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The American Revolution
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End of the French and Indian War
The French and Indian war (seven-year war), ends with the signing of the Treaty of Paris 1763. The French are forced out of North America. Those left include the colonists, the English Army, and Natives. These Natives used to fight for both sides, however, they now only had the English to deal with. It became taxing for England to police these natives, which lead to the Proclamation of 1763 -
Proclamation of 1763
This was a document signed after the seven-year war. This ordered all settlers to remain East of the Appalachian Mountains. The settlers were not happy as they had helped fight for that land, and they pushed westward anyways. -
Quartering Act
One of the many unpopular laws that the English parliament had put in place. This act forced colonies to provide housing and supplies to the British troops, which had served during the seven-year war. While they didn't approve of the law, they went along, because they accepted parliament's power to regulate. -
The Sons of Liberty
Although an exact date is uncertain, we know that the Sons of Liberty was a group founded around August of 1765. Being founded by Samuel Adams John Hancock, the group's original goal was to protest the Stamp act. They would lead a mob to tear down the office of the stamp tax collector and damage his house. This riot was later denounced by the governor. However, they would later proceed with more riots and protests. -
Stamp Act
About this time, Parliament planned to release a bill that would increase income from the colonies, therefore, the stamp act was passed. This put a tax on almost all printed material, which included everything from newspapers to land deeds. This was also the first time Parliament put a direct tax on the colonies. The colonists were not happy with this turn of events, and they did everything from boycotting British goods, to attacking the tax collectors. -
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Townshend Acts
The colonist had made it clear that they opposed the direct tax, but Britain still had to pay off its debt. Therefore the king's financial officer suggested an indirect tax. Known as the Townshend Acts, they would tax imports of common goods such as glass and tea. Predictably, the colonists revolted protesting and boycotting. Making tensions worse, officers seized a ship named 'Liberty' for smuggling. -
The Boston Massacre
In March of 1770, a small group of Bostonian colonists hurled snowballs and rocks at British soldiers. Startled the soldiers shot into the crowd killing 5 colonists. This was later named the Boston Massacre by Samuel Adams. Britain then withdrew troops, and most of the Townshend Acts, except the one on Tea to show Parliamentary Surpremacy. -
Tea Act
As part of the Townshend Acts, the tax on tea was the most notable. In response to this the first big spurs of violence in the colonies, between the British and colonists would occur. -
The Boston Tea Party
The boycotting of tea, supplied by the suffering British Tea India Company, worsened their financial problems. To help, parliament pass a law allowing them to sell directly to the colonists, therefore making it cheaper than the smuggled tea. However, the colonists saw through this and retaliated. On a December night of 1773, they boarded three British ships dressed as Indians and dumped the tea that aboard into the harbor. To punish this parliament passed the Coercive Acts. -
The Intolerable Acts
The Coercive Acts, more commonly known as the Intolerable Acts, was a law passed by Parliament to punish the colonists for the Boston Tea Party. These acts included two things. The first allowed for British troops to be tried for their crimes in Britain, instead of the colonies, which were committed in the colonies. The second thing extended Canada's southern border. The colonist rejected the idea that the British could shut down readers and change governments at will, however. -
Battle of Lexington and Concord
It started with the sending of troops to Lexington to arrest Hancock and Adams, while also seizing patriot weapons in Concord. However, Paul Revere tipped off, raced across the countryside to warn of the impending attacks. At Lexington 70 patriots waited. At the end of the battle, 8 Patriots were dead, and the rest had retreated to Concord. The British would go onto Concord, only to encounter more resistance. Over 200 British troops were wounded or killed, and the Redcoats retreated.
