Road To Revolution
The American Revolution
Intro
The Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was the first tax to be enforced by the British on the American Colonist, this all started in 1765. It made the American colonist stamp there public paper with the British stamps, even playing cards had to have the stamp. The American Colonist did not approve of this tax, because this used to be free for them. They were so mad they rebelled by forming mobs. The Stamp Act was later repealed in March, 1766.
The Sugar Act
On April 5th, 1764 the Sugar Act was passed. The Act was an update to the Sugar and Molasses Act which was about to expire. The Sugar Act lowered taxes from 6 pence to 3 pence per gallon on molasses. It also put taxes on coffee and wine. The purpose of this tax was to stop the smuggling of molasses. When people would smuggle it they would not pay taxes and the British did not like that. The Act also made trading with anyone other than Britain illegal.
Boycotts
Boycotts were colonist that fought against paying taxes for things that they shouldn’t have to. They Start boycotts with non-important agreements. When the colonist didn’t want to pay taxes for things like public documents, sugar/molasses, and tea they wouldn’t buy it. They would then have to produce it themselves. Also when the colonist would boycott it would put a lot pressure on the economy of British, because they would not have the money coming in from people buying those goods. Colonist that violated the boycotts would be tarred and feathered.
Militia/Minutemen
The minutemen were men younger than the age of thirty that volunteered for the militia that fought for all 13 colonies. They were never trained and they fought along the army to protect their friends, family and towns. The minutemen were given their name because they had to be ready to march into war with only minutes notice. I think that the minutemen were a very important part of the war for independence, because they were always ready to fight alongside the army when someone attacked.Later in the revolution, the minutemen were seen as important and were given more training, so they could fight even better. They soon made up a third of the Colonial Army. Some people say that without the minutemen the history of our country might be a little different.