Events in the American Revolution
Chapter 5 final project.
Loyalists, Patriots or neutralists?
All the events leading up to the American Revolution were real history makers. One event would lead to another, then another, and another, and with each act, the colonists gained more courage, spirit and faith. They wanted to be in charge of themselves and in the end that's what they got by working together, all the Loyalists, Patriots and neutralists.
If I had to choose to be a Loyalist, Patriot or neutralist, I would choose to be a Patriot or a neutralist because if everyone were Loyalists, we wouldn't have our freedom that we have now and I think it's good to stand up for your rights and what you believe in.
The Stamp Act
In 1765, the British government need to pay off taxes from the French and Indian War, so they passed a law that require colonists to buy a stamp for all the paper they used, from newspapers to playing cards. The colonists were fine with paying taxes from their own assemblies but they didn't have any representatives in Parliament, they thought of it as a violation to their rights. Parliament received messages, Loyalists wouldn't buy stamps and Patriots called mobs to attack tax collector's homes. After months of protest, Parliament finally canceled the Stamp Act.
The Townshend Acts
In 1767-1770, the Townshend acts were proposed by Charles Townshend. The new laws taxed imported goods from Great Britain, such as glass, paint, paper and tea. But colonists didn't want to pay taxes their assemblies hadn't voted on. They decided to boycott the British goods. The women avoided British goods in many ways. Finally the acts were repealed, all except for the tax on tea.
The Boston Tea Party
Lord North had tried to save British East India Company by passing the Tea Act because if the company didn't sell 17 million pounds, they would be in danger of going broke. The Tea Act actually made tea cheaper that smuggled Dutch tea, but the colonists still saw it as another attempt to tax them without their input. When the tea ships came, protesters kept them from unloading. More than one ship went back still filled with tea. The royal governor in Boston told the British Navy to block the Boston Harbor exit, ordering that three ships would be unloaded before they can leave. On December 16, 1773, the Sons of Liberty "unloaded" the tea from ships dressed as Indians, but instead of unloading it to be sold they unloaded the tea into the harbor, dumping 90,000 pounds overboard.