Acts Timeline

  • Proclamation of 1763

    The Proclamation of 1763 aimed to limit the westward expansion of the colonists by reserving that land west to the colonies for the Native Americans. The colonists saw this law as a way of disregarding and unfairly limiting their right to westward expansion.
  • Currency Act

    The Currency Act that limited the ability for the colonists to use paper money as a valid form of currency instead of hard money/coins. The colonists saw this Act as a nuisance, since the colonists were commonly short of coin currency.
  • Sugar Act

    The Sugar Act was a tax imposed upon the colonists, that would tax them on the sugar and molasses they would purchase for use. Other goods like coffee and silk were also taxed under this act. This act had a heavy impact on the merchants of New England and the colonies. The colonists responded by protesting the law, using the common slogan "No Taxation Without Representation".
  • Stamp Act

    The Stamp Act was a tax on many paper items such as legal documents, newspapers, cards, licenses, and other goods like dice and cards. This act was heavily scrutinized by the colonists, and brought about a lot of bitterness. Many groups spoke out and protested against the act, such as John Adams and British merchants.
  • Quartering Act

    The Quartering Act of 1765 was a law that required colonists to provide food, drinks, shelter, and other commodities to British soldiers stationed in the colonies. This law was also a burden to the colonists, since British soldiers were allowed these commodities whether the colonists approved or not.
  • Declatory Act

    The Declatory Act allowed the British Parliament to levy taxes on the colonists whenever they wanted. It also allowed them to authority to create laws on the colonies whenever they pleased. The colonists reacted to this with distaste, as it would allow the British to further tax and limit the rights and liberties of the colonists whenever they pleased.
  • Townshend Act

    The Townshend Act was a heavy tax on the American colonies on any goods that were being brought into the land. It also aimed to further seize proper authority and control over the colonies, where tensions were already rising. But this act only made tensions rise more, and made the colonists feel like they were being suppressed.
  • Boston Massacre

    The Boston Massacre was an altercation that occurred in the streets of Boston between British soldiers and colonists. The conflict ended with three Boston citizens lying dead after British soldiers were ordered to fire. The event was viewed very differently on both sides of the conflict. Colonists made it seem like the Redcoats were antagonizing the Bostonians and murdered them in cold blood. The British soldiers portrayed the colonists as the provokers.
  • Tea Act

    The Tea Act was another British tax that was put onto the colonists, which aimed to reduce the smuggling of tea into the colonies, and like the previous, to gain more money. This was the last act that was placed onto the colonists before the Boston Tea Party.
  • Boston Tea Party

    The Boston Tea Party was an event where the Sons of Liberty—a political organization in the colonies—stormed the Boston harbor's ships and dumped crates full of tea into the ocean. This was largely in response to the Tea Act, which was another tax.
  • Intolerable/Coersive Acts

    The Intolerable Acts were a series of four acts placed onto Massachusetts following the Boston Tea Party, where a bunch of tea crates were dumped into the ocean. This was done by the British as a punishment, but only continued to build the tension.
  • Quartering Act

    The Quartering Act of 1774 was similar to the previous, but was more focused on the fact that British soldiers could be allowed into homes of the colonists. The colonists responded to this one more furiously than the previous, as it was continuing to violate the rights of those living in the colonies.
  • Quebec Act

    The Quebec Act extended the territory of the Canadian province, but this territory faced the same problems that the colonies were facing at the time, such as unfair taxation without representation, and no rightful jury trials.