PRE Revolutionary WAR
1765-1775
Townshend Acts: The Townshend acts were a group of acts passed by the British Parliament. The reason these acts were passed was to present the colonies the real power Great Britain obtained over them. These acts were named after Charles Townshend who enforced the acts and was a cheif treasurer of Britain's empire.
The first of the four acts, The Suspending Act, prohibited the New York assembly from carrying out anymore business until it met the requirements of the Quartering Act, which allowed Local governments in the colonies to give any accommodations to British Soldiers.
The second act, which is referred to as the Townshend Duties. This imposed direct revenue duties, these duties were not directly aimed at regulating the trade but rather to put money directly into the British Treasury. These duties (another word for tariff) were placed on imports of the colonies such as lead, glass, paper, paint, and most importantly to the colonists… tea! However this was not the first time in the young colonies history that a tax was imposed directly for the purpose of raising revenue.
The third act established strict and many times subjective machinery of customs collection in the 13 colonies. The strict customs included additional officers, search warrants, spies, coast guard vessels, as well as a Board of Customs Commissioners in Boston. All the above jobs were to be paid for by the new customs revenue.
These acts posed an immediate threat to the colonies self-government tradition, “No taxation without representation” was the most affected from the Townshend Acts. The colonists were extremely angered by the acts imposed by the British Parliament and several violent instances took place both physically and verbally. These acts which began June 1767 were repealed March of 1770. Britain attempting to flash their power and violate the values of the colonists was a key motive in ideas for a revolution coming to the mind of several Sons of Liberty.
The Boston Massacre: On March 5, 1770 outside of the customs house in Boston Massachusetts, a street fight occurred between a mob of “patriots” and a group of Redcoats, also known as British Soldiers. The Patriots instigated the fight by throwing snowballs at the group of soldiers. Obviously the presence of the British Soldiers was strongly disliked by the large majority of the colonists. This riot began when roughly 50 citizens attacked the group of British army men, outnumbered by angry citizens Captain Thomas Preston called in additional help.
As the enraged colonists inched closer to the British squad Private Hugh Montgomery urged his comrades to fire into the crowd while he squeezed his trigger, being the first British soldier to fire at the crowd. 3 members of the mob were killed on spot, Crispus Attucks a black sailor was the first to be shot, Samuel Gray a ropemaker, and a mariner named James Caldwell were killed very shortly after Crispus. 2 more victims died from injuries sustained, Samuel Maverick and Patrick Carr. 6 others left wounded.
The town was angered by the violence and bloodshed and a town meeting was called demanding the removal of British Soldiers and the trial of Preston and his men for murder. At the trial John Adams and Josiah Quincy were the lawyers for the British opposed to Samuel Quincy and Robert Treat Paine who were the attorneys for the prosecution. Two of the British soldiers were found guilty of manslaughter, Hugh Montgomery and Matthew Kilroy
The Boston Massacre was a single event leading to the Revolutionary War. The massacre caused the Royal Governor to evacuate the occupying army out of Boston, This led to armed rebellion throughout all of The 13 Colonies.
“The Boston Boys Throwing the Taxed Tea Into the Boston Harbour” is a primary source which was drawn on January 3rd 1774 and was published into a Boston newspaper, and it depicts several Sons of Liberty disguised as Mohawk Indians breaking crates of tea with tomahawks as well as throwing them overboard into the Boston Harbor. The colonists depicted in the image are revolting because of the “Tea Act” of 1773 as well as the “Townshend Acts” of 1767. Because Great Britain was unfairly taxing the American Colonists because the Americans did not have representation in parliament (No taxation without representation). Great Britain imposed a tax on tea after understanding that over 1.2 million pounds of tea were imbibed in the colonies. In 1773 Parliament allowed the British East India Company a monopoly on tea sales in the colonies. Colonists attempted smuggling in tea and it became a lucrative venture for Americans. This picture is significant because as stated earlier was drawn on January 3rd 1774, roughly 3 weeks after the event took place, meaning that the image is based solely upon what the artist had heard rather than what he had seen. In the picture you can see the colonists dressed as Mohawk Indians, the reason for this action was because if caught the Sons of Liberty would have faced severe punishment from the British Parliament. However the activists knew they would be recognized as non-Indians. The Americans wanted to send a message to the whole world that they identified as “Americans” and no longer wanted to be known as British subjects. The Americans wore wool blankets, painted their faces, and other modes of dress.
The Boston Tea Party: One of the most famous events in American history took place on December 16th 1773, known as the Boston Tea Party. The event led by Samuel Adams and his Sons of Liberty. The men involved were from all over the society anything from artisans to common laborers, anyone who wanted to defend their rights could participate in the influential yet dangerous task to undercut British power. The Sons of Liberty met at the Old South Meeting House, which was the largest building in Boston, to discuss what possible actions they could take to make a difference. The tariffs on tea from the Tea Act was the catalyst of the Boston Tea Party because the colonists were furious of one of their principles being disrespected, which was the common phrase we still know today of “No taxation without representation”.
The Boston Tea Party took place on a cold winter night and lasted about 3 hours. Three ships were moored at Griffin’s Wharf in Boston, The Beaver, The Dartmouth, and The Eleanor were the ships that happened to be raided. The ships which were raided were not British ships, the three ships were built in America and just sent back and forth from London to Boston. Approximately 349 chests of tea were hurled overboard and into the Boston Harbor. To date it is known that 116 people are documented as having participated in the historical event, however many people kept quiet about being involved and took the secret to their graves.
Roughly €9,659 worth of 1773 currency was thrown into the Boston Harbor that night, today that is $1,700,000. The abundance of tea in the Harbor caused it to smell and actually forced the British to close down the Harbour until all the 349 barrells of tea was paid for. Only one person was injured during the protest, John Crane was thought to be dead and the other Sons of Liberty took him and put him in a nearby shop where he regained consciousness. Only one American was caught in the process, Francis Akeley. He was imprisoned for his participation and is the only person to ever be arrested from the Boston Tea Party.
The Boston Tea Party was the first significant act of rebellion of the American colonists, ultimately leading to the American Revolution, which began April 19th, 1775 in Massachusetts.
The first of the four acts, The Suspending Act, prohibited the New York assembly from carrying out anymore business until it met the requirements of the Quartering Act, which allowed Local governments in the colonies to give any accommodations to British Soldiers.
The second act, which is referred to as the Townshend Duties. This imposed direct revenue duties, these duties were not directly aimed at regulating the trade but rather to put money directly into the British Treasury. These duties (another word for tariff) were placed on imports of the colonies such as lead, glass, paper, paint, and most importantly to the colonists… tea! However this was not the first time in the young colonies history that a tax was imposed directly for the purpose of raising revenue.
The third act established strict and many times subjective machinery of customs collection in the 13 colonies. The strict customs included additional officers, search warrants, spies, coast guard vessels, as well as a Board of Customs Commissioners in Boston. All the above jobs were to be paid for by the new customs revenue.
These acts posed an immediate threat to the colonies self-government tradition, “No taxation without representation” was the most affected from the Townshend Acts. The colonists were extremely angered by the acts imposed by the British Parliament and several violent instances took place both physically and verbally. These acts which began June 1767 were repealed March of 1770. Britain attempting to flash their power and violate the values of the colonists was a key motive in ideas for a revolution coming to the mind of several Sons of Liberty.
The Boston Massacre: On March 5, 1770 outside of the customs house in Boston Massachusetts, a street fight occurred between a mob of “patriots” and a group of Redcoats, also known as British Soldiers. The Patriots instigated the fight by throwing snowballs at the group of soldiers. Obviously the presence of the British Soldiers was strongly disliked by the large majority of the colonists. This riot began when roughly 50 citizens attacked the group of British army men, outnumbered by angry citizens Captain Thomas Preston called in additional help.
As the enraged colonists inched closer to the British squad Private Hugh Montgomery urged his comrades to fire into the crowd while he squeezed his trigger, being the first British soldier to fire at the crowd. 3 members of the mob were killed on spot, Crispus Attucks a black sailor was the first to be shot, Samuel Gray a ropemaker, and a mariner named James Caldwell were killed very shortly after Crispus. 2 more victims died from injuries sustained, Samuel Maverick and Patrick Carr. 6 others left wounded.
The town was angered by the violence and bloodshed and a town meeting was called demanding the removal of British Soldiers and the trial of Preston and his men for murder. At the trial John Adams and Josiah Quincy were the lawyers for the British opposed to Samuel Quincy and Robert Treat Paine who were the attorneys for the prosecution. Two of the British soldiers were found guilty of manslaughter, Hugh Montgomery and Matthew Kilroy
The Boston Massacre was a single event leading to the Revolutionary War. The massacre caused the Royal Governor to evacuate the occupying army out of Boston, This led to armed rebellion throughout all of The 13 Colonies.
“The Boston Boys Throwing the Taxed Tea Into the Boston Harbour” is a primary source which was drawn on January 3rd 1774 and was published into a Boston newspaper, and it depicts several Sons of Liberty disguised as Mohawk Indians breaking crates of tea with tomahawks as well as throwing them overboard into the Boston Harbor. The colonists depicted in the image are revolting because of the “Tea Act” of 1773 as well as the “Townshend Acts” of 1767. Because Great Britain was unfairly taxing the American Colonists because the Americans did not have representation in parliament (No taxation without representation). Great Britain imposed a tax on tea after understanding that over 1.2 million pounds of tea were imbibed in the colonies. In 1773 Parliament allowed the British East India Company a monopoly on tea sales in the colonies. Colonists attempted smuggling in tea and it became a lucrative venture for Americans. This picture is significant because as stated earlier was drawn on January 3rd 1774, roughly 3 weeks after the event took place, meaning that the image is based solely upon what the artist had heard rather than what he had seen. In the picture you can see the colonists dressed as Mohawk Indians, the reason for this action was because if caught the Sons of Liberty would have faced severe punishment from the British Parliament. However the activists knew they would be recognized as non-Indians. The Americans wanted to send a message to the whole world that they identified as “Americans” and no longer wanted to be known as British subjects. The Americans wore wool blankets, painted their faces, and other modes of dress.
The Boston Tea Party: One of the most famous events in American history took place on December 16th 1773, known as the Boston Tea Party. The event led by Samuel Adams and his Sons of Liberty. The men involved were from all over the society anything from artisans to common laborers, anyone who wanted to defend their rights could participate in the influential yet dangerous task to undercut British power. The Sons of Liberty met at the Old South Meeting House, which was the largest building in Boston, to discuss what possible actions they could take to make a difference. The tariffs on tea from the Tea Act was the catalyst of the Boston Tea Party because the colonists were furious of one of their principles being disrespected, which was the common phrase we still know today of “No taxation without representation”.
The Boston Tea Party took place on a cold winter night and lasted about 3 hours. Three ships were moored at Griffin’s Wharf in Boston, The Beaver, The Dartmouth, and The Eleanor were the ships that happened to be raided. The ships which were raided were not British ships, the three ships were built in America and just sent back and forth from London to Boston. Approximately 349 chests of tea were hurled overboard and into the Boston Harbor. To date it is known that 116 people are documented as having participated in the historical event, however many people kept quiet about being involved and took the secret to their graves.
Roughly €9,659 worth of 1773 currency was thrown into the Boston Harbor that night, today that is $1,700,000. The abundance of tea in the Harbor caused it to smell and actually forced the British to close down the Harbour until all the 349 barrells of tea was paid for. Only one person was injured during the protest, John Crane was thought to be dead and the other Sons of Liberty took him and put him in a nearby shop where he regained consciousness. Only one American was caught in the process, Francis Akeley. He was imprisoned for his participation and is the only person to ever be arrested from the Boston Tea Party.
The Boston Tea Party was the first significant act of rebellion of the American colonists, ultimately leading to the American Revolution, which began April 19th, 1775 in Massachusetts.