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THE ROAD TO REVOLUTION

& THE SONS OF LIBERTY


THE HIGH COST OF VICTORY
SUGAR ACT (1764)
The Sugar Act was an early British
attempt to raise money from the
colonies. The act:
Actually CUT taxes on imports of sugar and
molasses
BUT, it gave the British expanded power to
combat smuggling (illegal trade that evaded
taxes)
Smugglers would now be tried in Vice-
Admiralty courts (a judge appoint by Britain
and located in Nova Scotia), not by local
juries
THE STAMP ACT (1765)
RESPONSE TO THE STAMP ACT
THE STAMP ACT CONGRESS
COMMITTEES OF CORRESPONDENCE
Networks created in
opposition to early acts
designed to share
information across the
colonies
Now helped to coordinate the
boycott efforts
Organized public protests
Informed people of their
liberties as Englishmen
COMMITTEES OF CORRESPONDENCE
Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, and Thomas Jefferson led the first
committees
Women also participated, including Mercy Otis Warren
These committees involved people who would become political
leaders in the Revolution and the new government after the war.

SAMUEL ADAMS
THE SONS OF LIBERTY
Early protest were led by colonial leaders
like Samuel Adams
Workers, shopkeepers, average people joined
protests against the Stamp Act
This collection of men was called the Sons of
Liberty
The group helped lead colonial protest to Stamp
Act and other taxation, and eventually, rebellion
REPEAL OF THE STAMP ACT
THE TOWNSHEND ACTS OF 1767
In 1767, Parliament passed the Townshend Acts, which
created external duties (taxes on imports into the
colonies):
Placed taxes on imports of lead, glass, paper, paint, and tea
Started new ways of collecting taxes to force the colonists to pay
Created new Board of Customs and to punishments for smugglers
and others who avoided paying taxes.
RESPONSE TO THE TOWNSHEND ACTS
Colonists immediately began boycotts and protests in response to
the Townshend Acts
British send troops to maintain order amidst protests
Boycotts caused British merchants to lose money, and they in turn pressured
Parliament
Parliament repealed most of the Townshend Acts on March 5, 1770.
Lifted the Quartering Act (which had required colonists to house and supply British soldiers)
Removed British troops from Boston
HOWEVER, kept a tax on tea
THE BOSTON MASSACRE
THE TEA ACT
BOSTON TEA PARTY
THE INTOLERABLE ACTS OF 1774
Called the Coercive Acts by the British, designed to punish
Massachusetts and regain control of Boston, which the British saw
as the hotbed of radicalism in the colonies.
Boston Port Bill closed the port of Boston until the lost tea had been paid
for
Admistration of Justice Act took away trial by juryof peers
Massachusetts Government Act disbanded the colonial assembly and
outlawed town-hall meetings
Quartering Act forced Bostonians to house British troops in their homes
Quebec Act extended the southern boundary of Quebec (Catholics!)

FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
The First Continental Congress resulted
in:
A declaration of rights, including the rights to
life, liberty, property, assembly, and trial by
jury
A protest of taxation without representation
A protest of the British army in the colonies
during peacetime without the colonies
consent
TIMELINE
RISING TENSIONS
PAUL REVERES RIDE
SHOT HEARD ROUND THE WORLD
April 19, 1775 minutemen met the
British on Lexington Green
A shot was fired from an unknown
source
After a brief skirmish, resistance fades
British advance on Concord
THE BATTLES OF LEXINGTON AND CONCORD

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