Colonial Tensions and Revolution

Overview

This lecture covers the escalating tensions between Britain and its American colonies after the French and Indian War, focusing on new taxes, colonial resistance, and events leading to the American Revolution.

Effects of the French and Indian War

• The French and Indian War left Britain with massive debt.
• Britain expected American colonies to help pay the debt through taxes.
• Colonists had enjoyed "salutary neglect," with little British enforcement of laws.

British Crackdown and Colonial Response

• Prime Minister George Grenville enforced the Navigation Acts more strictly.
• The Quartering Act (1765) required colonists to house and feed British soldiers.
• The Sugar Act taxed luxury items and enforced molasses taxes.
• The Stamp Act (1765) taxed paper goods like newspapers and legal documents.
• The Currency Act banned colonial assemblies from printing paper money.
• Colonists felt financially restricted as taxes rose and the money supply shrank.
• Wages were declining and unemployment rising among colonists.

No Taxation Without Representation

• The phrase "no taxation without representation" expressed colonial protest against taxes imposed by a Parliament they did not elect.
• Colonists believed in natural rights and the social contract, influenced by Enlightenment thinkers.
• Britain argued for "virtual representation"—Parliament represented all British subjects.

Colonial Organizing and Protests

• Groups like the Sons of Liberty, Daughters of Liberty, and Vox Populi led resistance.
• The Stamp Act Congress (1765) petitioned for repeal of the Stamp Act, claiming loyalty to Britain.
• Parliament repealed the Stamp and Sugar Acts (1766) but passed the Declaratory Act asserting its authority.
• The Townshend Acts (1767) taxed imported goods like paper, tea, and glass.
• Widespread boycotts and nonimportation united colonists across social classes, especially women.

Key Events Leading to Revolution

• The Boston Massacre (1770): British soldiers fired into a crowd, killing four colonists, fueling anti-British sentiment.
• The Boston Tea Party (1773): Colonists dumped British tea to protest the Tea Act and monopoly.
• The Coercive (Intolerable) Acts (1774) closed Boston Harbor and imposed more controls, further angering colonists.
• Colonists began forming militias, preparing for possible conflict.

Key Terms & Definitions

• Salutary Neglect — Britain's long-standing policy of allowing colonies self-rule with minimal interference.
• Navigation Acts — British laws restricting colonial trade to benefit England.
• Quartering Act (1765) — Law requiring colonists to house and supply British troops.
• Sugar Act — Tax on luxury items and enforcement of molasses duties.
• Stamp Act (1765) — Tax on printed materials in the colonies.
• Currency Act — Prohibited the creation of colonial paper money.
• Virtual Representation — British claim that Parliament represented all subjects, including colonists.
• Townshend Acts — Taxes on imported goods like tea, paper, glass.
• Boston Massacre — 1770 event where British troops killed colonial protestors.
• Boston Tea Party — 1773 protest dumping British tea into Boston Harbor.
• Coercive/Intolerable Acts — Punitive laws closing Boston Harbor and increasing British control.

Action Items / Next Steps

• Review the causes and effects of each tax act and colonial response.
• Prepare to discuss the escalation of colonial resistance in the next lesson.
• Read about the first Continental Congress for upcoming class.