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Proclamation of 1763
The British put the Proclamation of 1763 in place following the French and Indian wars, to satisfy the Indians who felt that too much of their land was being conquered. This stopped colonists from settling any further west of the Appalachian Mountains. In return the colonists payed no mind to this act, totally disregarded it and settled west regardless. -
Sugar Act
On April 5, 1764 Parliament passed the “Sugar Act” which cut the tax on molasses made overseas in half; during this time colonist were heavily smuggling foreign goods so parliament was hopeful that with lower taxes it would be eliminated. In response to this act which was forced upon the colonists without their consent colonists decided to continue to smuggle the foreign goods in acts of defiance. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act of was enforced by the British Parliament; this act taxed every piece of printed paper colonists used, this included legal documents, newspapers, pamphlets, almanacs, etc. In response, some Boston Shopkeepers came together and formed a group “Sons of Liberty” who harassed tax enforcers. However, in October of 1765 the colonists took a peaceful response to the taxes by sending 9 delegates to meet in New York and write a “Declaration of Rights and Grievances” to Parliament. -
"If This Be Treason" Speech
Activist Patrick Henry came before the House of Burgesses and gave his speech “If This Be Treason”, where he attacked the taxes that Britain was enforcing upon the colonists without their consult. Within this speech he stated "Caesar had his Brutus; Charles the First, his Cromwell; and George the Third may profit by their example”.This comparison angered some delegates making some shout “Treason!”, and it even caused the royal governor of Virginia to dissolve the Virginia legislature. -
Repeal of Stamp Act
In March of 1766 Parliament voided the Stamp Act of 1764, today this is known as the “Repeal of Stamp Act”. Attached to the repealed Stamp Act Parliament attached their newly written Declaratory Act which notified America that the tax laws there are the same as Great Britain’s. The colonists did not have a response to their voided act. -
Townshend Acts
A man by the name of Charles Townshend who happened to be the “Chancellor of the Exchequer” came to parliament on June 29 1767 to propose his Townshend Acts. These acts placed taxes on all tea, paper, paints, glass, and lead shipped to the colonies in hopes of lifting some of the colonies expenses. However, the colonists did not appreciate the gesture and felt that this was another example of “Taxation without Representation” so this act was repealed by Parliament by 1770. -
Boston Massacre
In 1770 the “Boston Massacre” that wasn’t actually a massacre occurred. A mob of colonists who were angry about taxes and the shortage in jobs gathered around a British watch patrol and began harassing and taunting them. Eventually after being assaulted the British troops opened fire on the mob and killed 5 men. Following this several colonial leaders began describing the incident as a “defenseless attack”. -
Boston Tea Party
In 1773 the “Tea Act” was passed by the British parliament to help their failing tea companies, so Britain would ship their tea over to America so that it could be sold along with the taxes that came with it. In response to another example of taxation without representation a group of colonists came together and dumped 18,000 pounds of the foreign tea into the Boston Harbor as a rebellion, this became known as the “Boston Tea Party”. -
Intolerable Acts
After the Boston Tea Party Parliament responded to the rebellious colonists by passing the Intolerable Acts in 1774. These acts closed the Boston Harbor, it allowed British soldiers to move in residents’ homes, a new British governor for Massachusetts, and Boston was overthrown by British military. In response, colonies created the First Continental Congress and the “Declaration of Colonial Rights”, and stated that militias were in place if British troops began to use force. -
Common Sense
In 1776 a philosopher by the name of Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet which he named Common Sense, this 47-page piece of writing listed and explained problems with the King ruling the colonies. Following the publication of this writing more colonists got on board with gaining their independence from Britain.
