Road To Revolution
The long journey up to the Revolutionary War
Introduction
The road up to the revolution was long and included many back and forth arguing between Great Britain and the American Colonists. During this grueling time there was a ruler who had more conflicts then many knew. Although this time was lengthy, it ended with one of the most impactful events for American history.
King George III
Email: 20waltersca@muskegonorwayschools.org
Website: http://kinggeorgeiii.com/
Location: London SW1A 1AA, United Kingdom
Phone: +44 20 7766 7300
early life:
When he was 12, his father passed away and he was made the Prince. He was tormented in his head about being 'the perfect leader' causing him to waver his trust and dignity in himself.
Being a king:
George III became king of Great Britain and Ireland in 1760 due to his grandfather, George II’s, death. In his speech to Parliament he said “Born and educated in this country, I glory in the name of Britain.”
A year after he was coronated George got married to Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. The two met for the first time, on their wedding day! But, they ended up having 15 children!
George III worked for a fast end to the French and Indian War, causing his Prime Minister to resign. In 1764 Prime Minister George Grenville created the Stamp Act along with many other ideas againsts colonists with George.
Sugar Act
April 5, 1764
This showed that Colonial merchants had to pay 6 pence tax (per gallon) for foreign molasses.
Background info
Molasses was a manufacture of rum because the rum was made with molasses so is was a very popular product at the time. The majority of it
was imported from the West Indies, so they were getting a lot of the money.
Trade
The sugar act was a huge part of the mercantilist trade which was very popular even fast before this time period. The trade favored in England's side, giving them more money than the colonists got in return. When in reality colonists were working much harder and should have gotten paid more.
This can also be connected to when Great Britain took part in the Triangular trade routes across the Atlantic. This was the start of cheap labor where they commonly traded goods for African American slaves. Ships took the slaves to a plantation in the west indies and they sent molasses to the colonies manufacturing Rum.
Stamp act
Stamp Act Tax Passed!
Start of Act
George Grenville, the Prime Minister, rose a Stamp Act on the American colonists on March 9, 1764. The Act was formally written by Thomas Waltey. The document included the amount of taxes charged for any printed material. This would include cards, documents, newspapers, and diplomas or work certificates. This also confirmed to Americans that only Parliament could put taxes on things. Only two members in the House spoke against having these taxes but majority ruled and the act was passed on February 7th, 1765.
Colonists
The House would not take petitions against the Stamp act and they turned away any of the Colonists who wanted to protest, even peacefully. This angered them even more. They did not feel it was fair since they were just being controlled by Great Britain and had no say. Also they were mad that it had to be paid in cash.
Stamp Act Congress
This act then lead to the Congress. This was an organized group with chosen delegates to be held in New York for a meeting. Nine of the thirteen colonies decided to send people to go. After hours, they finally made a decision that the House of Commons could make laws for them and create rules, as a fair government would do, but they would not be allowed to tax them.
Sons of Liberty
Lastly, a very important, but secretive group was formed due to these madening Acts arising against the Americans. This group was formed outside of the kingdom in the year 1765. They met in Boston but their mind set was that they wanted to fight against the making of taxes in the colonies.They used a strategy called “mob action” where they terrorized the officials in the Parliament by intimidating and scaring them. Some officials actually resigned their positions, giving into the terror and after that no one was willing then to give out any taxes.
Sunday, Oct 13, 1765, 12:00 PM
House Of Commons, London, Great Britain
Boycotts
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Two Key Types of Boycotting:
Boston Massacre
March 5 1770, all the boycotting had added up and it was at it's breaking point. They had stopped buying all British goods and even learned to smuggle and steal food from other countries. On this day angry colonists attacked against the British troops that were standing guard of the Customs House in Boston by throwing snowballs and rocks. Troops opened fire on the colonists and killed three colonists at the scene but two died quickly after caused by severe wounds. The two soldiers were scheduled on trial for murder and defended by John Adams they were served for manslaughter.
Because of boycotting and the massacre, they took away most of the Townshend acts besides the one on Tea.
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Boston Tea Party
On December 16 1773 some colonists in Boston, Massachusetts showed their frustration on the Acts by dressing up like Indians one night. They snuck on ships in the harbor and dumped all the imported tea they could find into the water. Because of this, the British had to close the Boston Port. But smuggling increased and the effort for getting other products or making their own started up.
First Continental Congress
Petition
Meeting
Letter of Congress
Works Cited
"King George III & The American Revolution." Totally History. N.p., n.d. Web.
"Sugar Act of 1764." Land Of The Brave. N.p., n.d. Web.
"Stamp Act - Revolutionary War." About Education. About.com, n.d. Web. 2015.
"Why Were the American Colonies Unhappy with the British Government?" HIstory Is Fun (n.d.): n. pag. HIstoryisfun.org. Web.
Kindig, Thomas. "First Continental Congress." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, 4 July 1995. Web.