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The French and Indian War lasted from 1754 to 1763. this war granted Great Britain significant North American territories. Disputes over frontier policy and expenses led to colonial discontent. -
The Proclamation Line of 1763, established by the British in the Appalachian Mountains, prohibited Anglo-American colonists from settling on French-taken land after the French and Indian War. -
The Sugar Act was passed on April 5, 1764, and went into effect on September 29. It kept a high tariff on foreign refined sugar and forbade the importation of any foreign rum. It also reduced the price of foreign molasses from 6 to 3 pence per gallon. -
The British Parliament approved the Stamp Act in 1765, imposing taxes on American colonists for each piece of printed paper they consumed. This included ships, legal paperwork, licenses, journals, and periodicals. -
After debating the terms of independence, the Continental Congress granted it on July 2, and 12 states, along with the delegation from New York, recognized it on July 4, raising the possibility of British treason. -
On September 3, 1783, representatives of the United States and Great Britain signed the Treaty of Paris, bringing an end to the American Revolutionary War. The pact provided the United States with important western territory and recognized U.S. independence, based on a preliminary treaty from 1782. -
Shays' Rebellion, a violent insurrection in 1786-1787, was triggered by a monetary debt crisis following the American Revolutionary War, affecting other states as well. -
On September 17, 1787, 39 out of 55 delegates signed the Constitution, with many refusing due to the lack of a bill of rights and the protection of slavery. -
The New Jersey Plan, aimed at safeguarding small states' security and power by restricting Congress votes, would have hindered national government plans and minimally altered Confederate Articles. -
The 1787 Constitutional Convention established the Three-Fifths Compromise, requiring three out of every five slaves to be counted in a state's total population for legislative representation and taxation.