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French and Idian War
In 1753 the French started to build forts between lake Earie and the Ohio river. The Indians owned the Ohio River valley and weren’t pleased with this act and decided to go to war with the French.
The next year Washington set off west to build a small fort. Washington was too late and the French had already started a fort. Eventually Washington fought a small French army and won. The French said they would never give up their land. -
Sugar Act
The Sugar Act put a three-cent tax on foreign sugar. It also increased the taxes on coffee, indigo, and certain wines. During this time, rum and French wines were not allowed to enter the colonies. As the other taxes, the Sugar Act was passed without the consent of the colonists. Although it didn't affect the entire population of the colonists, the merchants were extremely angered, because the Sugar Act was very bad for thier business. -
The Quartering Act
The Quartering Act was despised by the colonists, just as all of the other taxes and laws. The parliment passed this act on March 24, 1765. The colonists were forced to house British troops in thier private homes. The Quartering Act was strengthened in 1774. This is because the colonists were rebelling, leading to an increase in the number of troops sent over from Britain. Therefore, more people were needed to house the rising number of soldiers, whom they most likely despised anyways. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act, just as the other taxes, came from the British Parliment. The colonists were extremely unhappy. Any item made of paper had to have an official stamp of approval. This included wedding certificates, playing cards, diplomas, birth certificates- anyhting paper. Not only the colonists were upset by this. British manufacturers and merchants werea lso angry. The tax threatened thier business. -
Boston Massacre
Boston Massacre
On March 5, 1770, many workers and sailors surrounded a small group of soldiers. The crowd was loud, taunting the group of soldiers. They where daring them to fire into the crowd; many where yelling, “FIRE”! One of the crowd members attacked a soldier, after being struck, the soldier hit the man with his gun. After that a soldier fired into the crowd. This shot lead to a few more shots killing five and wounding six. -
Tea Act
In 1773, the British were in a bit of a financial debt. They decided to help pay off this debt, they would force colonists to only purchase tea from the British East India Company. This angered the colonists. They felt that they shoudn't have to buy overpriced tea from only one company. In addition, they were against taxing from an overseas ruler. They boycotted the tea until it was repealed. -
Bostn Tea Party
December 17, 1773, a group called the Sons of Liberty performed a highly rebellious protest. This famous act is commonly known as the Boston Tea Party. These clever patriots dressed as Native Americans and invaded a ship with a cargo full of British tea. They dumped over 342 cases of tea into the harbor. This was one of the events that led to the British really cracking down on the colonists, because this showed that the colonists were rising up against their superiors. -
Boston Port Bill
On March 30, 1774, British parliment passed the Boston Port Bill. This was one of the infamous Intolerable Acts. The British were very upsey about the Boston Tea Party. It had cost them a lot of money in tea. They decided to create the Boston Port Bill. They closed Boston Harbor until the colinists had payed back all of the tea they had dumped into the Harbor. -
Massachusetts Government Act
The Massachusetts Government Act was another Intolerable Acts. These acts were also known as the Coercive Acts. This act was perhaps one of the worst ones passed. It angered colonists, and really only led to more tension. The Massachusetts Government Act ceased the colonist's right to govern themselves. It handed the city's government over to royal British officials. -
The First Continental Congress
On September 5, 1774, the first continental congress met for the first time. There were 56 delagates present, coming from every colony except Georgia. They met in Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They had a goal; to establish a political body to represent American Interests. They also wanted to challenge British control. -
Declaration of Rights and Grievances
Declaration of Rights and Grievances
This declaration asserted the right of the colonies to tax and legislates for their selves. This means that they were able to put a tax on sugar if they wanted to. Also it called for the repeal of the thirteen acts of parliament. Those thirteen acts have been passed since 1763. The laws violated the colonists rights as Englishmen. -
The Declaration of Independence
Probably the most important event during the road to independence, the Declaration of Indepence was passed on July fourth, 1776. In this document, the colonists stated thier rights. They claimed that they had been treated unfairly by Parliment. This declaration had of four major parts: the preamble, the declaration of natural rights, the list of greivances, and the resolution of independence. This is why they took a stand and declared independence from great Britain in this historic document.
