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Road to Revolution
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Proclamation of 1763
This proclamation did not allow colonists to settle west of the Appalachian Mountains. The British government feared the conflict between colonists and Native Americans would lead to another war. They also could not afford to pay British troops to defend the western lands. Colonists were enraged by this proclamation because they felt they had won the right to settle in the Ohio River Valley after winning the French and Indian War. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act required all legal and commercial documents such as diplomas, contracts, wills, and even publised materials to carry an official stamp showing that a tax had been paid. It directly affected all colonists which enraged them for being taxed without representation. -
Declaratory Act
This law said that Parliament had supreme authority to govern the colonies. The Americans celebrated the repeal of the Stamp Act and tried to ignore the Declaratory Act. This contributed to the great tug-of-war between Parliament and the colonies. -
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts suspended New York's assemblies until New York agreed to provide housing for the troops. The other acts placed taxes on imported goods such as glass, paint, lead, tea, and paper. The taxes collected were used to pay the British soldiers in the colonies. The colonists also got upset because the soldiers were using the writ of assistance which allowed them to search through their homes for smuggled goods. -
Boston Massacre
Tensions between the British soldiers and colonists got to the point where violence was necessary. A group of youths and dock workers were insulting one another and then a fight broke out and people started firing. 5 were killed in trade for freedom for the other colonists. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston tea party was one of the protests against the Tea Acts. The Sons of Liberty arranged for a group of men disguised as Native Americans to aboard three tea ships in Boston to destroyed the tea onboard. A total of 342 chests of tea were destroyed to show the colonists' opposition against taxation without representation. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
On April 19th, 700 British troops went against 70 militiaman waiting in Lexington. The first shot remains unknown but within a few minutes eight militiamen were killed. Then the British went to Concord where they destroyed some the colonists' military supplies. A battle soon broke out and the British were forced to retreat. While the British were attempting to retreat, nearly 4000 Minutemen and militiamen arrived and delayed the redcoats with musket fire. The battles of Lexington and Concord we -
Thomas Paine's Common Sense
Thomas Paine's Common Sense pamphlet was publicized to convince many Americans that a complete break with Britain was necessary. Thomas Paine, an English immigrant created this pamphlet which became a strong case for American independence. Paine included how ridiculous some of the ideas were in Britain. He shared his opinions on how governments should be. Common Sense was extremely successful as over 100,000 copies were sold in the first three months. -
Declaration of Independence
The majority of the delegates did not support independence and the entire Continental Congress remained undecided. In May of 1776, the Congress adopted a resolution allowing each colony to make its own government. Richard Henry Lee of Virginia introduced a resolution on June 7, which called colonies "free and independent states." It also declared that "all political connection between them in the state of Great Britain is totally dissolved." -
Declaration of Independence (Part 2)
Congress debated on the resolution but the delegates weren't ready to vote on the resolution. Soon a committee was appointed which included Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, and Thomas Jefferson to write a draft of the Declaration of Independence. Aside from being an excellent writer, Jefferson was from Virginia so he was chosen to compose the Declaration. Two weeks later the Declaration was finished. -
Declaration of Independence (Part 3)
On July 2 of 1776 Congress considered Lee's resolution again and despite some of the strong opposition the measure was passed. After that point the colonies consider themselves independent. Two days later was when the Congress officially adopted the documents that have proclaimed independence.