

The colonists were so angry about these Coercive Acts that they called them the Intolerable Acts.

Massachusetts colonists wanted to rebel, or act out, against the Intolerable acts. However, the other colonies thought it would be better if they could discuss ways to stand up to Great Britain

Match

Match the following

• 
  

  Required that all positions of government be chosen by the king or Parliament.

• Ships could not load or unload in the Boston Harbor.

• British officials who broke a law in Massachusetts could have their trial in another colony or England.

• British troops in Boston could be housed in any building that was not already lived in.

Massachusetts Government Act

Boston Port Bill

Administration of Justice Act

Quartering Act

• 
  

  Massachusetts Government Act

• Boston Port Bill

• Administration of Justice Act

• 
  

  Quartering Act

The First Continental Congress

In response to the Intolerable Acts, the colonies organized the First Continental Congress. 56 delegates from 12 of the 13 colonies were present at the meeting.

They met from September 5 to October 26, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This was the first time the colonies were working together as one united group.
The meeting was held in secret so that Great Britain would not discover that the colonies were working together.

The three main objectives of the meeting were:

1. Write a statement of their rights, or the things that they deserve, as colonists in America.

2. Identify how Parliament is breaking those rights.

3. Make a plan to convince Great Britain to give back their rights.

EDIO VIDEO PAGE 5

Delegates Meet

In response to the Intolerable Acts, 56 delegates from 12 of the 13 colonies gathered at Carpenters' Hall on September 5, 1774, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Georgia was the only colony that was not represented.
Declaration and Resolves

The delegates created a document that was called “Declaration and Resolves." It stated that:

1. Since the colonists were not able to have a say or representation in Parliament, then Parliament could not rule over them. The colonists believed they had the right to have their own government.

2. Unless the Intolerable Acts were repealed, or canceled, the colonies would cut off trade with Great Britain and boycott goods.

3. Each colony would create its own army to protect themselves against the British army
   

A Letter to the King

The colonists sent a letter to King George III, explaining why they did not like how Great Britain was treating them. They demanded that the king repeal the Intolerable Acts, or they would boycott goods.
A Revolution Begins

The king ignored their demands, and the colonists rebelled by boycotting British goods.

These events would start a revolution, which was the overthrowing of British control over the American colonies.
You learned about the First Continental Congress, where leaders from 12 of the 13 colonies met in 1774 to discuss their concerns about British laws and decide on actions to take.
The delegates in the First Continental Congress wrote a letter to King George III asking that they have representation in Parliament and that the Intolerable Acts be repealed. The king ignored their demands.

The king's response to the letter caused the colonists to boycott all British goods and start a revolution. The colonists were ready to break away from Great Britain.

Multiple Choice

Which colony did not send a delegate to the First Continental Congress?

• Georgia

• Maryland

• New Jersey

• Pennsylvania

Multiple Select

Parliament passed four laws that caused the colonists to join together and meet in the First Continental Congress.

What were those laws called by Parliament and by the colonists?

Choose 2 correct answers.

• The Tea Act

• The Coercive Act

• The Intolerable Act

• The Townshed Act

Open Ended

At the end of the First Continental Congress, the delegates sent King George III a letter.

• Identify at least one thing that the colonists wanted King George III to do in response to their letter.

• Then, explain how King George III reacted to their letter.

Today, you learned about the events that led to a meeting of the First Continental Congress.

In the meeting, the delegates wrote a letter expressing their rights to King George III.

The king ignored the letter, which caused the colonists to prepare for a revolution.