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The Navigation Law of 1650
The first of the navigation laws passed by parliament over the next 23 years, forced all goods both imported and exported from the colonies to be shipped directly to or from the mother land first. This eliminated the trading between other countries and the colonies, giving more power to Great Britain. -
Treaty of Paris, 1763
This treaty ended the French and Indian War. Great Britain wins the war and gains everything from the Appellation Mountains all the way to the Mississippi River. -
Sugar Act of 1764
A tax on the colonies for molasses. Great Britain needed money to fix the debt from the French and Indian War, so they started taxing the colonies for money. This upset the colonists because of not having any representation in parliament, leading to the slogan ‘no taxation without representation’ -
Quartering Act of 1765
Great Britain didn’t want to rack up more debt by having to build new homes and housing for the troops they left overseas in the colonies, so they told the colonists they must feed and house the British soldiers in their own homes. -
Stamp Act of 1765
Great Britain still needs more money, so they tax the colonies for everything that needed a stamp on it. That included paper and official documents. -
Repeal of the Stamp Act
After fights broke out in the colonies over the extreme taxes on paper and all stamped goods, parliament repealed the stamp act. -
Declaratory Act
Parliament wanted the colonies to be aware that they held the right to impose any law or tax on them. This was said at the same time as the repeal of the stamp act, so many colonists didn’t really care about that statement at the time. -
Townshend Act
This act was a tax on glass, white lead, paper, paint, and tea. Tea was the main drink of the colonists and it upset they very much that now they had to pay so much more for the same thing. This event caused a chain reaction that would lead up to the Boston Tea Party -
The Boston Massacre
Colonists kept terrorizing the British redcoat military on the streets by throwing snowballs with rocks, the British got few up with it and they all pulled a few triggers. Leaving a handful of colonists dead. This is the first blood to have been shed which led to the American Revolutionary War. -
The Boston Tea Party
Late at night a group of colonists dressed up as Indians stormed the ships docked at the harbors and dumped crates of tea leaves into the ocean. This was known as the Boston Tea Party. The colonists did this because they were upset with Great Britain for having a monopoly on tea. -
Intolerable Acts
As a result of the BostonTea Party, Great Britain closed off all ports in the harbors of Massachusetts and stocked the state full of soldiers. They told the colonists that nothing will go in or out of the harbor until all the tea has been paid for. -
Quebec Act
Passed at the same time as the Intolerable Acts, the Quebec Act was aimed at the French Canadian neighbors saying that thy would not have a jury trial for civil cases. The colonies overheard this Act and they were angry. The colonists took this as a threat of an unfair trial. -
The Association 1774
The Association was the most significant thing that the First Continental Congress did, this was a call for all the colonies to boycott goods from Great Britain. This was before they had announced their independence, but they refused to consume, export, or import goods from Great Britain. They did this to fight back at parliament for the awful laws and taxes. -
First Continental Congress
A representative from each state came together, except Georgia, to think up a good come back after the intolerable act. They decided to ask the King for peace, while telling the colonies to gear up for war. This was more like a convention rather than a Congress. -
Lexington and Concord
When the First Continental Congress sent a message to the
King asking to have representation, they had also told the colonists to get ready for battle. Somehow Great Britain found our about this and about how the colonists were stockpiling ammunition and weapons. GB was not too happy about this and they sent troops in to confiscate the weapons from the colonists. The troops battled in Lexington and were defeated in Concord -
Second Continental Congress
They met to come up with another letter to the King in hopes for repealing the taxes. They also found ways to raise money to start a paid army and navy. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was an official document sent to the Kind stating the official separation from the crown. -
Valley Forge
2,800 soldiers went without food or clothing all winter, with women walking with them helping fix food and clothes for the soldiers. At the same time smallpox went around the colonies. -
Adopting the Articles of Confederation
The colonists fought almost the entire war before they adopted the Articles of Confederation in 1781. The Articles of Confederation is a written constitution, which will be revised. -
Treaty of Paris 1783
Great Britain formally announced and recognized the independence of the United States.
