Causes of the Revolutionary War
Ideas that led to Revolution
- Salutary Neglect- Social injustice, they were treated unfairly
- Britain did not pay close attention to their colonies
- Colonies ended up governing themselves
1765 The Stamp Act
British Action
- Tax all documents, newspapers and playing cards by forcing colonists to place a special stamp on the items
- A direct tax on specific goods or items
1765 Stamp Act - Colonist Response
- “No taxation without representation
- Boycott of English goods
- Boycott = refusal to buy or use
- Sons of Liberty was formed
- Group that opposed English rule and advocated independence, led by Sam Adams and John Hancock
- Parliament repealed the Stamp Act
- boycotts were successful
1773 Tea Act
- Colonists drank 1.2 Million pounds of tea per year
- Reduced taxes on tea, but forced colonies to buy tea from failing East India Tea Company.
- Tea smuggling increased
Boston Tea Party 12/16/1774
- Sons of Liberty dressed in Native American clothing, spent 3 hours dumping 342 chests of tea into the water
- This represented over one million dollars in today’s valuation
Spring 1774 Intolerable (Coercive) Acts
- Designed to punish colonists for the Tea Party
- Closed Boston harbor
- Restricted trial by jury
- Searches without warrants
- Quartering troops without permission
- No town meeting allowed in Massachusetts
- Boston under military rule
- General Thomas Gage was appointed governor of Massachusetts
9/5 - 10/26 1774 First Continental Congress
- 12 colonies ( all but Georgia) send delegates to Philadelphia
- Lasts 7 weeks (remember up until this point, each colony functioned as an independent entity
- Issued Declaration of Colonial Rights and Grievances
- Despite its harsh tone, it did not challenge colonial loyalty.
- Delegates agree to meet again if relations did not improve including rescinding the intolerable acts