Unit 2: Pre-Revolution Part 2

Tea Act

This Act of Parliament was passed to save the failing British East India Company by giving it a monopoly in the colonies. They wanted colonists to stop smuggling cheap Dutch tea. This act allowed the British East India Company to sell tea directly to the colonies and did not force them to pay the 3 cent duty. Colonial merchants still had to pay the duty on tea and believed that England was trying to put them out of business.

Boston Tea Party

This was a protest organized by Samuel Adams and the Boston Sons of Liberty to ensure that British East India Company tea was not unloaded into the colonies. Colonial merchants were angry at the Tea Act which gave favorable treatment to the British East India Company. The protesters boarded the ships and dumped the tea into the Boston Harbor while people on the shore cheered. The British government was outraged.

Coercive Acts/Intolerable Acts

This series of acts was passed after the Boston Tea Party and were meant to punish Massachusetts until the colony paid for the tea. These acts closed the Boston Harbor, suspended the Massachusetts Assembly, said British soldiers accused of committing a crime would be tried in Boston, and issued a new Quartering Act. These acts were nicknamed the Intolerable Acts by colonists. England planned to enforce the acts with the military and placed Massachusetts under martial law.

Martial Law

When regular legislative assemblies are suspended and the military takes control of governmental functions. After the Boston Tea Party the Massachusetts legislative assembly was suspended. England replaced loyalist Royal Governor Thomas Hutchinson with General Thomas Gage. Boston was placed under military control.

Sons of Liberty

This was the name for an Anti-British organization that protested the Acts of Parliament. Chapters of this organization were established all over the colonies. These groups organized protests and boycotts of British goods. Chapters were often made up of merchants, shopkeepers, common laborers, lawyers, and the social elite. Not all of their protests were non-violent and members of this group harassed customs officials. Some tarred and feathered customs officials. Samuel Adams helped to organized the famous Boston chapter that was responsible for the Boston Tea Party.

Join or Die

This was one of the first widely distributed political cartoons in North American history. It was first created by Benjamin Franklin in 1754 to encourage the colonies to approve the Albany Plan of Union. It reemerged during the American Revolution. The snake represents the colonies and the slogan represents the mentality that if the colonies did not unite they would die.

First Continental Congress

This was the first meeting of colonial leaders. The meeting was called for by the House of Burgesses after the Coercive Acts were pass and the VA legislature was suspended. 55/56 Delegates met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to discuss what the colonies should do about their current situation. All the colonies attended except for Georgia. Many delegates still hoped that England would see reason and give them their rights. Delegates issued the Declaration of Rights and Grievances which voiced their concerns and asked for their natural rights. They also agreed to continue boycotting British goods and to meet again if conditions did not improve. This was the first official time that colonists banded together and the First "national" government.

Second Continental Congress

This meeting was called after the Battle of Lexington and Concord. At the beginnings of the meeting many delegates still wanted to make peace with Great Britain. However they saw that it was necessary to make further preparations for war. They create the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as commander of the army. They also sent the Olive Branch Petition to King George III requesting peaceful negotiations. After the Battle of Bunker Hill the delegates decided to create a committee to draft a Declaration of Independence. After the rejection of the Olive Branch Petition and increased tension the Second Continental Congress voted to declare independence and ratified the Declaration of Independence. This Congress was the first official government of the United States. It created laws and oversaw all wartime measures. However because it did not have the power to tax or enforce laws it had a difficult time getting the colonies to follow the laws.

Olive Branch Petition

The Second Continental Congress drafted and sent this document to King George III. It was colonial delegates' last attempt to try and reason with the King. In the Olive Branch Petition colonists swore that they were still loyal to the king but without representation in Parliament all the acts were unfair. They requested that the king stop sending troops and stop the Acts of Parliament until the colonists were given representation. King George III refused to look at the petition and issued the Proclamation for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition. This proclamation said that the colonies were in open rebellion and called for the traitors to be brought to justice. The rejection further strained relationships between England and the colonies. Extending an olive branch is an international symbol for requesting peaceful negotiations.

Common Sense

This was a 50 page persuasive pamphlet written by Thomas Paine. In this document Thomas Paine talked about the various reasons that it was only Common Sense for colonists to support independence. He discussed the growing gap between England and her colonies and insisted that they colonists would be better off without England. He said that England hurt the colonies economically and politically. This document helped bring many people over to the patriot cause.

Thomas Paine

He was an immigrant from England. An Enlightenment thinker, he wrote the 50 page pamphlet "Common Sense." His writings had a profound effect on the colonists. His pamphlet was the first "best seller" of the time.

George Washington

He was a Lieutenant Colonel during the French and Indian War for the Virginia Militia. He was sent out to remove the French from the Ohio River Valley. He had his troops build Fort Necessity but later was defeated by the French and their Native American Allies. During the French and Indian War he assisted the British gaining valuable military experience and a good reputation. He was a Virginia planter and served in the House of Burgesses. He was a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congress. At the meetings he wore his old uniform. John Adams suggested that George Washington be appointed as Commander of the Continental Army because he had experience, was from Virginia, and was moderate (in between loyalist and patriot) who leaned toward being a patriot.

George Grenville

He was the first finance minister of England to suggest that the colonies start to pay taxes to help pay for the French and Indian War. He was the first to suggest that the war had been fought for colonial protection and that the colonists should share in the cost. He had Parliament pass the Sugar and Currency Acts.

Benjamin Franklin

He was a colonial leader in Philadelphia who was greatly influence by the Enlightenment and Scientific Revolution. He was a delegate to the Albany Conference and helped to draft the Albany Plan of Union. He was the creator of the Join or Die political cartoon. After the Stamp Act he was sent to plead with Parliament to reverse the duty. He was a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congress. Franklin was on the committee to draft the Declaration of Independence and served as the primary delegate to France. He helped to gain French support for the United States.

George III

He was the King of England during the American Revolution. He rejected various colonial requests for their right to representation in Parliament. King George III believed that the colonists needed to follow English rule before they were given any rights. He also believed that if the colonists did not want to obey English law that force should be used to make them follow the laws. He rejected the Olive Branch petition and declared all colonial leaders at the Continental Congress traitors.

Samuel Adams

He was a wealthy Massachusetts Assemblyman who protested the various acts of Parliament. He help to found the Boston chapter of the Sons of Liberty. Samuel Adams participated and organized in various protests against the British Government. He was John Adams's cousin. He was a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congress.

John Adams

He was a Massachusetts lawyer and farmer who served on the Massachusetts assembly. He defended the British soldiers after the Boston Massacre and got a colonial jury to acquit them. After the Coercive Acts, John Adams supported the Patriot cause and was one of the first delegates at the First Continental Congress to call for independence from Great Britain. He suggested George Washington be appointed Commander of the Army and helped to edit the Declaration of Independence. He later served as a delegate to France to win French support for the United States.

Patrick Henry

He was a member of the House of Burgesses and a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congress. He is most famous for speaking out against the various Acts of Parliament and his quote, "Give me liberty or give me death!" He supported independence earlier than many of his fellow delegates.

Thomas Jefferson

He was a Virginia planter who grew hemp and tobacco on his plantation, Monticello. He was member of the Virginia House of Burgesses and a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congress. At the Second Continental Congress he was on the committee to draft the Declaration of Independence and was the primary author of the document. Thomas Jefferson was greatly influenced by the Enlightenment thinker John Locke. He later served as a delegate to France to win French support for the United States.

Loyalist

A colonists who remained loyal to England (the King and Parliament). Many loyalists did not believe the colonies could win the revolution or that the colonies could survive without England. William Franklin, Benjamin Franklin's son, & Thomas Hutchinson (Royal Governor of Massachusetts) are two examples of loyalists. Native Americans were often loyalists because they believed that the British would protect their right better than the colonists.

Patriot

A colonist who at the beginning of the Acts of Parliament wanted England to protect and give back their natural rights. Over time this term changed to mean someone who wanted independence from Great Britain. Patriots believed it was necessary to fight for their rights. Samuel Adams, John Adams, Patrick Henry, and John Hancock are all good examples of patriots.