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The Molasses Act
Placed a tax on Molasses imported from the Caribbean -
Proclamation of 1763
Forbid colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains -
Sugar Act
Also called the American Revenue Act, the Sugar Act was passed in 1764. The act raised the tax rates on imports of raw sugar and molasses. It also placed a new tax on silk, wine, coffee, pimento, and indigo -
Currency Act
To slow inflation, Parliament passed the currency act in 1764. This act banned the use of paper money in the colonies because it tended to lose its value quickly. The act angered many colonial farmers and artisans because it was easier to pay back their loans because it the money was less value when they borrowed it -
Stamp Act
George Grenville passed the stamp act to raise money in March 1765. This act required stamps to be placed on most printed materials, including newspapers, pamphlets, posters, wills, mortgages, deeds, licenses, diplomas, even playing cards -
Sons of Liberty
A group that was organizing huge demonstrations and intimidating stamp distributors. A crowd in Boston hung effigies. This all happened by the summer of 1765. This causes the Stamp Act to go into effect. This group was founded by Samuel Adams and John Hancock -
Non-Importation Agreement
1765 in New York. 200 merchants signed the agreement that stated that they would not buy any British goods until Parliament repealed the Stamp Act. This caused thousands of British workers to lose their jobs, and the Stamp Act was repealed in 1766 -
Writs of Assistance
Established in 1767 to help customs officers arrest smugglers was the Revenue Act. This act legalized the writs of assistance or general search warrants that enabled customs officers to enter any location during the day looking for evidence of smuggling -
The Townshend Acts
In 1767 Charles Townshend introduced regulations and taxes, calling them the Townshend Acts. It put new customs duties on glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea imported by colonies. It also allowed officials to seize private property under certain circumstances without following due process -
Boston Massacre
In 1770 in Boston. Captain Thomas Preston, of Britain, was called by a soldier for help when colonists started throwing snowballs. Troops began firing during the dispute, killing a man known as Crispus Attucks. 5 people died and 6 were injured. This caused the British to repeal most of the Townshend Act, except for the tax on tea -
The Gaspee Incident
In June 1772, 150 colonists burned a ship named the Gaspee because they hated the commander of the ship because they always searched other ships without a warrant and sent his crew to shore to steal food. The Gaspee was a British ship that was sent out to intercept smugglers. It was stationed off the coast of Rhode Island. This caused the making of the committee of correspondence -
Tea Act
Act passed in 1773 in Boston. Parliament wanted to help the British East India company come out of debt due to war and taxes. The act refunded 4/5ths of the taxes that the company had to pay. This act is what caused the Boston Tea Party -
Committees of Correspondence
After the Virginia House of Burgesses received the letter on March 1773, one of its members, Thomas Jefferson, suggested that each colony create a committee of correspondence to communicate with the other colonies about British activities. These committees of correspondence helped unify the colonies and shape public opinion. They also helped colonial leaders coordinate their plans for resisting the British -
The Tea Party
On December 17, 1773, about 150 men gathered at a dock in Boston. The men dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor. They did this because the committee of correspondence decided that they would not allow the tea to be unloaded. As a result of this decision, they seized the tea and kept it a warehouse where it remained unsold. The result of this was the coercive act -
Coercive Acts
In the spring of 1774, Parliament passed four new laws. This group of laws is known as the Coercive Act. These laws were intended to punish Massachusetts and end colonial challenges to British authority. After the last coercive act became law, the British introduced the Quebec Act -
Quebec Act
This had nothing to do with American colonies. Although, this act still angered the colonists. It stated that a governor and council appointed by the king would run Quebec. It also extended Quebec’s boundaries to include much of what is today Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin. If colonists moved west, they would have to live in a territory where they had no elected assembly. The Quebec Act seemed to imply that the British were trying to seize control of the colonial governments -
1st Continental Congress
September 5, 1774 was the first meeting of the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. They met in order to resolve the issue of the Coercive Acts. The First Continental Congress was formed by the House of Burgesses -
Declaration of Independence
On July 4th 1776 issued the Declaration of Independence. It was written by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, and Thomas Jefferson, it was time for independence. The colonies then became the United States of America. This caused the American Revolution to begin
