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Navigation Acts
The Navigation Acts were laws passed by England to maintain control over colonial trade. The acts made colonists buy English goods and limited trade between the colonies and other countries. -
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 increased debt. -
Proclamation of 1763
This law made sure that colonists could not cross the frontier into the Ohio Valley River. This law was made so that Natives would not retaliate to colonists invading their territory. -
Boston Tea Party
A group of colonists raided a British cargo ship, and dumped all the tea on it into the Boston Harbor in the middle of the night. -
Sugar Act
This act followed the Sugar and Molasses Act of 1733, and it lowered the tax from 6 pence to 3 pence. This act was enforced strictly by the British with harsh punishments for smugglers. -
Writs Of Assistance
The Writs of Assistance were search warrants gave to British Soldiers to counter the colonists that were smuggling goods. These warrants made it legal for British Soldiers to search any property to find smuggled goods. -
Stamp Act
This law was made because it was an effective way to have colonists pay for the war, and it affected everyone. This law made colonists pay for stamps and stamp marks that would be on playing cards, wills, letters, diplomas, contracts, and newspapers. -
Quartering Act
This act forced the colonists to house British soldiers sent to the colonies. Colonists were required to provide the cost of housing and supplying them. -
Stamp Act Congress
A group made up of representatives from some colonies came together. They decided on wrote the Declaration of Rights and Grievances and came together against Britain. -
Declaratory Act
This law stated that the British Government had complete authority over the colonies. Most colonists ignored this act. -
Townshend Acts
These acts charged import taxes for goods coming to the colonies. They also forced the meeting an assemblies in New York to stop until every soldier is housed. -
Boston Massacre
A group of colonists gathered around a British soldier on his duty. The group grew and more soldier came to help, the colonists however, enclosed them. The tension started rising, and one soldier fired and so did a few more.5 colonists died. -
First Continental Congress
Represents of every colony, except for Georgia, came together to plan their resistance against the British. They voted on banning all trade with Britain until they repelled the Intolerable Acts, and building militias for the colonies. -
Tea Act
This act gave a monopoly to Britain's East India Company on tea in the colonies. -
Coersive Acts
These acts closed the British Port,and restricted democracy in Massachusetts. They were made in direct response to the Boston Tea Party. -
Second Continental Congress
The represents of the colonies, except for Georgia, met together again and agreed on making an official army, naming George Washington the general of that army, and printing money to pay soldiers in that army. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
In Lexington, a small militia came against a group of about 700 British soldiers and loss, badly. Later that same day, British soldiers go into Concord but get ambushed by 4000 minutemen, and 263 British soldiers die, compared to only 95 dead minutemen. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
The British tried to claim Bunker Hill, which was occupied by the minutemen outside of Boston. Twice they charged up the hill at the colonists, twice they fail. They didn't take the hill until the militia was out of ammo, but by then they had lost around 1000 soldiers. -
Olive Branch Petition
Some colonists didn't want to start war with England, and still considered themselves subjects of the king, so they sent a document to the King of England to try to restore peace between England and the colonies. The King refused. -
Common Sense
After some colonists started to fear war with Britain, Thomas Payne wrote a pamphlet called Common Sense. It changed the minds of some colonists by stating that a break apart from Britain was necessary, the King did not rule by the will of God, and that all monarchies were corrupt.