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Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 was one Parliament's first laws that applied to the colonists which restricted their freedom and rights. It stated that the colonists wern't allowed to settle west of the Appalachian Mountains, because that's where the Native Americans' land. They wanted to keep peace with the Native Americans, and settling into their land was the worst way to do it, so they just made a law which didn't allow the colonists to settle there. -
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Road to Revolution
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Quartering Act
During the year 1965, the Parliament had passed the Quartering Act for financial reasoning. What the Quartering Act was was that colonists were required to quarter, or house, soldiers from Britian and provide them with the supplies they want or needed. The commander of these forces, General Thomas Gage, placed most of the troops in New York. -
Townshend Acts
Charles Townshend, the king's finance minister, suggested the Townshed Acts so that the Parliament could raise revenue in the colonies. Some of the Townshend Acts included suspending New York assemblies until the New Yorkers agreed to quarter the British troops, placing taxes on various goods such as tea, glass, paint, etc., and more. In order to enforce the acts, the British officers had sent writs of assistance to enter and search for smuggled goods in homes and businesses. -
Boston Massacre
A group of youths and dockworkers, Crispus Attucks being one of them, were shouting insults towards the British soldiers in front of the Custom House.Tension turned over to violence; the British had begun shooting the colonists. Attucks, along with four laborers, had been killed. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party, which was an event organized by the Sons of Liberty, had a group of men disguised as Native Americans, then board three tea ships which were docked in the Boston Harbor. Amongst the men was George Hewes, a shoemaker who recalled the event. During the Boston Tea Party, Hewes, and the other men, had together destroyed 342 chests of British tea, hoping that it would show the British how strongly colonists were against taxation without representation. -
Intolerable Acts
A series of laws, known as the Intolerable Acts, were used to punish the Massachusetts colony and as a warning to other colonies. They were originally named the Coercive Acts, but they were so harsh and merciless towards the colonists, that they were nicknamed as the Intolerable Acts. Some laws would ban commitees of correspondence, allowed British troops to wuarter houses where/whenever they needed to, and more. -
Common Sense
A political pamphlet that was called Common Sense, was written by Thomas Paine, was an instant success, selling over 100,000 copies within three months. Common Sense was a ridiculation against King George III, calling him "the Royal Brute", and disagreed with the economic arguemts for staying with Britain. This pamphlet had basically convinced the colonists to make their final decisions and become independent. -
Declaration of Independence
Congress had adopted the Declaration of Indepence on the fourth of July. The Declaration of Independence proclaimed independence to the colonies and seperated them from the Britains. This document had begun a new country.