The American Revolution

The American Revolution — page 3 — tHe AmerIcAn reVoLutIon HoW to use tHIs BooK Some boxes contain more detailed information about a particular aspect of a subject The subjects are arranged in roughly chronological order They focus on key events or people There is a full timeline of the period at the back of the book Each spread contains at least one primary source Look out for Source Explored boxes that explain images from the revolutionary period and who made them and why There are also As They Saw It boxes that contain quotes from people of the period Some spreads feature a longer extract from a contemporary eyewitness Look for the colored introduction that explains who the writer is and the origin of his or her account These accounts are often accompanied by a related visual primary source 5

The American Revolution — page 4 — Primary Sources in U S History crIsIs In tHe coLonIes From 1753 to 1763 Britain fought France and its Native allies for control of what is now Canada Politicians in Britain decided that the colonial Americans should pay toward the costs of this French and Indian War In spring 1764 the Sugar Act placed a tax on sugar imports from the Caribbean This was met with outrage by Americans The Stamp Act of 1765 taxed all official documents and printed materials It seemed unfair to Americans that they had no representatives in the British parliament to object to such taxes George III became king of Great Britain and Ireland in 1760 He was determined to impose taxes on the colonies 6

The American Revolution — page 5 — tHe AmerIcAn reVoLutIon rePeAL oF tHe stAmP Act In America there were protests against the stamp Act in many cities many merchants boycotted trade with Britain the British government came under pressure to cancel the act Businessmen were worried about losing American trade many politicians questioned Britain’s right to tax the colonies In February 1766 the stamp Act was repealed source exPLoreD This is a proof sheet made to test the metal dies or stamps that the British government made to print the one penny stamps that had to be attached to every piece of printed paper in the Thirteen Colonies Each stamp has the number of its die written beneath it The dies were carefully tested so they would be difficult to fake Colonial Americans worried that the Stamp Act of March 1765 would lead to other taxes being imposed to raise money for the government in London To make it worse British stamp inspectors were allowed to search colonists homes shops and stores The colonists resented this invasion of their privacy A stamp showed that tax had been paid on a printed document Newspapers and even playing cards had to carry stamps 7

The American Revolution — page 6 — Primary Sources in U S History trouBLe In Boston Colonial Americans disguised as Native Americans throw tea into Boston Harbor in December 1773 One of the centers of opposition to the British government was Boston In 1768 British troops arrived to protect officials who were collecting taxes On March 5 1770 British troops opened fire on a crowd of citizens killing five and wounding six Opposition to the British grew and tension increased On December 16 1773 Bostonians threw tea from a British ship into Boston Harbor as a protest against a tax on tea 8

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