-
1765 Stamp Act
In 1765, Parliament passed the Stamp Act. This law required all legal and commercial documents to carry an official stamp showing that a tax had been paid.The colonial view hated the stamp tax which is shown in the picture the skull and the crossbones on the emblem. -Creating America -
Boston Massacre
In 1768, British soldiers (known as redcoats for thier bright red jackets) arrived in Boston. With their arrival, tension filled the streets of Boston. Soldiers and street youths often yelled insults at each other. "Lobsters for sale!" the youths would yell, referring to the soldiers red coats.
-Creating America -
Boston Massacre
On March 5, 1770, tensions finaly exploded into violence. A fight broke out, and the soldiers began firing. Attucks and four laborers were killed. The Sons of Liberty called the shooting the Boston Massacre. They said that Attucks and the four others had given their lives for freedom. Soon the incident became a tool for anti-British propaganda in newspaper articles, pamphlets, and posters.
-Creating America -
The Boston Tea Party
Protest against the Tea Act took place all over the colonies. In Charleston, South Carolina, colonists unloaded tea and let it rot on the docks. In New York City and Philadelphia, colonists blocked tea ships from landing. In Boston, the Sons of Liberty organized what came to be known as the Boston Tea Act.
-Creating America -
Boston Tea Party
Protest against the Tea Act took place all over the colonies. By 1773, many colonists were unhappy about British control of the colonial tea trade. In the incident known as the Boston Tea Party, Patriots raided British merchant ships and dumped 342 chests of tea overboard. In the picture you can see that they began throwing the tea overboard.
-Creating America -
The Tea Act
On the evening of December 16,1773, a group of men disguised as Native Americans boarded three tea ships docked in Boston Harbor. That night, Hewes and the others destroyed 342 chest of tea. Many colonists rejoyced at the news. They believed that Britian would now see how strongly colonists opposed taxtion without representation.
-Creating America -
The Intolerable Acts
In 1774, Parliament passed a series of laws to punish the Massachsetts colony and to serve as a warning to other colonies. The British called there laws the Coercive Acts, but they were so harsh that the colonist called them the Intolerable Acts.
-Creating America -
Common Sense Is Published
In early 1776, most Americans still wanted to avoid final break with Britain. However, when the publication of a pamphlet title Common Sense helped convince many Americans that a complete break with Britain was necessary. Common Sense was written by Thomas Paine, a immigrant from England, this pamphlet made a strong case for American independence.
-Creating America
-Creating America -
Lexington and Concord
At dawn on April 19, some 700 British troops reached Lexington. They founded Captin John Parker and about 70 militiamen waiting. The British commander ordered the Americans to dorp their muskets. They refused. No one knows who fired first, but within a few minutes eight militiamen lay dead. The British then marched to Concord, where they destroyed military supplies .
-Creating America -
The Declaration is Adopted
Two days later on July 4, 1776, Congress adopted the document that proclaimed independence. John Hancock, the president of the congress, was the first to sighn the Declaration. The core idea of the Declaration is based on the philosophy of John Locke.This idea is that people have unalienable rights, that government cannot take away.
