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Proclamation of 1763
King George III issued this proclamation to close down westward expansion, preventing conflicts with the natives. This forbade colonists from settling past the Appalachians without a permit and forced the ones who had already settled west to come back. The proclamation angered the colonists because of the trade and migration restrictions, however still many colonists broke this law and settled west as they felt that the English could not enforce the proclamation. -
Sugar Act of 1764
The Sugar Act of 1764 was passed on April 5, 1764. The act was created to raise revenue for Britain. It taxed foreign goods such as sugar, certain wines, coffee, pimiento, cambric, and regulated the export of lumber and iron. The Sugar Act amended the Molasses Act of 1733 by halving the duty from 6 pence per gallon of molasses to 3 pence, in hopes that the tax would actually be enforced and the smuggling rates would decrease. -
Stamp Act of 1765
The Stamp Act imposed tax on every piece of printed paper, including newspapers, legal documents, etc. used by the colonists. The money made by this act was used to defend the American frontier at the Appalachian Mountains. The cost of tax in itself was not large, but the colonists were angered because of the precedent it set. Usually, taxes were imposed to regulate commerce and trade, but now it was issued to raise money. The Stamp Act increased the growing colonial dissent for the British. -
Quartering Act of 1765
This act required colonists to house British soldiers in barracks. If the barracks were not available or in bad condition, they had to place the soldiers in inns, ale house, etc. The New York colonial assembly did not that they were being commanded to house the British soldiers instead of being asked and treated with respect. -
Stamp Act Congress
The Stamp Act Congress was the first meeting between representative officials of the colonies to oppose the new British policies, proposed by James Otis and held in New York. Some disagreements arose, but ultimately the Stamp Act Resolves proposed that there should be no taxation in the colonies without representation in the Parliament, and it was approved by every colony except one. Although this did not secure the repeal of the Stamp Act, it was a huge step towards the unity of the colonies. -
Declaratory Act of 1766
The Declaratory Act of 1766 was passed along with the repeal of the Stamp Act. It declared that the Parliament had the same right to pass laws and impose taxes in the colonies as it did in Britain, and asserted control over the American colonies. Many colonists were outraged and interpreted the Declaratory Act as a sign that more acts and taxation would be implemented. -
Writs of assistance
A writ of assistance is a task assigned to a law enforcement official, such as a tax collector or police officer, first passed by the Parliament in the 1760s. In colonial America, they were controversial as they granted the British officials permission to search the colonists’ properties for smuggled goods without needing an official search warrant. Additionally, they did not expire unless the king died and could be passed on to another. -
Townshend Acts of 1767
The Townshend Acts were a series of 5 acts passed in 1767-68 that taxed goods imported to the colonies. The British believed that the colonies should have to pay part of the cost of the French and Indian War debt. Duties were imposed on goods that were imported to the colonies such as British china, glass, paper, paint, lead, and tea. The colonists viewed the Townshend Acts as an abuse of power, since they did not have any say in the laws passed by the Parliament. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre occurred on King Street in Boston, Massachusetts. This street fight occurred between British soldiers and a “patriot mob.” This began because the presence of these soldiers in Boston was unwelcome and it angered colonists. 50 citizens started to attack a British sentinel. Captain Thomas Preston, a British officer called more soldiers, but they two got attacked. Snowballs, sticks, and stones were thrown resulting in multiple deaths of both citizens and soldiers. -
Tea Act of 1773
The Tea Act, passed on May 10th, 1773, was an effort to reduce the amount of tea held by the East India Company as they were struggling financially. This granted the company a monopoly on sales made in the colonies. This law instigated extreme opposition from American colonists, and led to the Boston Tea Party. Although the act was not passed the anger the colonists, it caused the company to undersell to American merchants. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was an event in which American colonists dumped 342 chests of English tea into the harbor at Griffin’s Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts. They did this in protest of the taxes England was imposing on them without giving them representation in the Parliament, which they called “taxation without representation”. The protest was the first major act of the defiance leading up to the Revolutionary War. -
Coercive Acts of 1774
The Coercive Acts, or the Intolerable Acts, were a series of five acts passed in 1774. These acts were made to restore British authority in the colonies and to get the colonists to enforce the laws set in place. This was created after the Boston Tea Party rebellion. The laws consisted of the Boston Port Act, Massachusetts Government Act, Administration of Justice Act, The Quartering Act, and the Quebec Act. -
Quebec Act of 1774
The Quebec Act was passed to replace the temporary government in Canada with a permanent English one. It redefined the province’s borders and expanded it into many states. The act also restored French civil law and granted French Canadians religious freedom. Colonists were upset about it because the Quebec Act gave Britain even more power over North America. -
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress was a meeting between 12 of the 13 colonies in response to the Coercive Acts passed by the English. They discussed ways to gain power again against the British, and considered economic boycotts of trade, and a list of grievances. In the end, they sent King George III their list, and called for another continental congress if they did not succeed in halting the Coercive Acts, which later took place. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
These battles were the first ones in the Revolutionary War. They were found in the Middlesex County of Massachusetts Bay. Hundreds of British troops marched to Concord in order to seize an arms cache. Paul Revere and others all informed the colonists and a confrontation in Lexington began the fighting. In the end, the Colonists won the battle and the British retreated back to Boston. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress succeeded the first. It was made up of most of the same 56 delegates who were part of the 1st Continental Congress. The Lee Resolution, which established the colonies as a separate country, was adopted by the congress on July 2, 1776. The Declaration of Independence was also agreed to by the 2nd Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. -
Olive Branch Petition
The Olive Branch petition, signed by the Second Continental Congress, pledged the colonists’ loyalty to the crown. It was organized by John Dickinson, whom most of the other delegates followed, and was written as a last attempt to avoid war between them and England. However, King George believed the colonies had already begun the rebellion and refused to read it. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence, signed on July 4th, 1776, severed the ties between American colonists and Britain. The declaration represented all the motives for the colonists and why the want independence. This was written by Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston.
