“The Colonists Resist Tighter Control” * * * * * * * * * * * * Conflict with Native Americans *By 1763 – Britain controlled almost all land in North America east of Mississippi River but Native Americans west of Appalachian Mts. were trying to keep their lands. Pontiac’s War *Pontiac, leader of Ottawa nation, formed an alliance of western Native Americans *May 1763 – Pontiac and allies attacked British forts and settlements. Western British forts were destroyed and over 2,000 backcountry settlers were killed. British attacked Native Americans who had not attacked them *By fall of 1764, British had defeated Pontiac’s forces The Proclamation of 1763 *Britain wanted to avoid further wars with Native Americans on the frontier so British government issued the Proclamation of 1763 which banned colonial settlements west of a line drawn along the Appalachian Mts. *Settlers who already lived west of the line were told they had to move east of the line. *Proclamation angered many colonists who believed they had the rights to reside wherever they wanted. *Proclamation was widely ignored and impossible for the British to enforce.

British Rule Leads to Conflict *Colonists were proud of their contributions in winning the French and Indian War. Tens of thousands had served and many had died in the war. *Colonists expected Britain to be grateful for their help in the war and anticipated no more than a minimum increase in taxes. *Some ties between colonies had started to grow before the war; however, people from these colonies saw themselves as different from each other and different from people living in Britain. *1763 – Colonists saw themselves as loyal British subjects but they identified with each other more than with Britain *French and Indian War left Britain in debt *British government had to keep troops in North America to ensure France did not try to regain its lost territory and to protect settlers against Native American attacks. *British leaders believed colonists should pay part of the debt. The Sugar Act 1764- Sugar Act passed. It put a duty, or import tax, on several products, including molasses. *Smugglers would receive harsh punishments; colonial merchants (who sometimes traded in smuggled goods) protested The Quartering Act *1765 – Quartering Act passed to save money *Britain kept about 10,000 soldiers in colonies *Act required colonists to quarter, or allow soldiers to live in their homes, and provide them with food and other supplies *Colonists protested and complained Parliament was violating their rights

The Stamp Act *Early 1765 – Stamp Act passed by Parliament which required all colonists buy special tax stamps for all kinds of products and activities. Stamps had to be placed on newspapers, wills, licenses, insurance policies, land titles, contracts, and other documents. Colonists protested. *Virginia’s House of Burgesses passed several resolutions declaring that only Virginia’s colonial government had the right to tax the people of VA.

*Patrick Henry from House of Burgesses attacked the Stamp Act. When he made a comment that King George III should be killed (like Caesar), some people accused him of treason. *Merchants in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia organized a boycott – an organized campaign to refuse to buy certain products – of British goods; protests spread to every colony *Representatives from nine colonies met in NY for the Stamp Act Congress to write a petition – a written request to a government – to the king and Parliament demanding an end to both the Sugar and Stamp Acts. *1766 – Parliament repealed Stamp Act and passed Declaratory Act at same time. *Declaratory Act stated that Parliament had total authority over the colonies

Protests Spread *Britain tried to find ways of taxing the colonists without angering them. Townshend Acts of 1767 would not tax products/activities within the colonies, only those brought into the colonies. Writs of assistance *Townshend Acts set up a system to enforce the new import duties

*Customs officers were allowed to search for illegal goods by using writs of assistance – court orders that allowed officials to make searches without saying for what they were searching. *Colonists saw this as another violation of their rights. *Charles Townshend, official in charge of the British treasury, also wanted to weaken the colonial assemblies. *When NY assembly refused to supply money and feed soldiers under Quartering Act, Parliament suspended the assembly. Colonists boycotted British goods. The Boston Massacre *Boycott was successful because it hurt British merchants and manufacturers who then put pressure on Parliament. *March 5, 1770 – Parliament repealed all the Townshend duties except the tax on tea. This tax was left to demonstrate Parliament’s right to tax the colonists *March 5, 1770 -- Boston “Massacre” occurred: In Boston, an angry crowd of workers and sailors surrounded a small group of British soldiers. They shouted at the soldiers and threw snowballs and rocks at them. The frightened soldiers fired into the crowd, killing five people and wounding six. *Governor Thomas Hutchinson had the nine soldiers arrested and tried for murder. *John Adams (well-known MA lawyer and future 2nd President of US) defended them. Although he was a leading defender of colonial rights against recent British policies, he took the case because he believed that everyone accused of a crime had the right to a lawyer and a fair trial. *Two soldiers were convicted of the crime and had their thumbs branded. Committees of Correspondence *Colonial leaders saw the need to keep in closer contact with people in other colonies *Samuel Adams (cousin to John) established the Committee of Correspondence to keep colonists informed of British actions. *Committees soon began in other colonies. They wrote letters and pamphlets to spread the alarm whenever Britain tried to enforce unpopular acts of Parliament. *Committees helped unite colonists against Britain.