British attempts to legislate the colonies

• British attempts to legislate the colonies occurred from 1763-1768

Proclamation Line of 1763

• This was an attempt to reduce conflict with Native Americans and the costs of war
• A line was drawn across the Appalachian Mountains, restricting colonial expansion past it
• This caused tension, with many colonists ignoring the proclamation and expanding westward

Anti-Smuggling Methods

• Grenville and Bute cracked down on smuggling, facing officials' corruption and blackmail
• Vice admiralty courts were established to enforce anti-smuggling measures
• 10,000 troops were stationed mainly in New York and port towns to reduce smuggling

Sugar Act of 1764

• Higher taxes were expected on sugar products like molasses, silk, wine, and coffee
• Customs officials enforced this act
• New England colonies were most angered, since they made rum from molasses
• The argument emerged of "no taxation without representation," since there were only five Americans in Parliament
• A boycott of British goods was organized to encourage self-sufficiency
• Massachusetts letters were written by Sam Adams

Currency Act of 1764

• Colonial paper money was banned
• Virginia was targeted for printing paper money
• Colonial debts had to be paid in acceptable currencies like the British pound sterling, causing an economic depression and lack of money

Quartering Act of 1765

• Americans were expected to board and pay for 10,000 Bute troops
• Americans were unhappy as they didn't want or ask for the soldiers, and didn't think they needed protection

Stamp Act of 1765

• Stamps had to be used on all paper products, including newspapers, legal documents, and playing cards
• It was issued to generate tax revenue to pay for the war debt
• Grenville issued a warning, giving the colonies time to prepare a protest
• Colonists, especially lawyers and printers, were angered
• It was viewed as an unjustified direct tax on the colonies
• This caused a rising intellectual debate for the rights of the colonists

Resistance to the Stamp Act

• The Stamp Act Congress was suggested by Massachusetts and held in New York; it denounced the Stamp Act, claiming that only their own legislatures could impose taxes
• An ideological debate followed, with pamphlets arguing that colonists were not prepared to accept taxation without representation, as direct involvement in Parliament was impractical due to the distance
• Popular protests were organized by the Loyal Nine/Sons of Liberty, concentrated in Boston and led by Sam Adams; they focused resentment on supporters of the Stamp Act
• Townspeople were only 5% of the American population
• Mob action occurred, with effigies of Oliver and Bute hung from the Liberty Tree; the crowd prevented their removal, destroyed Oliver's office and house, forcing him to resign and Hutchinson to flee; crowd action spread to New York and every colony
• Economic sanctions stopped British goods, and New York merchants signed an agreement not to import until the act was repealed, with boycotts spreading through the colonies
• The Stamp Act was repealed in 1766

Declaratory Act of 1776

• Franklin spoke for the colonists in Parliament, highlighting the difference between internal and external taxation; the Stamp Act was repealed
• After it was repealed, most colonists returned to being loyal
• The British saw the need to reassert authority
• The Declaratory Act prevented further opposition, especially economic, asserting that colonials were inferior to Parliament, and Parliament had full authority to pass laws for the colonies

New York Restraining Act of 1767

• The New York Assembly was suspended until it complied with the 1765 Quartering Act, as they refused to provide accommodation, since the vast number of troops caused a large burden
• New York gained little support from other colonies and finally complied
• This showed the colonists that Parliament had the power to shut down assemblies and had much less power

Townshend Acts of 1767

• Included a Revenue Act, imposing duties on luxury goods like tea, lead, glass, china, and wine, to help repay the war debt and pay royal officials salaries
• Colonists responded with increased smuggling and refused to pay royal officials salaries
• An Indemnity Act reduced the tax of British East India Company tea in England but was sold for more in the colonies, introducing writs of assistance which were search warrants without court consent
• Most Americans refused to buy tea and smuggled it, unhappy that the writs could be abused by British officials
• Commissioners of Customs Act - tougher customs enforcements and in Boston
• Bostonians outraged that tax collectors could search their ships

Resistance to the Townshend Acts

• John Dickinson wrote "Letters from a Pennsylvania Farmer," which influenced attacks on the measures, were printed in newspapers, and condemned the suspension of the New York Assembly
• Responding politically, the Massachusetts circular letter in 1768 denounced the duties for no taxation without representation, while Virginia issued their own, using the word "enslaved;" Sam Adams and James Otis provoked violence against customs officials
• Economic resistance in the form of the Boston Boycott led to non-importation, with bodies set up to enforce it, warehouses searched, perpetrators tarred and feathered, all colonies pledged to boycott except New Hampshire by 1769, and housewives stopped serving tea
• Vice admiralty court act 1768- more court to prosecute smugglers w/o a jury
• Colonists want right to be tried by jury

How Justified British Policies Were (1763-1768)

• British policies were justified by repaying the war debt, according to the Sugar Act and Stamp Act
• External taxation, exemplified by the Townshend Revenue Act tax on luxury goods
• The Declaratory Act gave them the right to implement policy
• However, some thought the policies were unjustified with taxation without representation and the colonies not wanting or needing the policy such as 10,000 troops and the Quartering Act
• The Amendment of acts deceived the colonists, with the Declaratory Act and taxes on tea retained

Colonial Relationship by 1768

• In 1763 the colonies were winning the war, leading to unity and patriotism
• There was a decline in strength as colonials resented British policy, and that the policy did not reflect colonial interests, mostly for personal economic gain through internal and external policies
• British forced strength, growing resentment and it lead to independence; Britain wanted to keep their relationship strong through the use of policy so that Americans could not rebel
• However, British occupation in America with troops arriving in Boston to enforce policy when colonials resisted Townshend
• Britain shutting down the New York assembly, lack of trust from the British and colonists constitutional rights were being taking away
• The resistance showed the growing divide between the Stamp Act and Townshend