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The groups most negatively affected by the Navigation Acts—colonial manufacturers, merchants and artisans, and mechanics—were all central actors in prerevolutionary anti-British agitation. Merchants were especially active in colonial politics, and they responded to the acts with hostility. The passage of the Navigation Acts contributed to rising anti-British sentiment and the eventual outbreak of the American Revolution.
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Because of the French-Indian War, England owed a huge debt. England goes from salutary neglect to mercantilism.
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The Stamp Act was introduced by British Parliament. It was the first direct tax used by the British government to collect revenue from the colonies.
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The Quartering Act of 1765 required the colonies to house British soldiers in barracks provided by the colonies.
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New taxes on imports of paper, paint, lead, glass, and tea.
Established an American Customs Board in Boston to collect taxes.
Set up new courts in America to prosecute smugglers (without using a local jury).
Gave British officials the right to search colonists' houses and businesses. -
The Boston Massacre was a confrontation on March 5, 1770, in which British soldiers shot and killed several people while being harassed by a mob in Boston. The riot was a building block to the bad relations with England.
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The Boston Tea Party gave the colonists the motivation to stand up for their rights and to ultimately risk their lives by going to war for their independence. The Boston Tea Party is also important for its inspiration, not only to Americans but to other rebels against injustice around the world.
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The Boston Port Act, the Massachusetts Government Act, the Administration of Justice Act, and the Quartering Act are considered the Intolerable Acts. The purpose of these Acts was to punish the colonist for the Boston Tea Party.
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The battle of Lexington & Concord marked the outbreak of armed conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and its thirteen colonies in America.
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The Second Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies in America which united in the American Revolutionary War.
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The Olive Branch Petition was intended to be an attempt by the colonist to avoid war with Great Britain. The Proclamation stated their (the colonist) loyalty to the crown and their rights as British citizens
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A pamphlet by Thomas Paine challenged the authority of the British government and the royal monarchy. It was the first document to openly ask for independence.
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On July 4, 1776, after the approval of the Continental Congress, the 13 American colonies severed political ties with Great Britain. The document included 3 main ideas: that people have certain inalienable rights including Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness
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The AOC was the first written agreement between the first 13 colonies that was to serve as the first constitution. Some of the weaknesses of the AOC was there was no respect, quarreling states, boundary disputes, no money, and a weak central government.
Approved in 1777 and was ratified in 1781. -
Led by Daniel Shays, a former Revolutionary War veteran, the rebellion lasted 6 months. Protesting the state imposing unfair taxes on their citizens. The protesters took over the Court of Common Pleas in Northampton in order to prevent the trial and imprisonment of debt-ridden citizens.
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The Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia met between May and September of 1787 to address the problems of the weak central government that existed under the Articles of Confederation
