Professional Documents
Culture Documents
• When: 1764
• What: The Sugar Act
• Who: The English Parliament
• Why:
• To offset the war debt brought on by the French and Indian War
• To help pay for the expenses of running the colonies and newly
acquired territories.
• This act increases the duties on imported sugar and other items
such as textiles, coffee, wines and indigo (dye). It doubles the
duties on foreign goods reshipped from England to the colonies
and also forbids the import of foreign rum and French wines.
The Currency Act
• 1764
• King George III to the colonies
• The Currency Act
• Prohibited the colonists from issuing any legal
tender paper money. This act threatened to
destabilize the entire colonial economy of both
the industrial North and agricultural South,
thus uniting the colonists against it.
No Taxation without Representation!
• October, 1765
• Nine colonies sent people to a meeting in New York City to talk about
the Stamp Act.
• The decision was made that the Parliament could not tax the American
colonies since they had no representation in Parliament.
• The phrase stated by James Otis, a Boston lawyer, "No taxation
without representation" was heard throughout the colonies.
• The men at this meeting sent a letter asking Britain to repeal the Stamp
Act.
• The British would not listen. Instead they placed new taxes on the
colonies.In 1767 the British passed the Townsend Act. This act placed
taxes on tea, glass, paper, and paint. Many colonists refused to pay the
taxes or to buy any goods made in England.
Quartering Act
• March, 1765
• Quartering Act
• Required colonists to house
British troops and supply
them with food.
The Stamp Act
• March, 1765
• English Parliament to the colonies
• The Stamp Act
• This act taxed all printed materials and was the first direct
tax on the American colonies.
• English Parliament made this act to offset the high costs of
the British military organization in America.
• Thus for the first time in the 150 year old history of the
British colonies in America, the Americans will pay tax not to
their own local legislatures in America, but directly to
England.
The Townsend Act
• 1767
• The Townsend Act-
– This act placed taxes on tea, glass, paper, and
paint. Many colonists refused to pay the taxes or
to buy any goods made in England.
The Tea Act
• July 5, 1775
• The Continental Congress
• Adopted the Olive Branch Petition
• Expressed hope for a reconciliation with Britain,
appealed directly to the King for help in achieving
this.
• On August 23, 1775, King George III refused to even
to look at the petition and instead issued a
proclamation declaring that Americans were in a
state of rebellion.
Common Sense
Common Sense
by T. Paine
• January of 1776
• Thomas Paine
• Published a small book called Common Sense.
• This book was very critical of British governement and
King George in particular.
• Paine stated that America needed to be independent of
Britain.
• This book became a best-seller. It made Americans
believe that America should be a free and independent
nation.
Declaring Independence
• June 11, 1776
• Congress selected a committee of five men to draft a
proclamation to the world that the colonies were
independent from England.
• John Adams of Massachusetts, Roger Sherman of
Connecticut, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Robert R.
Livingston of New York and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia.
The committee assigned Jefferson the task of writing the
original document. After minor alterations were
subsequently made by Franklin and Adams, the document
was submitted to Congress.
Signing of The Declaration
• Though drafted a month earlier, The
Declaration of Independence was signed in
Phillidelphia, Pennsylvania on July 4, 1776.