Boston Tea Party

American colonists had  been affected by taxes put by parliament. They saw this taxes as another example of taxation without representation. Colonists had no representation in parliament, therefore they could not vote in favor or against this taxes. Tea was one of the favorite drinks among colonists and British decided to pass on the Tea Act. A tax had already been  put on tea and colonies didn't approve it,This act would almost guarantee that the colonists would buy tea form the East India Company. The East India Company sold the tea extremely cheap even with the taxes, but colonists didn't buy it because they thought they were being tricked by the parliament. Instead, colonists bought  the smuggled Dutch tea.Colonists got really angry and they thought they should do something to make the British know that they did not like this. On December 16, 1773 the Sons of Liberty lead a nonviolent protest in which they disguised as Mohawk Indians and bordered three British ships. This were the Darthmouth, Eleanor and the Beaver. This ships were full of tea because colonists were not buying it. Thomas Hutchinson, the Boston governor,did not allow the tea to be sent back to England. Colonists dumped 342 crates full of tea overboard. This was about 90,000 pounds of tea. This event was known as the Boston Tea Party.
Even though the colonists were disguised as Native Americans, British knew that colonists had done this. The same day there had been a meeting led by Samuel Adams which was for discussing the taxes on tea. It is unclear if this event was planned by Samuel Adams or if just a group of people got mad and decided to do this. We know that this was an action done by colonists to defend their rights. The business of tea had been long affected due to this taxes. Colonists definitely believed that they should do something to solve this problem. The Boston Tea Party was a key event for the American Revolution.

The Boston Massacre

The Boston Massacre was a fight that happened on March 5th, 1770 between a drunken crowd or colonists and British soldiers. The name "Boston Massacre" was given to the event by the Sons of Liberty, particularly by Samuel Adams. Five colonists were killed. Three died on the post and two were wounded and died afterwards. The victims of the incident were a black sailor named Crispus Attucks, a ropemaker by the name of Samuel Gray and a mariner called James Caldwell. Those who died afterwards were Samuel Maverick and Patrick Carr.

    Crispus Attuks, black sailor

The occurence began with a crowd of drunk colonists following and attacking a soldier. The soldier took refuge in the House of Customs, where several soldiers were protecting the custom officials. These soldiers were led by a British officer named Captain Thomas Preston. As the colonists continued to attack, the soldiers' increasing anxiety caused them to fire, despite Preston's orders. This led to the resultant deaths of the five colonists. A town meeting was called demanding the removal of the British troops and a trial for the captain and his men for murder. Six colonists were wounded in this accident.

    The Boston Massacre, by Paul Revere

The trials for the captain and his men were two of the longest in history. It was the first time a judge applied the term "reasonable doubt". The captain and his soldiers were defended by John Adams and Josiah Quincy II. They won the trial and gained the release of the soldiers. Two of them were found guilty afterwards for manslaughter. The accused soldiers were:

Captain Thomas Preston

Corporal William Wemms

James Hartigan

William McCauley

Hugh White

Matthew Kilroy

William Warren

John Carrol

Hugh Montgomery

The British were tried before the Superior Court of Judicature, the highest court in Massachusetts.

    John Adams, defense lawyer

Federal Hall where the Stamp Act Congress took place

The Stamp Act

Colonists were angry since parliament had been taxing them. The Stamp Act , was passed March 22,1765 but was going on effect until November 1 of that same year. It became the  first direct British tax. The Stamp Act stated that colonists had to pay a tax on all printed paper such as magazines, newspapers, books, deeds and legal documents. This Act was called like this because colonists were supposed to buy paper from the British. This paper would have a stamp that showed that the colonists had payed the tax. The tax had to be payed with the British currency and not with the colonial money. The purpose of this tax was to help pay the troops in colonial America after British had won the French and Indian war. The British government thought that the colonies had received the most benefit from the soldiers  so they should at least help the British pay for them.
On the other hand the colonists thought they should not pay taxes on something they had been doing for free many years. They thought that there was no need for the taxes or the troops. Colonists believed this was  another example of taxation without representation. They argued that since they didn't have a vote in parliament they should not be paying a tax for them. Colonists thought they could only be taxed by their own representatives.  The colonists responded to this act with legislative protests and street violence. Colonists believed that this threatened their prosperity and their liberty, and that if they accepted this tax  many more would come. Everyone who was in favor of the Stamp Act was considered an enemy of the colony.

In response to this situation,the colonists gathered in the Stamp Act Congress. This was the first congress of the american colonies. Representatives from nine of the thirteen colonies went to New York City from October 7 to October 25 ,1765. The purpose of the congress was to organize a protest against British taxation. Representatives of this colonies decided on the non importation agreements. This meant that they wouldn't buy any British product. England was strongly affected by this economic boycott so they repealed the Stamp Act. Even though parliament  repealed the Stamp Act on the same day they  passed the Declaratory Act which stated that the parliament had the right to tax and make laws in the colonies.