"American History from 1763-1776 and the ties that bind it to Journalism"

       I will first give you a short synopsis of the historical events from 1763-1776. The British were successful in defeating the French in the French and Indian War. This ended in 1763. After the war the British now had to face the problem of being the sole major power on American soil. The two short term problems that the British faced were in dealing with the “Indian” problem and the debt they accrued in defeating the French and Indian tribes. The first problem was taken care of in a 1763 decree to keep British colonial efforts east of the Appalachian Mountains. The second problem was not so easy to contain. Over the next 13 years the British went from colonial rulers to hated colonial overlords in the eyes of the American colonists.

       There were a series of Acts that followed over the next several years. There was British Parliament’s Navigation Act; this was the tightened regulations on sea trade and the use of the British navy and the Proclamation of 1763. In 1764 the Sugar Act had the British putting a 3 cent tax on foreign refined sugar and increased taxes on coffee, indigo, and certain kinds of wine. The taxes were raised without the consent of the colonists. This was one of the first instances in which colonists wanted a say in how much they were taxed. The Currency Act of 1764 prohibited the printing and use of colonial currency and forced that the colonists sole use of currency be that of the British. The Stamp Act of 1765 taxed all paper items and transactions which damaged the growing American newspaper industry. With all the frustration mounting from the Stamp Act, Sam Adams and Patrick Henry led the fight and creation what was known as the Sons of Liberty. This was created in 1765. There was a protest to the Stamp Act. The dissident leaders in the Stamp Act Congress of 1765 were not strong enough to force the hand of the British. While the repealed the Stamp Act in 1766 they established the Declaratory Act. This Act included a paramilitary function to administrative and enforcement structures within the colonies. This included more troops into Boston. Boston at the time was a hot spot towards the protest of the Stamp Act. The increased tension between the British troops and the colonist led to the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770. After the Boston Massacre there was a decrease in tension in the colonies from 1771-1773. This did not mean that the protestors were not hard at work. Sam Adams and the sons of Liberty were responsible for spreading propaganda to paint a picture of a tyrannical government taking advantage of the American colonists. The Tea Act Crisis of 1773-1774 was responsible for the last stage of escalation toward American Revolution. The most famous event before the signing of the Declarations of Independence is probably the December 16, 1773, Boston Tea Party which was a protest of the taxation and enforcement of duties on tea by throwing tea in the Boston Harbor.

       The British response was the Intolerable Acts which closed the Boston Harbor. The First Constitutional Congress met in 1774 and their resolution was to increase economic boycotts and stand up to the lack of representation that the British allowed the American colonists. Everything came to a head in 1775 and 1776 with the Americans and British battling in the towns of Lexington and Corcord. In 1776 the Americans declare independence. In July of that year the Americans signed the Declaration of Independence. So now that I have given you a brief history of the events of 1763-1776 I will now begin to focus on how these events came about with the influence of journalism and the journalist of this era in American history.