1 Tighter British Control - Mr Thompson

1 The Road to Revolution14311 MAIN IDEAWHY IT MATTERS NOWT ighter British ControlTighter British ControlTERMS & NAMESKing George IIIQ uartering ActrevenueSugar ActStamp ActPatrick HenryboycottSons of LibertyThe Colonies and Britain Grow ApartDuring the French and Indian War, Britain and the colonies fought sideby side. Americans took great pride in being partners in the victory overthe French. However, when the war ended, problems arose. Britainwanted to govern its 13 original colonies and the territories gained in thewar in a uniform way. So the British Parliament in London imposed newlaws and restrictions.

2 Previously, the colonies had been allowed to developlargely on their own. Now they felt that their freedom was being saw British efforts to taxthem and to increase Control over thecolonies as violations of their protests were the first stepson the road to AMERICAN S STORYJ ames Otis, Jr., a young Massachusetts lawyer, stormed through thestreets of Boston one day in 1760. He was furious. His father had justbeen denied the post of chief justice of the Massachusetts colony bythe royal governor. To Otis, this was one more example of Britain s lackof respect for colonial rights.

3 Another example was its use of searchwarrants that allowed customs officers to enter any home or businessto look for smuggled goods. Otis believed these searches were took up a case against the government that involved thesesearch warrants. In court in February 1761, Otis spoke with greatemotion for five hours about the search warrant and its VOICE FROM THE PASTIt appears to me the worst instrument of arbitrary power, the mostdestructive of English liberty and the fundamental principles of law, that was ever found in an English Otis, Jr.,quoted in James Otis: The Pre-Revolutionistby J.

4 C. RidpathSpectators listened in amazement. One of them, a young lawyer namedJohn Adams, later wrote of Otis s performance: Then and there, in theold Council Chamber, the child Independence was born. In making the first public speech demanding English liberties for thecolonists, James Otis planted a seed of freedom. In this section, you willread more about the early protests against Britain s policies in Otis, Jr., argues in courtagainst illegal search warrantsin R U2C06S1 11/26/02 12:09 PM Page 143 The first of Parliament s laws was the Proclamation of 1763.

5 (SeeChapter 5.) It said that colonists could not settle west of the AppalachianMountains. Britain wanted this land to remain in the hands of its NativeAmerican allies to prevent another revolt like Pontiac s proclamation angered colonists who had hoped to move to thefertile Ohio Valley. Many of these colonists had no land of their own. Italso upset colonists who had bought land as an investment. As a result,many ignored the Troops and TaxesKing George III,the British monarch, wanted to enforce the proclama-tion and also keep peace with Britain s Native American allies.

6 To do this,he decided to keep 10,000 soldiers in the colonies. In 1765, Parliamentpassed the Quartering was a cost-saving measure that requiredthe colonies to quarter, or house, British soldiers and provide them withsupplies. General Thomas Gage, commander of these forces, put most ofthe troops in New owed a large debt from the French and Indian War. Keepingtroops in the colonies would raise that debt even higher. Britain neededmore revenue,or income, to meet its expenses. So it attempted to havethe colonies pay part of the war debt. It also wanted them to contributetoward the costs of frontier defense and colonial the past, the king had asked the colonial assemblies to pass taxesto support military actions that took place in the colonies.

7 This time,however, Parliament voted to tax the Americans 1764, Parliament passed the Sugar law placed a tax onsugar, molasses, and other products shipped to the colonies. It also calledfor strict enforcement of the act and harsh punishment of merchants, who often traded in smuggled goods,reacted with leaders such as James Otis claimed thatParliament had no right to tax the colonies, since the colonistswere not represented in Parliament. As Otis exclaimed, Taxation without representation is tyranny! British financeminister George Grenville disagreed.

8 The colonists were sub-jects of Britain, he said, and enjoyed the protection of its that reason, they were subject to Passes the Stamp ActThe Sugar Act was just the first in a series ofacts that increased tension between themother country and the colonies. In 1765,Parliament passed the Stamp lawrequired all legal and commercial docu-ments to carry an official stamp showingthat a tax had been paid. All diplomas,contracts, and wills had to carry a SummarizingWho was upsetby the Proclama-tion of 1763?A. Answercolonists whowanted land oftheir own andthose who hadbought land asinvestmentsVocabularytyranny:absolute powerin the hands of a single rulerThe colonial view of the hated stamp tax is shown by the skull and crossboneson this emblem(above); a royalstamp is picturedat R U2C06S1 11/26/02 12:09 PM Page 144 Even published materials such as newspapers had to be written on spe-cial stamped Stamp Act was a new kind of tax for the colonies.

9 The SugarAct had been a tax on imported goods. It mainly affected merchants. Incontrast, the Stamp Act was a tax applied within the colonies. It felldirectly on all colonists. Even more, the colonists had to pay for stampsin silver coin a scarce item in the leaders vigorously protested. For them, the issue was were being taxed without their consent by a Parliament inwhich they had no voice. If Britain could pass the Stamp Act, whatother taxes might it pass in the future? Samuel Adams, a leader in theMassachusetts legislature, asked, Why not our lands?

10 Why not theproduce of our lands and, in short, everything we possess and makeuse of? Patrick Henry,a member of Virginia s House of Burgesses,called for resistance to the tax. When another member shouted thatresistance was treason, Henry replied, If this be treason, make themost of it! The Colonies Protest the Stamp ActColonial assemblies and newspapers took up the cry No taxationwithout representation! In October 1765, nine colonies sent delegatesto the Stamp Act Congress in New York City. This was the first timethe colonies met to consider acting together in protest.