-
Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 was issued by King George III in England which forbade the colonists to settle west of the Appalachian Mountains. The English government did this in order to prevent more costly wars such as the Seven Years war. The colonists were angry about this because many colonists on the frontier were forced to relocate. -
Sugar Act
The Sugar Act, was a law that attempted to minimize the smuggling of sugar and molasses in the colonies by reducing the tax rate and reinforcing the collection of the taxes. The British did not want the colonies to trade with other nations because mercantilism was the belief that one nation's wealth comes at the expense of another's. Also, the British just came out of the Seven Years war and needed to have stricter taxes to help regain wealth. -
Currency Act
The Currency Act was issued by the British government in order to stop the colonies from producing their own currency. The colonist's currency was very ineffective because of the constantly changing market and huge amounts of depreciation since it was not backed up with any silver or gold. In retaliation to this event, the colonists decided to slow trade with Britain. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was a regulation passed by Parliament that required all colonists to pay a tax on paper goods. Goods included anything from playing cards, to postage, to wedding certificates. The British imposed this law claiming that they had a right to impose any law on the colonies. In retaliation, the colonies became rebellious and the quote "no taxation without representation" became popular. -
Quartering Act
After the Seven Years War, the colonists stopped providing for the soldiers that were in the colonies. The parliament then passes the quartering act, which claimed that the colonists had to house and feed any British soldiers in the colonies. At some point, 1600 soldiers arrived in New York, and the local legislature refused to follow the quartering act. This resulted in the governor's suspension, but it never took place since a consensus was reached. -
Repeal of Stamp Act and passage of Declaratory Act
On this day, the British government repealed the Stamp Act due to widespread protest and rebellion, but Parliament also passed the Declaratory Acts, claiming that the British government had free and total legislative power over the colonies. This was one of the last tipping points before the revolution because the colonists were extremely unhappy about England taking away all their local powers to rule and not giving the colonies a say in anything that was taking place. -
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts was a tax imposed on the colonies on most imported goods such as glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea. This tax was almost a replacement for the Stamp Act. Naturally the colonists were outraged by this new tax, and there were widespread protests and discontent in the colonies. The British then decided to station soldiers to collect taxes and keep order. The eventually led to the Boston Massacre. -
Tea Act
The Tea Act granted the British East India Company Tea a monopoly on tea sales in the American colonies. This meant that they could charge any price, even if it was extremely high. This prompted the colonists to board ships moored in the Boston Harbor and dump barrels of tea into the harbor. This was called the Boston Tea Party and was the start of the tipping point towards revolution. The tea that was lost cost a lot to England in terms of money and pride. -
Coercive or “Intolerable” Acts
There were many parts to the Coercive or “Intolerable” Acts. The first was the closing of the Boston Harbor due to the Boston Tea Party. The next part is that the British soldiers were not subject to colonial laws and that they could not be tried in colonial courts. The next part is that the Massachusetts assembly could not meet, and town meetings were only once a year, and the governor chose all the officials. The last part is the Quebec Act, where the territories of the colonies was lessened. -
Lexington and Concord
The first shots of the Revolution were fired at the towns of Lexington and Concord. This was significant because the British were out to seize the colonist's weapons, but encountered a deadly revolt. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
The colonists suffered heavy losses at the battle of Breed's hill, but at the battle of Bunker Hill, they did severe amounts of damage to the British. The famous quote, "don't shoot till you see the white's of their eyes" was said here. This gave colonists a sense of pride and notion that they could accomplish anything. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress came from delegates from all the 13 colonies. They discussed the future of the colonies and declared that the American Revolution had begun. At this congress, the delegates formed a continental army. This congress met in Philadelphia. -
Declaration of Independence
The Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia determined that the colonies were now separate from England. They were now sovereign states. -
Battle of Saratoga
Battles of Saratoga were a turning point in the American Revolution. Burgoyne, a general in the British army, again attacked the Americans at Bemis Heights on October 7th, but this time was defeated and forced to retreat. This was the first major American victory. -
Battle of Yorktown
The Battle of Yorktown took place in Yorktown, Virgina and was a conflict between the English and the Colonists. The battle of Yorktown ended in a victory for the colonists when the British surrendered. The Americans, a rag-tag militia had defeated the greatest army of that time. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris was the official document that ended the American Revolution. Spain, France, Britain, and America signed the document and they acknowledged the colonies as a sovereign nation. The second part was that they agreed that the boundaries were Florida north to the Great Lakes and the Atlantic coast west to the Mississippi River.
