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Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation banned the colonists from settling in the western lands. The purpose was to save the British money, because they would no longer need the army there. This not only hurt farmers who wanted to use the land, but also made trade difficult. This broke the colonists natural right to property, by not allowing them the option to migrate. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act imposed a law on every legal document, newspaper and pamphlet in the colonies. This act was a way to make money off of the colonists. The colonists felt that Britain had no right to tax them, when they had no representation in Parliament. They felt only their own representatives could tax them. The colonists felt that Britain wasn't allowing them liberty each time they were taxed. After protests and appeals, Parliament finally repealed the Stamp Act, but they added the Declaratory -
Declaratory Act
The Declaratory Act stated that Parliament had the right to pass any law, in all cases. The purpose of the Act was to remind the colonists that Parliament and the King were superior to them. This Act was created after the Stamp Act was voided. This did not allow the natural right of liberty, because the colonists had no representation, Parliament had all of the say over the colonists. -
Tea Act
The Tea Act gave East India Company a monopoly, to keep them from failing. The company was a big factor to the British economy, so they did not want the colonists taking over. The colonists were angered by this especially the merchants, who were getting cut out of the tea trade. The colonists boycotted the tea, and later dumped loads of the Company's tea into the Boston Harbor. This Act led to the war two years later. -
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation was our first Constitution. The AOC was the exact opposite of what happened when under British authority. The AOC gave all the power to the states, with very little power to the national government. The national government had no money, because they had no power to tax, no power over the states, and had no power to regulate trade. The AOC failed because there was no central government. The AOC caused us to look at our government which led to the new Constitution.
