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Navigation Acts
The Navigation Acts were laws passed by England to maintain control over cononial trade. The acts made colonist buy English goods and limited trade betwenen the colonies and other colonies. -
Treaty of Paris of 1763
The document that ended the war between the British and French over the Ohio river valley. This treaty ended French power in North America and expanded British territory and increases dept. -
Proclamation Act of 1763
The Proclamation Act was an act that made the colonist not allowed to go pass the Appalachian Mountains. The Proclamation Act was meant to keep the natives and colonists from fighting. -
Sugar Act of 1764
The Sugar Act lowered the taxes to three pence. The british enforced this tax strictly and there were harsh punishments for smugglers. -
Writs of Assistance of 1765
The Writs of Assistance were search warrants that made it legal for British soldiers to search any property looking for goods. The British pass the Writs of Assistance because colonists were smuggling goods so they could not be taxed by the British. -
Stamp Act of 1765
The Stamp Act was an act that made the Britsh tax colonists for every piece of legal paper and printed papers. This kind of tax was a different type of tax because it applied to EVERYONE. -
Quartering Acts of 1765
The British wanted to make sure the colonist were doing what they are told, so the they send over 10,000 troops to the colonies. Then the British pass the Quartering Acts, which required all colonists to house British soldiers and provide them with supplies. -
Stamp Act Congress of 1765
The Stamp Act Congress were a group of representatives from the British colonies. They came together to petition the king. They along with other people boycotted British goods. -
Declaratory Act of 1766
The British repeal the Stamp Act in 1766 because of the colonial reaction to the Stamp act. Then they pass the Declaratory Act that means the British government had supreme authority to govern the colonies. -
Townshend Acts of 1767
The Kings's finance minister, Charles Townshend, had a plan to raise revenue in the colonies by taxing the goods before they reached the colonists. He believed if the colonist didn't see the tax they would be less angry. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was an event that started with a British guard being mobbed by colonist. At the Boston Massacre the the British soldiers opened fire at some point and injured many and killed four. Then the Sons of Liberty used this event as propaganda and referred to this event as "Boston Massacre" or "Bloody Massacre". -
Tea Act of 1773
The Tea Act was passed by the Parliament and granted British East India Company a monopoly on tea sales in American colonies. This later led to the Boston Tea party. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea party happened in Boston, Massachusetts where most of the colonists were angry the "taxation without representation". This later led to some of the colonists dressing as Indians and dumping 342 chests of British tea into the Boston Harbor. -
Coercive Acts of 1774
The Coercive Acts were the laws that were meant to punish the colonists for the Boston Tea Party. There were four major acts that were a direct response for the defiance in the Boston Tea Party. -
First Continental Congress of 1774
The First Continental Congress were a group of the colonies except for Georgia. They voted to ban all trade with Britain until Intolerable Acts were repealed. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
In the battle of Lexington there were 700 British troops and 70 minute men, no one knows who shot the first shot, but it is now known as the "shot heard 'round the world". After the British win the battle they have to march back to Boston from Concord. Then the minutemen were waiting and ready to fight the British. -
Second Continental Congress
The second Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia and agrees to make an official army with George Washington as general. They printed money to pay the soldiers and they also petition King George the third for peace in an attempt to avoid war. -
Battle at Bunker HIll
Following Lexington and Concord the minutemen take a hill outside of Boston, the alarmed British attack with 2,200 soldiers. The colonists Colonel William Prescott order the minutemen to wait to fire until the British were close enough. Sine the minutemen had the higher ground the British had to fall back and charge again and again, but they eventually won that battle. -
Olive Branch Petition
The Patriot leaders still considered themselves subjects of the king, and they still blamed him and the Parliament for what was happening. Even though they blamed the king and the Parliament the colonists wanted to avoid war, so the Continental Congress sends the document to England. The document asks to restore harmony between the colonists and England, but the king rejects it. -
Common Sense
In early 1776 most colonist wanted to avoid war with England, however after a pamphlet created by Thomas Paine called, Common Sense was published many people change their mind. The pamphlet argued that a complete break with Britain was necessary and scorned the idea that king ruled by will of God. It also made a lot of "Common Sense" to leave England. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was made for the colonies to declare their independence from Great Britain. The Revolutionary war had already started which gave the colonies more of a reason to declare their independence.