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The End of the French and Indian War
The French and Indian war was a war against British America and those of New France which was ended by the Treaty of Paris. This left the colonists upset because it limited their ability to take land from the Indians and it also left them with a lot of war debt. In order to pay for this war the British had to raise taxes. This mostly upset the colonists overall because they didn’t have a say about the new taxes that Britain was imposing. -
Sugar Act
The Sugar Act extended the Molasses act by changing the tax on imports from the Caribbean from six cents per gallon to three cents per gallon. They cut the tax here but decided to start enforcing it by stamping out smuggling. This act frustrated colonists because it gave British courts the right to try colonial smugglers. This took power away from colonial courts which were typically lenient when it came to smuggling since they liked smuggled rum just as much as everyone else did. -
Stamp Act
The stamp act enforced printed material to have a stamp except the stamps were not free. This was because they were trying to gain revenue for Britain which mainly affected colonist who used a lot of paper (lawyers and news paper printers). This angered colonists and protesters organized the stamp act Congress and decided to boycott British goods. It was the first big coordinated action by the “suns of liberty” or all colonies. The efforts worked and British Parliament repealed the stamp act. -
The Declaratory Act
Instead of the stamp act the British Parliament replaced it with the Declaratory Act. This act meant that they are not in control of them and they can tax them if they want to but they do not need too. The repeal of the stamp act had the colonies and colonists viewing it as a huge victory and most of the people who organized the protest were the kind of people who used paper the most. Once talk of the idea of representation arose everybody wanted in. Meanwhile Great Britain still needed money. -
The Townshend Act
Britain was still in need of money so Chancellor of the Exchequer Charles Townshend got parliament to pass new taxes in 1767. The Townshend acts created a new board of customs to stop smuggling which colonists didn’t like at all. Colonist boycotted again and women got involved with the daughters of liberty who homespun clothes to replace British ones. Not all states were on board since boycott let some gain money but merchants lost money since the made their living on importing & selling goods. -
The Tea Act
British merchants pushed for the repeal of acts which left only the tea tax. The tea act offered tax exemptions and rebates for tea coming in from the British East India Company. It allowed them to dump cheap tea on colonies that lowered price on tea. Colonist were mad that tea was dumped into the Boston Harbor was because colonist thought cheap tea would cut into the profits of smugglers or established merchants, but most were just angry about the fact that it was a national shame. -
The Start of the Revolutionary War
The Revolutionary war resulted at the end of all these acts. Colonist wanted to be independent and have freedom that they had never had before. The war began with a confrontation between British troops and local militia at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts. Throughout this war troops in local militias fought for colonists and their colonists.