Crisis in the Colonies

• Propaganda is an important tool when trying to influence the hearts and minds of the people
• The Boston Massacre took place in March of 1770 and is surrounded by a great deal of propaganda
• Propaganda is defined as the use of words and language to have people favoring a person, company, or country
• • Scientific approach: Using scientific jargon to convince the audience
  • Snob appeal: Giving the impression that people of wealth and prestige support the idea
  • Card stacking: Only presenting one side of an issue or situation
  • Transfer: Carrying over authority and prestige to something the propagandist wants the audience to accept
  • Name-calling: Linking a person or idea to a negative symbol to evoke rejection without looking at evidence
  • Euphemisms: Using bland and euphemistic words to make unpleasant realities more palatable
• Propaganda techniques include:

  • Emotional appeal (i.e. fear): Appealing to the emotions of the audience by warning of disaster if a particular course of action is not followed
  • Glittering generalities: Seeking approval without examining evidence, using phrases like "We believe in" or "fight for"
  • Testimonials: Famous people or figures who appear trustworthy speaking to the audience
  • Bandwagon: Encouraging people to follow a trend because "everyone else is doing it"
  • Plain-folks: Convincing the audience that the speaker and their ideas are "of the people"
• Proclamation of 1763 drew an imaginary line along the Appalachian Mountains and forbade colonists to settle west of it
• British troops were sent to enforce the Proclamation of 1763
• Many colonists were angry and ignored the Proclamation of 1763
• Sugar Act, 1764 replaced an earlier tax on molasses
• The old tax on molasses was really high and most people smuggled it in
• Prime Minister George Grenville demanded that smuggling and bribes stop
• Stamp Act, 1765 put a tax on legal documents, wills, marriage licenses, newspapers, and playing cards
• Items affected by the Stamp Act had to carry a tax stamp to show that the tax had been paid
• Colonists rioted in NYC, Boston, and other cities in reaction to the Stamp Act
• The Stamp Act Congress was held in NY and a petition was sent to King George III
• Colonists boycotted British goods and the Stamp Act was repealed in 1766
• Quartering Act, 1766 said colonists had to pay for the housing and food of British soldiers
• Colonists were angry at the Quartering Act as another way for the British to tax them without their consent
• Townshend Acts, 1767 taxed tea, paper, silk, lead, and glass
• Customs officers were sent to American ports to stop smuggling
• Customs agents were allowed to use writs of assistance
• Colonists were very angry at the Townshend Acts and believed Parliament had no right to tax them
• Boston Massacre, 1770 occurred at the Boston customs house where British soldiers killed 5 colonists
• Outrage spread among colonists after the Boston Massacre
• Paul Revere made his famous engraving of the Boston Massacre
• Tea Act, 1773 was not a tax on tea but aimed to lower the price of tea and help the British East India Company
• Tea merchants and colonists were angry at the Tea Act for cutting out the middlemen
• The Boston Tea Party, 1773 involved colonists boarding ships and throwing tea into Boston Harbor
• About 50 men dressed as Native Americans boarded the ships during the Boston Tea Party
• The destruction of the tea during the Boston Tea Party was considered a bold and daring act with important consequences
• The French and Indian War was fought by Great Britain and France
• The two nations were fighting over the Ohio River Valley
• The Albany Plan of Union was an idea proposed by Benjamin Franklin for the colonies to work together to defeat France. Each colony would still have its own government, but they would create one government together to decide important issues
• At the end of the war, the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1763. France gave Britain control of Canada and most of the land east of the Mississippi River
• Intolerable Acts, 1774:

  • 4 laws directed against Boston as retaliation for the Tea Party
  • A) Shut down port of Boston
  • B) Only one town meeting per year
  • C) Customs officers charged with major crimes would be tried in England
  • D) A new Quartering Act. Commanders could force citizens to house troops in their homes
• Reaction of the Colonists:

  • The First Continental Congress was held
• Continental Congress, 1774:

  • Delegates from 12 colonies (except Georgia) met in Philadelphia
  • A mix of Loyalists and Patriots attended it
  • They agreed to boycott all English goods and stop exporting goods to England
  • All colonies were urged to set up and train militias
  • It passed 10 resolutions listing the rights of the colonists and sent a petition to King George III
  • They agreed to meet again in May, 1775
• Lexington & Concord, 1775:

  • 4,000 British troops in Boston
  • They were sent out to surrounding areas to scout and received a report of arms in Concord
  • The soldiers went to surprise the colonists and seize the guns, but Revere, Dawes, and Prescott warned them
  • The town of Lexington was on the way and fighting broke out, resulting in colonists' deaths
  • The British moved on to Concord, where they found no arms, and met 300 Sons of Liberty on the way back
  • Fighting broke out and when the dust had settled, 8 British soldiers were dead
• Colonists resisted British rule through physical intimidation, Committees of Correspondence, Sons/Daughters of Liberty, Liberty Trees, petitions, riots, property destruction, pamphleteering(political pamphlets), and boycotting. Boycotts were the most effective form of resistance, leading to the repeal of the Stamp Act.
• The Intolerable Acts (Coercive Acts) were a series of laws to punish Boston, including closing ports, limiting meetings, and strengthening Quartering Acts