Colonial Resistance, American Foundations Exam 2

Stamp Act

Who: Parliament.

What: Direct tax on specified printed materials and legal documents.

When: 1765.

Where: American colonies.

Why significant: Colonists rejected taxation without consent. Protests and boycotts encouraged colonial unity and helped secure repeal in 1766, but Parliament continued claiming authority.

Boston Tea Party

Who: Colonial protesters.

What: Destroyed East India Company tea.

When: December 1773.

Where: Boston Harbor.

Why significant: The Tea Act made company tea cheaper, threatening merchants while retaining taxation without consent. Destruction provoked British punishment and escalated the imperial crisis.

Intolerable Acts

Who: Parliament.

What: Punitive measures closing Boston’s port and restricting Massachusetts self-government.

When: 1774.

Where: Massachusetts.

Why significant: Other colonies feared similar attacks on their rights. Punishment intended to isolate Massachusetts instead encouraged coordinated resistance.

First Continental Congress

Who: Delegates from twelve colonies.

What: Meeting coordinating resistance and a broad trade boycott.

When: 1774.

Where: Philadelphia.

Why significant: Strengthened intercolonial cooperation and supported local enforcement committees. It defended rights within the empire rather than immediately declaring independence.

Common Sense

Who: Thomas Paine.

What: Pamphlet attacking hereditary monarchy and advocating independence.

When: January 1776.

Where: Published in Philadelphia.

Why significant: Its accessible language reached ordinary readers. Paine argued that Britain burdened America and presented independence as a cause affecting humanity.

ESSAY: Why did colonists move toward revolution?

Thesis: Britain’s attempts to strengthen imperial control conflicted with colonial expectations of self-government.

Argument 1: Taxes and trade enforcement threatened economic interests—Sugar Act, Stamp Act, Tea Act.

Argument 2: Representation, searches, and troops raised questions of liberty.

Argument 3: Boycotts, punitive laws, and Congress created coordinated resistance.

ESSAY: Were colonists united against Britain?

Thesis: Cooperation increased, but colonists disagreed over goals and methods.

Argument 1: Many opposed policies while remaining loyal British subjects.

Argument 2: Violence and intimidation divided opinion—Sons of Liberty, Gaspee, Tea Party.

Argument 3: Shared fears after the Intolerable Acts encouraged cooperation without creating unanimous support for independence.