1. 5.3 The Townshend Act and Colonial Protest
1.1. The Townshend Acts
1.1.1. Who was Charles Townshend?
1.1.1.1. Charles Townshend's first order of business as Chancellor to Prime Minister William Pitt was to deal with the New York Assembly
1.1.1.1.1. In response, he proposed the Restraining Act of 1767, which disbanded the NYA until it agreed to pay for the garrison's supplies
1.1.2. The Townshend Revenue Act of 1767 placed duties on various consumer items like paper, paint, lead, tea, and glass
1.1.2.1. The Revenue Act severed the relationship between governors and assemblies
1.1.3. The Indemnity Act of 1767 exempted tea produced by the British East India Trading Company from taxation when it was imported into Great Britain--however, when the tea was re-exported back to the colonies it was taxed because of the Revenue Act
1.1.4. The Commissioners of Customs Act of 1767 created the American Board of Customs to enforce trade laws
1.1.4.1. The new customs board was based in Boston and would help curtail smuggling
1.1.5. The Vice-Admiralty Court Act established vice-admiralty courts in Boston, Philadelphia, and Charleston to try violators of customs regulations without a jury
1.1.6. Overall, the Townshend Acts resulted in higher taxes and greater British control to enforce them
1.2. Reactions: The Non-important Movement
1.2.1. The Townshend Acts generated many protests, primarily via printed word
1.2.2. One of the most noteworthy acts of protest was a letter that Samuel Adams wrote in 1768 that later became known as the Massachusetts Circular
1.2.2.1. The letter explained the unconstitutionality of taxation without representation and encouraged other colonies to once again protest by not purchasing British goods
1.3. Trouble in Boston
1.3.1. The Massachusetts Circular got Parliament's attention and PM Lord Hillsborough sent approx. 4,000 troops to Boston to deal with the protests and rebellion
1.3.2. John Hancock was a successful merchant that supported the aim of groups like the Sons of Liberty
2. 5.4 The Destruction of the Tea and the Coercive Acts
2.1. The Tea Act of 1773
2.1.1. The act was a straightforward order of economic protectionism for a British tea firm, the East India Co., that was on the verge of Bankruptcy
2.1.2. It gave the British East India Co. the ability to export its tea directly to the colonies without paying import or export duties and without using middlemen in either Great Britain or the colonies
2.1.3. Because the tea tax that the Townshend Acts imposed remained in place, tea had come to symbolize the idea of "no taxation without representation"
2.2. Colonial Protest: The Destruction of the Tea
2.2.1. To the Sons and Daughters of Liberty, the act appeared to be proof positive that a handful of members of Parliament were violating the British Constitution
2.2.2. Colonists responded to the Tea Act of 1773 with a boycott
2.2.2.1. The Boston Tea Party
2.3. Parliament Responds: The Coercive Acts
2.3.1. Parliament responded with measures designed to punish Massachusetts, known as the Coercive Acts
2.3.1.1. The Administration Justice Act allowed the royal governor to unilaterally move any trial of a crown officer outside of Massachusetts
2.3.1.2. The Quartering Act encompassed all the colonies, allowing British troops to be housed in any and all occupied buildings
2.3.1.3. The Quebec Act expanded the boundaries of Quebec westward and extended religious tolerance to Roman Catholics in the province
2.3.2. American colonists renamed the Quebec and Coercive Acts the Intolerable Acts
3. 5.1 Confronting the National Debt: The Aftermath of the French and Indian War
3.1. Problems on the American Frontier
3.1.1. With the end of the French and Indian War, Great Britain claimed a vast new expanse of territory
3.1.2. However, land in the American British Empire remained under the control of powerful native confederacies
3.1.2.1. The westward movement brought settlers into conflict with Indian tribes
3.1.2.1.1. After the war, British troops took over the former French forts but failed to court favor with the local tribes by distributing ample gifts
3.2. The British National Debt
3.2.1. The newly enlarged empire meant a great financial burdern
3.2.2. The French and Indian War doubled the British national debt
3.2.3. Those in Great Britain believed the colonists shared some of the responsibility for the vast financial burden
3.2.3.1. British government began increasing taxes on the colonists
3.3. Imperial Reforms
3.3.1. The Currency Act of 1764 prohibited the colonies from printing additional paper money and required them to pay British merchants in gold and silver
3.3.1.1. The goal was to standardize currency used in Atlantic trade
3.3.1.2. Brought the American economic activity under greater British control
3.3.2. The Sugar Act of 1764 lowered duties on British molasses by half, attempting to make it easier for colonial traders to comply with imperial law
4. 5.2 The Stamp Act and the Sons and Daughters of Liberty
4.1. The Stamp Act and the Quartering Act
4.1.1. Prime Minister Grenville (author of the Sugar Act of 1764) introduced the Stamp Act in 1765
4.1.1.1. During the same year, Parliament passed the Quartering Act which attempted to solve the problem of stationing troops in North America
4.1.1.1.1. The Stamp Act and Quartering Act was a move by Parliament to showcase its power and authority
4.1.2. Anyone who used or purchased anything printed on paper had to buy a revenue stamp for it
4.2. Colonial Protest: Gentry, Merchants, and the Stamp Act Congress
4.2.1. Because the Stamp Act raised constitutional issues, it triggered the first serious protest against British imperial policy
4.3. Mobilization: Popular Protest Against the Stamp Act
4.3.1. The Stamp Act signaled a shift in British policy after the French and Indian War
4.3.1.1. It raised many concerns for the colonists, primarily the right to representation
4.3.1.1.1. With no representation in the House of Commons they felt themselves deprived of this inherent right
4.3.1.2. Parliament believed the relationship of the colonies to the Empire was one of dependence, not equality
4.3.1.2.1. Because colonists had never formed a unified political front, Grenville and Parliament did not fear true revolt
4.3.1.3. The act unintentionaly drew colonists together in protest
4.3.2. While colonial gentry met at the Stamp Act Congress, other colonist groups displayed their distaste for the act by boycotting British goods
4.3.2.1. The two most noteworthy groups that protested were the Sons of Liberty and the Daughters of Liberty
4.3.2.1.1. The Daughters of Liberty gave women a new and active role in political realities of the time
4.4. The Declaratory Act
4.4.1. In order to appease opponents of the Stamp Act's repeal, Prime Minister Lord Rockingham proposed the Declaratory Act
4.4.2. It stated that in no uncertain terms that Parliament's power was supreme and that any laws the colonies may have passed to govern and tax themselves were null and void if they ran counter to parliamentary law.