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The French and Indian War, (aka The 7 Years War) had begun in 1754. It was a dispute between the French and British in North America where troops from both sides already had rule over different colonies. The Native Indian tribes had sided with the French during the war and fought against the British Colonies. The war was mainly fought over territory, valuable and expensive resources, and trade -
The end of the French and Indian war resulted in the British winning. The Treaty of Paris ended the French and Indian war in 1763. The war resulted in France losing a lot of their land, and as a result, the British gained the land the French had lost. However, after winning the War it left the British in a massive amount of debt. The British were spending money on weapons, and they were getting less money than they were spending, which resulted in the debt. -
The stamp act started in 1765 where the British government passed a law that all legal documents and printed papers used in the American colonies had to have an official stamp that shows the colonists were taxed by the British. The effect it had on the colonists was that they were upset and thought it was unfair that they didn’t know England had taxed them. The colonists were worried it would progressively get worse in the future if being taxed is only the beginning. -
The Boston Massacre was an event where 5 British soldiers fired at at colonists during an argument which had escalated to 5 deaths. This happened during the time when the Stamp Act, a part of the Townshend Acts (a group of laws) was enforced. After trial, 2 soldiers were charged for manslaughter and 6 were not guilty. Due to the injustice and the fact that the situation wasn't fair, people realized how bad the government was and this started a series of revolts for freedom. -
The Boston Tea Party was a political protest that occurred on December 16, 1773. Frustrated and angry, American colonists dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor. This event demonstrated how the colonists show courageousness and how they wouldn't take taxation anymore in the future. The Boston Tea Party affected England because they thought the colonists were wasting their products and left them in a lot of debt. -
The Intolerable Acts in 1774 was an act that passed five laws by the British Parliament against the American colonies. They got the name "Intolerable" because the Americans believed they couldn't tolerate the unfair laws anymore. The 5 acts consisted of the Boston Port Act, Massachusetts Government Act, Administration of Justice Art, Quartering Act, and Quebec Act. This resulted in American patriots participating in a rallying cry because they felt like the Acts took away their basic freedom. -
The First Continental Congress was a meeting between representatives from the 13 colonies. The representatives were like a government. In the first meeting, they discussed the colonies, Britain, and issues that were going around, mainly the Intolerable Acts which were laws on Boston enforced after the Boston Tea Party. They sent a letter to King George ||| demanding him to end the Intolerable Acts. George ||| didn't listen, causing Americans to revolt and boycott against the British. -
The Second Continental Congress took place on May 10th, 1775, and during the second meeting the 13 colonies met to plan how they were going to defend themselves in the war, that was already happening, like raising an army. On July 8, 1775, the colonists sent a petition called the Olive Branch Petition to Britain's King, explaining how the laws were unfair, such as taxes; however, the King chose to ignore their say. This caused the King to attack back and send 20,000 troops to the colonies. -
After a year of war with Britain, the Continental Congress chose to make The Declaration of Independence, an agreement with the colonies to gain freedom. It was written by Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston. Some colonies disagreed with doing this and said no to this while some said yes or had no response. But on July 4th, after final alterations, Congress produced the final Declaration of Independence and marked America's freedom.