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Writs of Assistance
The writs of assistance were court orders that served as search warrants, allowing officials to search any ships or buildings that could hold smuggled goods without requiring specific warrants. One well known court case over them was between James Otis, representing colonist views against Paxton, a customs agent with Paxton coming out on top. It was also one of colonists' grievances in the Declaration of Independence. -
Proclamation of 1763
A declaration passed due to tensions along the frontier to restrict colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains. Colonists responded by continuing colonization beyond the established line. -
Sugar Act of 1764
An act that lowered the rate of tax on molasses from six pence established by the Sugar and Molasses Act to three pence per gallon, but this revised act was strictly enforced and cause an immediate decline in the rum industry. With this economic disturbance, set the stage for the revolt regarding the Stamp Act. -
Stamp Act of 1765
An act that required colonists to pay taxes on various forms of documents, papers, and player cards portrayed by a stamp. This was a direct tax by the British government to alleviate their debt without the permission of colonial legislatures. Such legislation contributed to the movement for revolution in the colonies. The act was eventually repealed March 18, 1766 due to colonial resistance. -
Quartering Act of 1765
An act that required the colonies to house British soldiers in barracks funded by the colonies themselves. If the barracks were not large enough, then other locations would need to provide further housing. Colonial governments would need to provide food and shelter to the troops that stayed behind to protect the colonies. This act did not cause any violent responses, but it did serve as a source of contention between the colonies and Great Britain. -
Stamp Act Congress
A meeting that was the first conference of elected representatives from multiple colonies in protest of British taxation. During the meeting, delegates accepted the 14-point Declaration of Rights and Grievances that stated the British government could regulate colonial trade but did not have the power to tax colonies. They argued that since the colonies were not represented in Parliament they could not be taxed, thus coining the slogan “no taxation without representation”. -
Declaratory Act of 1766
An act passed with the repeal of the Stamp Act and it stated that British government had the same taxing power in colonial America as in Britain. Parliament established its complete authority to make laws no matter the issue. This conflict showed the growing unresolved problem of British authority in the colonies and how Britain inconsiderate to the concepts of self government that grew within colonial America. -
Townshend Acts of 1767
Acts introduced on June 29th, 1767 by Charles Townshend that imposed duties on glass, lead, paints, paper, and tea imported into the colonies. Colonists viewed these acts as an abuse of power. Britain repealed these acts in 1770 as an attempt to placate the colonists. -
Boston Massacre
All the tensions that were building between the colonists and Britain eventually led to this event. Colonists were harassing a British sentry in protest of British occupation of their city . A squad was sent down to support the soldiers and they let loose some shots that resulted in the death of 5 colonists. The soldiers were charged with manslaughter but were later acquitted. Rebel leaders such as Samuel Adams and Paul Revere used this event as propaganda to promote their beliefs. -
Tea Act of 1773
An act that was intended to bail out the suffering East India Company by forgoing their payment of the duties placed on tea in colonial America. The East India Company was basically granted a monopoly on import and sale of tea in the colonies. Due the monopoly on tea, colonial merchants involved in the tea trade suffered great losses. The colonists never accepted the duties on tea and this piece of legislation only fueled their opposition toward British authority. -
Boston Tea Party
In reaction to the enforcement of the Tea Act, colonists protested British taxation through this infamous act. That night, the Sons of Liberty dressed up in Mohawk costumes and boarded the East India Company’s ships carrying chests of tea. They threw the tea chests overboard and furthered the divide between the colonists and the British. -
Coercive Acts of 1774
The Coercive Acts were passed by Parliament in response to the Boston Tea Party. The Boston Port Act closed down the Boston port until damages were paid. The Massachusetts Government Act restricted their democratic rights and the Administration of Justice Act made British officials immune to the law. The Quartering Act required colonists to house and provide for British troops upon request. These laws intended to consolidate British colonial control, but only advanced the revolutionary effort. -
Quebec Act of 1774
An act passed by Parliament that made a permanent government in Canada to replace the temporary one following the French and Indian War. It gave the French in Canada more freedoms to do what they want to and worship their own religions. It also set the boundaries of the French province (Quebec) in Canada. -
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress was a meetup of delegates from twelve out of the thirteen British colonies (excluding Georgia). They discussed the controversy over the recent duties passed by Parliament and agreed to boycott all British goods as a result. They also petitioned King George but to no effect. -
Battles of Lexington & Concord
The battles of Lexington and Concord occurred in April of 1775. British troops led by Thomas Gage marched to Concord to seize an arms cache which resulted in Paul Revere’s midnight ride to warn the minutemen that the British were coming. They successfully stood up against the British who retreated in spite of low casualties and the battle was known as “the shot heard around the world.” -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress met up after the Battles of Lexington and Concord and sent out the Olive Branch Petition and later drafted the Declaration of Independence. In addition, they raised troops for an army setting Washington as its supreme commander and aimed to raise funds for the upcoming war. -
Olive Branch Petition
A document written at the Second Continental Congress, it was the colonists last attempt at appealing to the king to avoid the war. It was shot down by King George, giving the colonists the reason they needed to start the American Revolution. -
Declaration of Independence
A document listing the grievances of the colonists towards England. It was written during the Second Continental Congress and stated that the colonies were uniting and no longer under British rule. The date of its signing (July 4th) is currently celebrated as America’s Independence Day.
