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The Proclamation of 1763 made it to where the colonists could not expand westward between the territories of the Allegheny Mountains, Florida, the Mississippi River, and Quebec for use by the British. In response, the colonists either refused to listen to the proclamation and moved west anyway or argued that they had a right to move on the land they helped get in the war with France. This added to the list of distrust towards Britain.
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As a way to raise money, Parliament decided to put taxes on trade with the colonists. This placed taxes on any foreign textiles, wine, or coffee that were imported into the colonies. They were required to document all of this and would be sent to a specialty court if they didn’t. In retaliation, the colonists argued that this hurt trade and violated their rights. Some colonists boycotted the goods, some smuggled the goods in. This made the colonists very angry and suspicious.
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The Currency Act made it so that the government in the colonies could not issue colonial money, and this also made it so that Britain required all taxes and debts that were going to be paid to British merchants to be paid in British currency. The colonists were very economically frustrated because of how hard it was to pay the taxes and debt in British money, which there was very little of. The colonists sent protest to Parliament, saying that the act made it harder to trade.
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The Quartering Act of 1765 made it so that colonists were required to provide housing, food, and supplies to British soldiers stationed in the colonies. Many colonists did not like this, seeing it as an invasion of privacy and as another way for Britain to control them. Many colonists assembled and refused to comply. This act fueled more anger towards the British Parliament.
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The Stamp Act was a tax that was enforced on the colonists that made them pay a tax on almost every printed material that they had, from playing cards to newspapers and legal documents. It was passed to raise money after the French and Indian War. Colonists were very upset at this because they did not vote to pay these taxes. They held protests, wrote petitions, and they also formed groups against it. They would also threaten and/ or attack stamp collectors.
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All the Declaration Act was Parliament, just asserting its dominance, saying that it has the right to make laws and attacking the American colonies in all cases, saying that they can control the colonists, even if the colonists don’t like it. The colonists became outraged because they wanted to have a say in their taxes and laws; they felt that the Declaration Act gave way too much power to Britain. This just made tension grow between the American colonies and Britain.
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The township acts were taxes imposed by Charles Townshend, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer. They placed new taxes on goods that were imported to the American colonies. They had taxes on things like tea, lead, and paint. The money from these taxes was meant to pay British officials to help British control. Many colonists reacted with no taxation without representation as well as boycotting. Groups, such as the Sons of Liberty, resisted against British policies.
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The Boston Massacre was after the Township Act was enforced. The colonists became angry. They gathered and started insulting and throwing things at British soldiers that were guarding a customs house. While the soldiers fired into the crowd and killed five colonists and wounding others. The colonist responded to this by calling it a massacre to show how brutal the British were. They used it as propaganda. They also used the British massacre to build anti-British feelings, which led to protests.
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In 1773, Parliament passed the Tea Act, allowing the British East India Company to sell cheap tea directly to the colonies, cutting out the colonial merchants. Many colonists saw this as a way to force them to accept taxes without their consent. As a form of protest colonists planned out the Boston Tea Party by dressing up as Native Americans and dumping 342 chests of British tea into the Boston Harbor, showing their anger and resistance towards Britain’s control.
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The Intolerable Acts were passed as a punishment to Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party. What they did was limit town meetings, close the Boston Harbor, and force colonists to house British soldiers. The extremity of these harsh laws made the colonists unite in anger. This led to the First Continental Congress, where the colonists finally planned to resist British control and defend their rights, leading to them wanting independence.
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The Quartering Act of 1774 was part of the Intolerable Acts and was much stricter than the Quartering Act of 1765. British soldiers were only allowed into hotels or public buildings with the consent of the colonists, but now it allowed soldiers to be housed in empty private buildings without consent, like barns or homes. This act outraged the colonists because they saw this as an even bigger invasion of privacy, increasing their tensions with Britain.
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This act gave more land to Quebec and allowed the French Catholics to keep their religion and their laws. It, however, did not give the people in Quebec a say in government. This made the colonists upset because it took land that they wanted away and it also favored Catholics. They felt as though Britain was ignoring their rights and helping people that they didn’t like. This angered the colonists and made them ready to fight Britain.