Road to the Revolution: Worksheet

Unit 2:  Road to the Revolution 1754-1776

The French and Indian War  had cost the British a bundle. This war was fought in the American colonies. Assisted by Native Americans, the British won. They gained a lot of land in the colonies, formerly controlled by the French. But they had borrowed a considerable amount of money to fund the war. And, they had many British troops left over from the war still stationed in the colonies. Care of those troops was draining them financially.

1.  The Proclamation of 1763: British Parliament passed a law called The Proclamation of 1763. The Proclamation was an attempt to establish a western border of the 13 colonies in America. That border was the Appalachian Mountains.

The Proclamation made it illegal for colonists to settle west of the Appalachians, illegal to move into Ohio or Tennessee or Florida. Parliament was hoping this would satisfy the Native Americans in the area, and reduce the need for troops along the border to protect colonists from Indian attacks, which would of course save the British money.

It sounded like a good plan, but the law did not succeed because so many settlers had already begun to move west. (A few years later, the law was changed to recognize western settlements.)

2.  Sugar Act 1764:  The Government of Great Britain, Parliament, needed money to pay off the cost of the French and Indian War. They believed that the colonists should help pay this cost since much of the fighting was done to defend them.

So Parliament passed the Sugar Act, which was a tax on sugar, wine, indigo (a type of color dye) and molasses. The last was very important to New England merchants, since they bought molasses to make rum to sell to other colonies including the French, Dutch, and Spanish. This tax almost stopped the rum trade from New England, and the New England colonies protested. The rest of the colonies didn't see what the big fuss was all about.

But the tax worried colonial leaders. They feared Britain might be moving towards seizing power from colonial governments, such as the right to tax. The colonial leaders did not want that to happen. They wanted the American colonies free to govern themselves as they had been doing for many years.

3. Stamp Act 1765:  The Government of Great Britain, Parliament, still needed money to pay off the French and Indian War. They believed that the colonists should help pay this cost since much of the fighting was done to defend them.

The Sugar Act had not generated enough money, so Parliament passed the Stamp Act. While the Sugar Act did not cause too much concern other than in New England, The Stamp Act brought about huge protests.

The Stamp Act was different. The Stamp Act required colonists to buy and place stamps on many paper goods such as newspapers, diplomas, contracts, prayer books, marriage licenses, and other legal documents. Laborers, craftsmen, farmers, lawyers, merchants, and basically everyone had to pay this tax.

Lawyers and publishers were the hardest hit. People could not afford both the lawyer and the tax. Many could not afford to buy books, not even prayer books.

This act was extremely unpopular in the colonies. It gave colonial leaders a chance to convince the colonists that they were being taxed unfairly because the colonists had no voice in government - no taxation without representation!

Stamp Act Congress: As the uproar against the Stamp Act grew, colonial leaders created a special congress - a Stamp Act Congress. Individual colonies sent delegates to New York City to attend a meeting of this special congress.

The delegates drew up a petition protesting the Stamp Act, giving their reasons, and demanding this law be repealed. They sent this petition to Parliament back in England.

This was very important. It clearly demonstrated that the colonies could and would speak with one voice.

Task:

On a separate sheet, answer the following question based on the information above.

 *Write your Name/Class:

1.  What was the Proclamation of 1763?

  

2.  What was the Sugar Act of 1764?

3.  What was the Stamp Act of 1765?

4.  How did these acts/laws affect the American Colonists?  The British government (Parliament)?

5. What do you think the slogan “No Taxation Without Representation” means?