Sons Of Liberty Dbq

Britain had long been abusing their power and the colonists were ready to take action; they had imposed taxes on basic necessities, robbing the colonists of their ability to maintain a stable economy. The time for negotiation was long past due. If it had not been for the denial of representation, patriot forces would have had no motivation to take charge and stand up for what they believed

The mistake of not making simple reforms, like allowing one representative in parliament per colony would lead to revolts, and even groups coming together. Some revolts were peaceful while others, which affected the tax collectors and stamp sellers, were violent resulting in the tarring and feathering of the British officials. The Sons of Liberty, led by Samuel Adams, James Otis, and Patrick Henry, were a very radical and overdramatic group, Patrick Henry would make the fateful statement of “Give me liberty or give me death.” On October 7th, 1765 the Stamp act congress would meet there were representatives from 9 of the 13 colonies. The representatives made a decision to boycott British goods. By March of 1776, the Stamp Acts will have been appealed, but the government in England is not happy.

The French and Indian War, was a war fought between France and Britain. The war was the product of an imperial struggle, a clash between the French and English over colonial territory and wealth. Great Britain claimed that the French provoked war by building forts along the Ohio River Valley. Virginia’s governor sent a militia to the French and Native American allies. The war started out badly for Great Britain, about 2,000 British and colonial troops were defeated by the French and Native Americans. For the first three years of the war, the outnumbered French dominated the battlefield, soundly defeating the English in battles at Fort Oswego and Ticonderoga. The British then began to make peace with important Indian allies, and under the

The French and Indian wars is the general name for a series of wars and conflicts between Great Britain and France during a period of 75 years. The fought over the possession of North America for territorial expansion in general, and for the rich fur trade around the Hudson Bay region specifically.

When the Britain passed the Royal Proclamation the colonists did not follow the law and still settled in the west. They pushed Cherokees out, paying no mind to the Treaty of Fort Stanwix, and kept moving west, which helped establish American nationalism. In the First Continental Congress, none of the colonies were talking about independence yet because all they wanted to do was resolve the issues. They began to take the idea of self-rule and participatory democracy into rule. The colonies began to think their rights were being taken away from them by Britain when Parliament and the King rejected their petition. They began to think ideas of freedom when British troops were being sent to the colonies to establish authorization by Parliament and the King. They didn’t think they could stand up to Britain because they were more powerful and the colonists didn’t have the proper kind of training or weapons. The thoughts of freedom became more real, after the Boston Massacre and after Lexington and Concord. When the colonists finally realized the British would use force to keep them in line and to keep control over them.

In 1773 parliament passed the tea act in which the British pay less for tax to ship places. This made the prices of tea lower from Britain. Since Boston's tea would be more expensive nobody would buy it from them. The tea act was just another problem adding up between the colonists and britain. This made the colonists want to be independent from Britain. The colonists decided to rebel and dumb three hundred and forty two chests of tea into the Boston Harbor. The act was given the name the Boston Tea Party. Most of the British thought of the Boston Tea Party as an act of terrorism. Really the Boston Tea Party was just another step to independence for the colonists.

The Boston Tea Party was a political protest that took place on December 16, 1773 in Boston Harbor in Boston, Massachusetts. The Sons of Liberty led by Samuel Adams, dressed as Mohawk Indians destroyed an entire shipment of tea sent from the East India Company by throwing chests full of tea into the Boston Harbor. George Hewe’s, an eyewitness of the event writes in his journal, “In about three hours from the time we went on board, we had thus broken and thrown overboard every tea chest to be found in the ship, while those in the other ships were disposing of the tea in the same way, at the same time.” (Hewes). The Sons of Liberty, a secret group formed by the 13 colonies to protect the rights of the colonists, protested in opposition of the Tea Act implemented on May 10, 1773. The Tea Act was an act placed by the British Parliament in order to raise revenue for Great Britain that required tax on

Another straw on the camels back was that throughout the 1700's multiple events added to the ticking time bomb of the colonists declaring their independence. In 1774 Parliament passed the Coercive Acts, which were called the intolerable acts by the colonists. When one looks at these acts its obvious to see why they gained the name “intolerable”. These acts closed their ports, Shut down governments bringing them under parliaments control, helped red coats escape justice, and forced the colonists to give up there homes to house the British troops that they were fighting. Just this was the end of the rope for many colonists. Later, in 1775 was the Second Virginia convention was held in Richmond. Patrick Henry gave a beautiful speech that stated “Give me liberty, or give me death!”. These words struck home with many colonists who were now ready to fight for the freedom that they deserved.

The tea act’s purpose was not to raise revenue from the colonies, but to help the East India Company to deliver the tea to the British to sell them. The tea was sold in such low price that it threatens the tea made by the colonies. Since tea was so popular, a tax on tea has a huge affect on the colonies. The new British tea overwhelms the colonies. The colonies reacted by rebelling and dumping the tea into the river which we know it as the Boston Tea Party.

The Sons of Liberty started to group together around in about 1772. The Sons of Liberty were a large group of colonists that rebelled against the Stamp Act. They were everyday, ordinary men, depending on what source you are looking at, they could be rebels, colonists helping to smuggle goods so they can try to avoid taxes, or merchants and artisans, or they could just be a group of people standing up for what they believe. . The thing is, the Sons of Liberty were all of these… they did all of this. No matter what, their main goal was to not pay any taxes, rebel against the taxes , or more likely to intimidate the tax collectors. They tried to rebel against the taxes, because almost everyone did not approve of the taxes, and to do this,

Britain was back at it again, angering the colonists. Within the Intolerable Acts was the Quartering Acts, this meant any British soldier had the right to stay where he wanted when he wanted. Colonists had to serve whatever needs these men might have had without hesitation. This was a force of entry to the colonist. Another action within the Act was closing off the Boston Harbor because colonists refused to pay back what they owed for the Boston Tea Party. This really ticked off the colonists because they lost a lot of jobs. Britain took over the colonist’s greatest port and invaded their privacy, another reason to fight against

Once again, the colonists were angry that they were being taxed on basic needs. This anger only grew through the Boston Massacre incident, where five colonists were killed, and the Boston Tea Party, where enraged colonists dumped tea into the Boston Harbor. The last straw for the colonists seemed to be the passing of the Coercive Acts, otherwise known as the Intolerable Acts. These acts were created to regulate and basically restrict the colonists to make them realize that Parliament was in control. Colonists did not agree with this act, specifically the Quartering Act which required them to house British soldiers, as well as feed and clothe them. These acts and taxations, along with the violent incidents that occurred in Boston, and a lack of colonial representation in the Parliament caused the colonists to

After nearly a year of protests, the Sons of Liberty were finally victorious in March of 1766 when Parliament decided to repeal the Stamp Act,but later the British put a tax on tea.The controversy over the tea tax was made worse by the passing of the Tea Act of 1773, which allowed for tea sold by British companies to be shipped directly to the colonies and sold at a discount. As the tax on tea was still in place, this act was a subtle way to persuade colonists to comply with the tax.The colonists were not pleased.

Parliament passed the Townshend Acts, which placed taxes on paper, lead, paint, and tea that was imported to New England. The colonist began to boycott these goods which angered English authorities. They placed military officials so that they could force the colonists to pay the much needed taxes. Tensions between British soldiers and colonists escalated. This lead to the Boston Massacre; it was propagandized and impassioned many settlers to rebel. In response for the unfair taxes on tea, the colonists dumped the imported tea into the harbor. People became much more ardent to their side after the incident. You were either for the revolution; a patriot, or you sided with England; a loyalist.

The Boston Tea Party was the result of the Stamp Act being revoked. "Parliament...repealed the Stamp Act...the ministry devised a...indirect tax on tea." (Document 7B2) Many colonists felt as if they were being tricked into paying high taxes, and this was unnecessary and unjust. This caused the colonists to hope for a revolution to begin.