What is a massacre?
The killing of many people.
On March 5, 1770, what happened between British soldiers and a crowd of colonists in Boston?
The crowd was yelling insults and throwing snowballs at the soldiers. The soldiers shot at the crowd, killing five colonist.
Who was Crispus Attacks?
- An African American sailor who was killed by British soldiers in Boston.
- He is remembered as a hero for sanding up to the soldiers.
- Afterwards, colonists called the fight a massacre becasue five people were killed by the British.
What did Paul Revere do that helped convince colonists that the British soldiers were dangerous?
He created a pictue of the Boston Massacre showing the British soldiers shooting at colonists.
Who was John Adams, and what did he do, and why?
- He was Boston lawyer.
- He defended the eight soldiers who fired on colonists during the Boston massacre.
- He wanted to show Britain that colonal courts were fair.
What happened to the eight British solders who were tried for firing on the colonists during the Boston Massacre.?
- Six were found innocent, and two were lightly punished.
- There lawyer, John Adams, argued that they were trying to protect themselves.
What did Samuel Adams do because news traveled so slowly in the colonies?
- He and other colonial leaders in Boston set up Committees of Corresondence to share neews with other colonies.
- Soon every colony had Commitees of Correspondence.
- They sent each other letters about what the British were doing and what actions colonists could take.
What is Correspondence?
Written Communication
What was the Tea Act of 1773?
- Parliament passed the law that allowed the East India Company of Britain to sell tea in America at a very low price.
- It was now cheaper than the smuggled tea.
- However, the colonist would have to pay a tax on the tea.
Why were the colonists mad about the Tea Act even though it meant they buy tea for a cheaper price than the smuggled tea?
- They did not believe that Pariament should tax them without their agreement.
- They also did not want only one company (East India Company of Britain) to control the tea trade.
What did the Boston merchant refuse to do with the East India Tea?
They refused to sell it, so it sat unloaded on ships in the Boston Harbor.
What did the Sons of Liberty do with the East India Company tea sitting on the ships in the Boston Harbor?
They boarded the ships illegally and threw the tea into the harbor.
How did the British Pariament react to the Boston Tea Party?
- Led by Lord Frederick North, they passed laws called the Coercive Acts in order to punish colonists in Massachusets.
- The laws stopped trade between Boston and Britain.
- Ended most town meetings.
- Gave Britain more control over the colony’s government.
- Made Bostonians quarter (give them food and shelter) the British solders who were sent to Boston.
What did the colonists call the Coercive Acts?
The Intolerable Acts
What does intolerable mean?
Unbearable
What does coerce mean?
To force
What was the First Continenetal Congress?
- Delegates from every colony except George met in Philadelphia to discuss the Corercive Acts (Intolerable Acts).
- The congress wrote a letter to the British government and American colonists saying that the colonists should have the same freedoms as British citizens.
- It asked King George III and Parliament to stop taxing colonists without their agreeement and to repeal the Corercive Acts (Intolerable Acts).
What did the colonists do after the First Contiental Congress met?
- They stopped trading with Britain.
- They began to train for battle in case war broke out.
What did the King of Britian do after The First Continental Congress met?
- He made plans to send more solders to Boston.
- He declared that the colonists had begun a rebellion.
