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The Albany Plan of Union
The Albany Plan of Uion was Ben Franklin's proposal that the colonies should unite under one government. The government would be semi-autonomous, meaning that the state controls the government, while the king appoints officials in the form of governors and a general. The governor would act as the king in his place. Under said plan, the government can levy taxes, create a military, and draft treaties, among other things. However, the plan was rejected by all of the colonies. -
The Treaty of Paris (1763) and the Proclamation of 1763
After the French and Indian War, a treaty was drafted in Paris. This treaty gave the French land east of the Mississippi River to Britain and the land west of the River to Spain. However, after the war ended, Britain blamed the colonists for the war. The King demanded the colonists pay for the war debt of $8 million back in taxes. He also restricted westward expansion past the Ohio River Valley. This angered colonists since they needed that land in order to raise funds to pay the taxes. -
The Sugar (1764), Stamp (1765), and Townshend (1766) Acts
In the following three years, three acts are introduced: the Sugar, Stamp, and Townshend Acts. The Sugar Act was an indirect tax by lowering the tax on molasses, and indirecetly raising the tax on sugar. The Stamp Act eliminated the Sugar Act and replaced the sugar tax with a tax on all printed goods. Because of this, colonial resistance groups formed. The Townshend Act was introduced a year later, and taxed goods such as glass, tea, and paint. These constant taxations angered the colonists. -
The Declaratory Acts
The King was growing more and more upset over the large amount of colonial resistance from these taxes. Some of the colonists were attacking soldiers and simply refusing to pay the taxes. He decided to draft and pass the Declaratory Acts. These Acts voided all colonial laws not accepted by the King. Laws that the colonial governments had created had existed before this Act, and when colonists heard of these Acts, they were furious. Colonial tension at this point was escalating drastically. -
The Boston Massacre
On March 5, 1770, five colonists were killed after they allegedly taunted a group of British soldiers. There were twelve soldiers and a vast number of colonists, and, at one point, someone in the crowd of people yelled "Fire!". British soldiers shot and killed five colonists, the first is well known as Crispis Attucks, an African-American Freeman. -
The Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party occurred when the Tea Act (1773) was introduced. The Act restricted colonists to only have access to purchasing the British East India Company's tea, as the company was headed toward bankruptcy. In reaction to the high price of the BEI Co.'s tea, the Sons of Liberty assembled. They dressed as Mohawk Indians and raided a British boat filled with tea and dumped it overboard. Over $1 million worth of tea was dumped into Boston Harbor. The King saw this as a threat to his rule. -
The Intolerable Acts
The first act was the Boston Port Act, which closed Boston harbor, leaving merchants and businessess stranded. The second act dissolved the Massachusetts government, meaning there would be no real justice anymore. The third act, related to the prior, stated that British soldiers who commit crimes in the colonies are to be tried in British courts in London. The fourth act forced colonists to again house the 20,000 MORE soldiers sent by Britain. The fifth act kept Quebec's culture and government. -
Lexington and Concord and the 2nd Continental Congress
When soldiers attempted to take the colonists weaponry that had been stockpiled in their safehouses, they were met with swift resistance. A battle erupted in Lexington, leading to the battle which many claim started the Revolution. A second Continental Congress was formed and met on what to do, and, after a painstaking amount of work, the Declaration of Independence was drafted and signed.
