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... n to Barre and pushed through the Stamp Act. Eventually the Colonists began an embargo on stamps. When stamps were brought to the colonies, merchants who had ordered them had to keep them in a safe place otherwise the colonists would steal them and burn them up. By the end of 1765 the governments in 9 of the colonies had passed resolutions which denounced the Stamp Act.
Even more importantly they denied Parliaments right to tax the colonies for revenue. (Middlekauff 83) In October of that year nine of the colonies banded together to form the Stamp Act Congress. Not even one year after the Stamp Act was put into effect; it was repealed, although the damage in the colonies had already been done (Cook p. 62 - 68). Debates in parliament over the repeal of the Stamp Act discussed the issues of taxation without representation. William Pitt, who was one of the colonists greatest supporters debated with Grenville over the colonists rights. Pitt said that if America was crushed it would, fall like a strong man. She would embrace the pillars of the state, and pull down the constitution along with her. (Middlekauff, 113) Anger at the colonies allowed Townshend to introduce his bill to Parliament.
In this bill he proposed that the troops be moved from the frontier to the troublesome Atlantic coast. He also proposed that taxes be placed on tea, glass, lead, paint and paper. Judges would be allowed to issue writs of assistance which permitted customs officials to search private homes, shops and warehouses without warning to search for contraband. (Cook 121) The reaction to the taxes was cautious and slow to form. Samuel Adams one of the leaders of the Sons of Liberty in Boston found out when the customs commissioners would arrive in Boston. He proposed that they be marched to the Liberty Tree where they could choose between resignation or the mob. This idea was abandoned due to lack of support by the other colonies. (Canfield 43) On March 5, 1770, all the taxes were repealed, except for a small duty remained on tea.
On that same date, in the colonies, the Boston Massacre took place (Cook 122, 149). On that date violence occurred between Royal soldiers and colonists in Boston when an apprentice shouted an insult at a British Officer. A sentry in front of the customs house hit the young man from behind. Soldiers came, civilians arrived and bloodshed followed. Even the small duty on tea, caused the colonists to lower their consumption of the product. Tea imports dropped from 320, 000 pounds in 1769 to 530 in 1772.
The Tea Act of 1773 basically gave a monopoly on importing of tea to the East India Company to help this company out of debt. The company tried to sell cut rate tea in America. Three such ships arrived in Boston Harbor in December of 1763. The ships sat in the harbor and none was unloaded. They were also unable to return to England without unloading the tea. On Thursday December 16 the Boston Tea Party took place.
This act of aggression took place when the Sons of Liberty dressed up as Native Americans and went onboard three English vessels and threw all their tea overboard (Jensen p 84). In order to punish Boston for this act of resistance, the next acts to take effect were the Coercive Acts. These acts were also known as the Intolerable Acts. The first act closed down the port of Boston until the East India Company was paid for the tea that had been dumped into the harbor and the imperial revenue compensated for its loss on dutiable goods.
The Coercive Acts also dispatched four regiments to Boston and authorized Royal Army officers to quarter troops in the homes of private citizens (Fleming p. 85). Also at the same time as the Intolerable Acts was the Quebec Act, which gave Canadas Catholics civil equality and guaranteed religious tolerance. The colonists saw this act as giving areas of the midwest to the Catholic Canadians and creating more danger from the French and Indians. (Cook 190 - 191) On September 5, 1774, in Philadelphia began the remarkable first gathering of the Continental Congress. The Colonies met for the first time as a unified group and all agreed to ban imports from England, beginning December 1, 1774 and continuing until the siege of Boston ended. The ban was delayed until September of 1775 (Middlekauff 243). The Congress contained 56 men and included 12 of the 13 colonies.
It produced a Declaration of Rights. This Declaration listed the bills that infringed on their rights and declared that if England wanted reconcile with the colonies they had to agree that all the bills had to be repealed (Cook 192 - 198). More troops were sent to the colonies to put down any idea or rebellion, but this further angered the colonists. Fighting began at Lexington and Concord and the revolution began in earnest. The character of the American colonists had been tested and they had shown that they were a new, different breed of colonists that England was unprepared for.
Possibly the distance between the two nations led for the lack of communication and understanding between the peoples and government. With the great amount of time that it took for communication between the two nations it was very difficult for the British Ministers or King to fully appreciate the maturation and development of the Colonists. The Revolution did not just eliminate monarchy and create republics; it actually reconstituted what Americans meant by public or state power and brought about an entirely new kind of popular politics and a new kind of democratic officeholder (Wood 8). Works Cited Canfield, Cass. Sam Adams Revolution (1765 - 1776). New York: Harper and Row, 1976.
Cook, Don. The Long Fuse; How England Lost The American Colonies, 1760 - 1785. New York: The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1995. Fleming, Thomas. Liberty! The American Revolution.
New York: Penguin Group, 1997. Handling, Oscar and Lilian. A Restless People; Americans in Rebellion 1770 - 1787. New York: Anchor Press, 1982. Jensen Merrill. The Founding of a Nation; A History of the American Revolution 1763 - 1776.
New York: Oxford University Press, 1968. Middlekauff, Robert. The Glorious Cause; The American Revolution, 1763 - 1789. New York: Oxford University Press, 1982. Wood, Gordon S. The Radicalism of the American Revolution.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.
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