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Proclamation of 1763
The royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued October 7, 1763, by King George III following Great Britain's acquisition of of French territory in North America after the end of the French and Indian war, which forbade all settlement past a line drawn along the Appalachian Mountains. The colonist's did not like this, so they continued to move west of the Appalachian mountains, not caring that they were violating the proclamation line. -
Currency Act
The Currency Act of 1764 extended the 1751 act to all of the British colonies of North America. Unlike the earlier act, this statute did not prohibit the colonies from issuing paper money, but it did forbid them from designating future currency emissions as legal tender for public and private debts. The policy created tension between the colonies and Great Britain, and was cited as a grievance by colonists early in the American Revolution. -
Sugar Act
The sugar act lowered taxes on molasses, the purpose of lowering tax on molasses was to induce importers to buy molasses from British colonies instead of smuggling it from competing French and Spanish colonies. The colonists went against this act and continued to smuggle foreign made molasses into the colonies. The Sugar Act was effectively repealed in 1765 due to the overwhelming anger from the colonists. -
The Quartering Act
The Quartering Act is a name given to a minimum of two Acts of British Parliament in the local governments of the American colonies to provide the British soldiers with any needed accommodations and housing. It also required colonists to provide food for any British soldier in the area. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was passed by the British Parliament on March 22, 1765. The new tax was imposed on all American colonists and required them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used. Ship's papers, legal documents, licenses, newspapers, other publications, and even playing cards were taxed. Patrick Henry, at a meeting in the Virginia House of Burgesses, proposed seven resolutions against the Stamp Act. -
Repeal of the Stamp Act
After months of protest, and an appeal by Benjamin Franklin before the British House of Commons, Parliament voted to repeal the Stamp Act in March 1766. However, the same day Parliament passed the declaratory Acts, asserting that the British government had free and total legislative power over the colonies. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a street fight that occurred on March 5, 1770, between a "patriot" mob, throwing snowballs, stones, and sticks, and a squad of British soldiers. Several colonists were killed and this led to a campaign by speech writers to rouse the ire of citizenry. The colonists used this event to their advantage. The colonists were also more watchful over the British and their activities. -
Tea Act
The Tea Act's main purpose was not to raise revenue from the colonies but to bail out the floundering East India company, a key actor in the British economy. The British government granted the company a monopoly on the importation and sale of tea in the colonies. The colonists were angry because the Act would give the East India company a monopoly on tea sales in the colonies. -
Boston Tea Party
On December 16, 1773, the Sons of Liberty, led by Samuel Adams, planned to show Parliament how they felt about the Tea Act. They boarded the British ship Dartmouth docked in Boston Harbor, dressed as Native Americans, and dumped the entire load of tea into the water. The Boston Tea Party took place because the colonists did not want to have to pay taxes on British tea. -
The Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts were harsh laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774. They were meant to punish the American colonists for the Boston Tea Party and other protests. These laws made the people in Massachusetts and all the colonists very angry. The Boston Port act helped to bond the colonies because the Bostonian's needed supplies until the port opened back up. The colonies bonded together by joining together to boycott British goods.
