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Ends French and Indian War
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The proclamation,closed off the frontier to colonial expansion.
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Organized by Samuel Adams, these helped spread propaganda and information through letters
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Prohibits the colonists from issuing any legal tender paper money
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Revised duties on sugar, coffee, tea, wine, other imports; expanded jurisdiction of vice-admiralty courts
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Boston merchants begin a boycott of British luxury goods
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The British finance minister, decided the American colonists should contribute more toward British expenses in North America. His first step was to take action against smuggling in the colonies.
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The English imposed a tax on most papers involving business transactions, newspapers, playing cards and other items
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Patrick Henry presents seven Virginia Resolutions claiming that only the Virginia assembly can legally tax Virginia residents
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Colonists must supply British troops with housing, other items (candles, firewood, etc.)
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Parliamentary declares its sovereignty over the colonies "in all cases whatsoever"
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Ben Franklin argued for repeal and warned of a possible revolution in the American colonies if the Stamp Act was enforced by the British military
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The English imposed duties on the colonies on imports of lead, glass, paint, paper and tea
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Merchants in Boston and New York boycott British goods until the Townshend Acts are repealed
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A formal collective decision made by Boston based merchants and traders not to import or export items to Britain.
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Merchants in Philadelphia join the boycott
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George Mason writes resolutions presented by George Washington to the Virginia House of Burgesses opposing taxation without representation
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English warships sail into Boston Harbor leaving two regiments of English troops to keep order.
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Boycott of English goods spreads to Rhode Island, New Jersey and North Carolina
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English troops occupied Boston because of American opposition to the Townshend Duties. The hostility of the citizens on March 5, 1770, caused a crowd to pelt the soldiers in the front of the Boston Customhouse with snowballs, sticks, and other things. The soldiers fired killing five and wounding six others.
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Repeal of the Townshend Acts and the Quartering Act by the British. The only duties on imports into the colonies are for tea
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A local vessel was under way to Providence when its captain baited the HMS Gaspee and led into shallow waters near Warwick. The Gaspee ran aground. News of the grounding quickly reached Providence and a party of fifty-five, led by a man named John Brown, planned an attack on the ship. The following evening they surrounded and boarded the Gaspee, wounding Duddington and capturing the entire crew. All were hauled ashore and abandoned, to watch as the Gaspee was looted and then burned.
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Boston town meeting endorses proclamations asserting the rights of the colonies to self-rule.
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The Tea Act ,claiming a threepenny per pound import tax on tea,arrives in the colonies and provides the British East India Company a virtual tea monopoly by selling directly to chosen tea agents, bypassing and underselling American merchants who acted as middlemen.
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November 30: The Royal Governor of Massachusetts, Thomas Hutchinson, orders harbor officials not to let the ship sail out of the harbor unless the tea taxes have been paid.
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American colonists calling themselves the Sons of Liberty and disguised as Mohawk Native Americans boarded three British ships (the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver) and dumped 342 whole crates of British tea into Boston harbor.
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Closes port of Boston; restructures Massachusetts government; restricts town meetings; troops quartered in Boston; British officials accused of crimes sent to England or Canada for trial.
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General Thomas Gage replaces Hutchinson as Royal governor and places Massachusetts under military rule
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Declares Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion
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Patrick Henry delivers the "Give me liberty or give me death!" speech
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Requires New England colonies to trade exclusively with England
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Shots fired at Lexington and Concord where weapons depot destroyed. "Minute Men" force British troops back to Boston. George Washington takes command of the Continental Army.
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The Provincial Congress in Massachusetts orders 13,600 American soldiers to be mobilized and volunteers begin a year long siege of Boston which is held by the British.
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Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold lead the capture Fort Ticonderoga in New York which contains weapons
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George Washington appointed general and commander-in-chief of the new Continental Army.
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Olive Branch Petition aimed at reconciliation with Britain which fails
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Stated that Americans were "resolved to die free men rather than live as slaves."
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Declares Britishintention to coerce Americans into submission; embargo on American goods; American ships seized
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American forces capture Dorchester Heights and British evacuate Boston
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Thomas Jefferson presents the United States Declaration of Independence