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1754 BCE
1754 - The French and Indian War
- This war was between the British and the French, it began in 1754 and ended in 1763. This war gave Britain great power/land in North America, leading Britain to tax colonies to pay their soldiers. This led to the colonies wanting to gain independence. Ultimately it led to discontent within the colonies and many other disagreements. Because of this expenses were raised causing it to be hard to pay it off. This is a big reason why the revolution came about because they were already in debt.
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1763 - Parliament adopted the Proclamation
- The proclamation was a line that was created by the British, it was a boundary mark found in the Appalachian Mountains. The line was made to prohibit Anglo-American colonists from going onto the land and settling there. The colonies believed that the proclamation was just plotted to keep the colonies under England. This left the colonists to rebel against the law because they believed their rights weren't respected enough. This began the crack down causing it to be a big thing they fought for.
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1765 - Parliament passed the Stamp Act
- The Stamp Act was passed in order to help pay for the British troops that were stationed during the Seven Years' War. This act made the colonists pay tax that represented stamps that were found on papers, documents, and playing cards. The colonists argued that this act was against the British constitution and was not agreed upon by the parliament. Colonies rioted against this causing resignations to send men in order to enforce it. This led to the Revolutionary War and the colonies irritated.
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1773 - Parliament passed the Tea Act
- This act granted the company the right to ship their tea right to the colonies. This allowed East India to have a tax break on their tea and be cheaper than smuggling. The British had an unfair advantage in selling their tea in America. American colonists worked together and responded with protests, because this act would give the East Indian Company a monopoly on their tea sales, and they were being taxed without representation again. This led the colonies to be outraged and outbreak the war.
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1774 - The Quebec Act
- This act was passed in order to gain loyalty from the French. This granted them freedom of worship and restored their rights to property/land. This was to help the governments ensure loyalty towards each other. The religious freedoms that were passed are included in the First Amendment and are a very important freedom for our world today. This overall may have helped with their loyalty toward each other, but it did cause consequences for Britain's North American Empire which led to the war.
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1775 - British General Thomas Gage was ordered to use military force
- Thomas Gage was ordered by England to send troops to seize patriot munitions in Concord and destroy the cache of colonial weapons. This soon led to a confrontation between the British soldiers and the people of Concord, and Lexington. This was the first battle of the American Revolution that soon would lead to war for American Independence. British won the battle, but they had many dead, wounded, and captured troops. Thomas Gage pushed the British troops which gave them great success.
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1776 - Approved resolution "that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent."
- Richard Henry Lee introduced the resolution, he proposed independence for the American colonies to the Second Continental Congress. They declared independence from England and after some debating and changes, Congress accepted the Declaration of Independence. This allowed America to have independent states, create alliances with foreign nations, and engage freely in commerce. Looking at this from today's perspective shows how important this was for us and our rights in our world today.