After the war Britain had many problems. The French ceded a vast amount of land which almost doubled the British Empire. Britain was also in a recession and had a huge national debt. In order to counteract these problems Britain began a New Colonial Policy and instituted many Acts. The enforcement of these laws, which have for years been neglected, was frustrating for the colonies. The colonies began to resent the sudden revocation of their freedoms and soon would act against them in rebellion (Doc. F). The first of many acts was the Proclamation Line in 1763, prohibiting settlers from entering the land west of the Appalachian Mountains. This prevented settlers from spreading out so far that Britain would not be able to afford to protect the colonists from Indian attacks. The Americans perceived this action as an enforcement of British rule and did not like it. There was also the Currency Act, which demanded the discontinue of paper money and all taxes be sent in specie, and the Sugar Act which forbade the Americans to buy sugar from anybody except the British West Indies. Britain also established the Navigation Acts. These prohibited smuggling goods into or out of America. Britain dispatched ships to patrol the coasts to seize ships and documents called the Writs of Assistance could be used to search ships even without probable cause. Since more laws were made, more judges and British officials were sent, which cost more money and the Americans were taxed for it. Britain also sent about ten thousand troops that were to be quartered in the colonists’ homes according to the Mutiny Act. With this bombardment of British officials, the Americans began to feel more resentment toward the British government and felt exploited.
Since Britain’s war debt had almost doubled, taxes were raised in England. The English merchants and landowners were incensed that the American colonists were not being taxed for what they believed was an American problem and war that the Americans should have to pay for. This was a display of an American identity separate from Englishmen. The British government then decided to directly tax the colonists with the Stamp Act. Any legal document or paper had to be stamped, which the colonists had to purchase. This was the first act established in American for the sole purpose of gathering revenue. This law inspired the saying, coined by John Dickinson, which became a famous cry of the colonists, “No taxation, without representation!” The Americans began to feel as though they were no longer Englishmen with the same rights. The Americans wanted the right to represent themselves in Parliament and consent to their own taxes. Even some Whigs in Parliament, such as Edmund Burke, thought the colonists had a point and should be represented, but George III would refuse it (Doc. B). In New England and New York colonists joined and boycotted British goods. In Virginia, the legislative body called the House of Burgesses created the Virginia Resolves that declared Virginia would not pay taxes that they did not create upon themselves. Massachusetts made contact with the other colonies and they met in New York at the Stamp Act Congress. The colonies came together and created a petition called the Declaration of Rights and Grievances that expressed there unanimous concern of their natural rights being infringed upon. The Stamp Act was then repealed by the British, but it was primarily because English merchants were complaining of their trade loss.
In 1767, Charles Townshend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, assumed leadership of Britain because the new Prime Minister, William Pitt, was often very ill and mentally unstable. The first thing Townshend did was to disband the New York Legislature until they agreed to the Mutiny Act, which the colonist also viewed as a tax without their consent. Townshend also established the Townshend Acts which placed revenue taxes on many everyday products such as lead, paint, paper and tea. Americans reacted with boycotts, but they were not as effective. The colonies established Committees of Correspondence, which were very important in American unity. They were committees that met and commiserated with each other on their common grievance, Britain. They were becoming more as one, rather than separate colonies.
On March 5, 1770, a mob of Bostonians harassed Red Coat guards outside a customs house and when the harassment became unbearable, a soldier opened fire and the others followed suit. Five men were killed that night. This event, the Boston Massacre, inspired one of the most effective pieces of patriotic propaganda that were becoming popular in newspapers. Paul Revere created an engraving depicting that night showing how brutal the Red Coats were, although it was the colonists who instigated it. These propagandas were important because they influenced the common beliefs of what would define patriotic Americans.
The Bostonians were against the new Tea Act, which put a heavy tax on tea. One night, a group called the Sons of Liberty led by such patriots as Samuel Adams, Paul Revere and John Adams, dressed up like Indians a dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor. This famous night called the Boston Tea Party infuriated the British government who demanded that Massachusetts pay for the lost tea. When Massachusetts refused, Britain punished Boston with the Intolerable Acts. The ports of Boston were shut from any ships coming or going. The town meetings were forbidden. Boston was put under martial law and any soldier who misbehaved was to be sent to England to be tried because Britain thought they would not get fair trial in America. The Americans perceived this as the Englishmen getting away with their wrong doings because they were unlikely to be convicted in London. The Americans began to call George III a tyrant. The Sons of Liberty were the first to talk about separation and were the biggest threat to British sovereignty. They began to lose a respected connection with England and would rather govern themselves like Mather Byles who would prefer to be ruled by his own countrymen (Doc. D).
Within a month after Boston was shut down, Virginia contacted the other colonies to meet in Philadelphia. This was to be known as the first Continental Congress. Fifty-six delegates assembled at Philadelphia and talked about the issue with Boston. The colonies gathered supplies to be sent and help relieve the citizens of Boston (Doc. G). This was a sign of unity and concern for their fellow colonies. During the Continental Congress, the delegates wrote another Declaration of Right and Grievances asking that all laws passed by Parliament after 1763 be repealed. George III wouldn’t even receive the document though. They also began to prepare their military by organizing their militias, gathering weapons and training men. They also established the Continental Association which would not trade with Britain. The American were uniting against there new common foe and becoming Americans (Doc. C).
In the events that led up to the revolution, a sense of unity was definitely acquired, but an American identity was not as prevalent. Although there was a strong opposition to the British government, it did not represent the entire population of the American colonies. Many would still be loyal to the King and others would just side with whoever was winning. The southern colonies were more reluctant to part for Britain, because they were more reliant on Britain for trade of their cash crops. This rift in opinions would show itself throughout the war and even afterward while trying to draft a constitution.
