Lecture Notes: The Prelude to the American Revolution (1765-1776)

Boston 1765

• Life in the colonies has been relatively tranquil.
• Thomas Hutchinson, a fifth-generation Bostonian, is Chief Justice and Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts.
• Hutchinson enforces the controversial tax policies imposed by the British rulers, leading to a violent rebellion.

Stamp Act of 1765

• Parliament imposes a direct tax on the colonies requiring them to pay for stamps on every piece of paper.
• The colonies resent paying the tax and having it imposed by a far-away Parliament.
• This incites a rebellion against an attack on their autonomy by English rulers.
• The Stamp Act rebellion spreads to all 13 colonies.
• Colonists feel their liberties are being eroded.

Sons of Liberty

• A powerful underground movement aimed to prevent the enforcement of the Stamp Act.
• They used intimidation and violence, including tarring and feathering and destroying Loyalist properties.

Key Figures

• John Adams: Outspoken against the Stamp Act and drafts anti-tax resolutions.
• Abigail Adams: Influential partner to John Adams.
• Patrick Henry: Virginia legislator who opposes British taxation.
• Benjamin Franklin: America's point man in England trying to manage a compromise.

Repeal of the Stamp Act

• Due to merchant boycotts and colonial resistance, Britain repeals the Stamp Act in March 1766.

Boston Massacre (1770)

• Tensions rise between Bostonians and British soldiers, resulting in the death of five civilians, including Crispus Attucks.
• The event is exaggerated by Patriot propaganda, such as Paul Revere's engravings.
• John Adams defends the soldiers in court, risking his reputation.

Tea Act and Boston Tea Party (1773)

• Parliament imposes a small tax on tea, sparking the Boston Tea Party where Patriots destroy British tea in the harbor.
• This act incites further British retaliation.

Intolerable Acts

• Following the Tea Party, Britain imposes severe restrictions on Massachusetts, dissolving local assemblies and imposing martial law.

First Continental Congress (1774)

• 55 delegates from the colonies meet in Philadelphia to form a unified strategy against British policies.

Powder Alarm and Lexington & Concord (1775)

• British attempt to seize colonial gunpowder stores, leading to the first military engagements at Lexington and Concord.
• The war for independence begins with these encounters.