•
mid-1700’s
•
symptoms of licentiousness included corruption (gov willing to sell out the good
of the people for money), standing armies in peacetime (controlled by King and
paid for by citizens taxes), and citizens willing to look away.
Benjamin Franklin
Proclamation of 1763
•
Issued by king, separated land won from French from the lands occupied by
English colonies
•
1763
•
Stated nobody could cross that line, but colonists had wanted to take over that
land. This didn’t settle well with colonists.
Sugar Act
•
New taxes on sugar, textiles, coffee, and indigo.
•
April 1764
•
At the same time parliament set up new court in Halifax (old Quebec) where
anyone found in violation of this act could be taken to for trial. They didn’t do
trials in Boston where other colonists were, they took them somewhere far away.
Salutary neglect is over and now the taxes must be paid.
Stamp Act
•
Any time a legal document was filed or bought a newspaper a document tax was
paid.
•
March 1765
•
Sons of Liberty was formed to fight against the tax and run the tax collectors out
of the colonies. In Mass they threw stones and objects at Thomas Hutchinson’s
home.
James Otis
•
From Massachusetts
•
1760’s
•
Protested the taxes, colonists were being taxed without representation in
parliament. “no taxation without representation”
“Virtual” Representation
•
Parliament told the colonists they were represented. Most people couldn’t vote,
but if you lived in a district and had a representative (who you didn’t vote on)
then you were considered represented.
•
1760’s
•
Nothing would be done against the interest of the English people, so everyone
was considered represented
Quartering Act
•
Every colony was going to have to raise taxes or make accommodations for
British soldiers. Dangerous, they didn’t want British soldiers on their soil because
they knew they’d be used against them
•
May 1765
•
Essentially colonists taxes are being used towards soldiers who can be used
against them.
Declaratory Act
•
Stated that although they took away the stamp act they still had the right to tax
•
March 1766
Townshend Duties
•
Import duties on paper, tea, lead, glass and paint.
•
June-July 1767
•
Colonists responded with a boycott. If Sons of Liberty saw colonists buying these
items they will attack you. It was repealed in 1770 because it wasn’t making any
money.
Boston Massacre
•
British soldiers stationed in Boston (a British port) and colonist began to harass
them, they were throwing snowballs and rocks at them the soldiers panicked and
fired into the crowd.
•
March 5, 1770
•
Five American died but the incident was dramatized by colonists.
Tea Act
•
Lowered the tax on tea that was still existing from the townshend duties
•
1773
•
Colonists saw this as British trying to trick them into drinking more tea, it was
actually done in effort to keep the British East India company alive.
