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Proclamation of 1763
The proclamation of 1763 stopped the colonists from settling farther west than the Appalachain Mountains. The King and his council set up the proclamation as a way to assure the Indians that no more of their land would be forcibly taken from them as the colonists moved farther west. Many colonists felt that the objective of the proclamation was to keep them closer to the Atlantic seaboard, so that the mother colony would have an easier time communicating with and governing the colonies. -
Sugar Act of 1764
The sugar act of 1764 put a three-cent tax on foreign sugars and molasses as well as increasing taxes on coffee, indigo, and wine. The sugar act banned importation of rum and French wines. These taxes greatly affected merchants who needed the British goods at a low price.The taxes were raised without the consent of the colonists, making this one of the first instances in which colonists wanted a say in how much they were taxed. -
Stamp Act of 1765
The stamp act required the colonists to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used. This included ship's papers, legal documents, licenses, newspapers, ads, and even playing cards. The money collected in the Stamp Act was used to help pay for Brittish troops to come and protect the American frontier. The colonists didn't like the stamp act not because of the immediate cost, but the standard it set. It was viewed as a direct attempt by England to raise money in the colonies. -
Quartering Act 1765
Lieutenant General Thomas Gage, Commander in Chief of British North American Forces, asked Parliament to do something about British officers in the colonies who had nowhere to live. Many colonies had supplied the troops with provisions during wartime, but it became an issue during peacetime. The Province of New York assembly passed an act to provide for the quartering of British regulars, which expired on January 1, 1764 due to revolts from the colonists. -
Stamp Act Congress
The Stamp Act Congress was put in place by James Otis with the idea to show Parliment that the colonists didn't like the taxes. It led to the inspiration of boycotts of the stamp act. -
Declaratory Act 1766
Around the same time as the repeal of the Stamp Act, Parliament simultaneously passed the Declaratory Act, which allowed British authority to make and pass laws for the colonies. The language of the Act, “in all cases whatsoever,” was a direct indication that the legislation would be binding even if the colonies had no representation. It canceled out all celebrations of the the repeal of the Stamp Act. -
Townshend Acts 1767
The Townshend Acts were a series of measures introduced into Parliament by Charles Townshend in 1767. The acts imposed taxes on items such as glass, lead, paints, paper, and tea imported into the colonies.A Board of Customs Commissioners was created to enforce customs laws without the accused having recourse to a trial by jury.
Townshend hoped the acts would defray imperial expenses in the colonies. -
Boston Massacre 1770
The Boston Massacre was a fight between a "patriot" mob, throwing snowballs, stones, and sticks, and a squad of British soldiers. Several colonists were killed in the process.The reason it began was because the presence of British troops in the city of Boston was increasingly unwelcome. The riot began when about 50 citizens attacked a British sentinel. A British officer, Captain Thomas Preston, called in additional soldiers and the soldiers fired into the crowd killing 3 people on the spot. -
Tea Act 1773
The Tea Act launched was the final piece to the revolutionary movement in Boston. The act imposed no new taxes. It was designed to help the East India Company which was struggling financially. The unsold tea was to be shipped directly to the colonies, and sold at a bargain price. The Townshend Duties were still in place, and leaders in America found reason to believe that this act was a maneuver to buy popular support for the taxes in place.The cargo rotted on the docks and filled the harbor. -
Boston Tea Party
Governor Hutchinson in Boston was determined to leave the tea ships in port, even though vigilant colonists refused to allow the tea to be landed. Matters reached a crisis when the time period for landing the tea and paying the Townshend taxes was set to expire, and on December 16, 1773, colonists disguised as Indians swarmed aboard three tea-laden ships and dumped their cargo into the harbour in what is now known as the Boston Tea Party. -
Coercive Acts 1774
Also known as the Intolerable Acts, the Coercive Acts were a series of Acts meant to punish the colonies by restricting trade, and in turn,made an example out of Boston so the rebellion of the rest of the colonies would be subdued. The Acts restricted trade, ordained that government officials would be appointed by the governor or the king, allowed accused royals to be tried in Britain, and gave the governor authority to provide accommodations to soldiers. -
Quebec Act 1774
Towards the end of the Coercive Acts, Parliament passed the Quebec Act, an act designed to afford greater rights to the French inhabitants of Canada, who had come under British rule through the Treaty of Paris in 1763. In the succeeding years, British efforts to incorporate Quebec into the empire had failed. -
1st Continental Congress
The first Continental Congress met in Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia. All of the colonies except Georgia sent delegates. The colonies presented there were united by a determination to show a combined authority to Great Britain, but their ideas were not simmilar at all. Pennsylvania and New York sent delegates with strict instructions to find a way to acheive a resolution with England. The other colonies voices were defensive of colonial rights. -
Battles of Lexington/ Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military frays of the American Revolutionary War. Britain's General Gage had a strategy. Early in the morning he would send out groups of British soldiers quartered in Boston. Their destinations were Lexington, where they would capture Sam Adams and John Hancock, then Concord, where they would take gunpowder. Lanterns were hung from Boston's North Church to warn the countryside. "One if by land, two if by sea." Paul Revere warned the colonists. -
2nd Continential Congress
The Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the 13 colonies in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, shortly after war in the American Revolution had begun.The second Congress managed the colonial war effort, and moved incrementally towards independence, adopting the United States Declaration of Independence. -
Olive Branch Petition
Congress passed a resolution forming a committee to draft a letter to the King. The members of this committee included Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Johnson, and William Livingston. This committee presented its letter to the Committee of the Whole on June 24, but it was not approved. Instead, on July 6th Congress reconsidered the matter and sent the committee back to form another proposal, adding John Dickinson and Thomas Jefferson to the commitee.The letter bacame known as the Olive Branch Petition -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence is a statement formed by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which stated that the thirteen colonies, regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. Instead they formed a union that would become the United States of America. The text was officially ratified on July 4, 1776
