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Molasses Act
Parliament imposed an extra charge on every gallon of molasses imported from the French or Dutch. This was put in place to encourage Americans to buy from the British. It ultimately failed and colonists bought from others anyway, then payed off officials. This was the first Act passed of many that made life harder for colonists. -
The Albany Plan
Benjamin Franklin, a member of the Albany Congress, proposed an idea in which the colonies would send delegates from each to meet and make decisions about how to defend themselves. The idea was accepted by his fellow Congress members, but it did not gain the approval of most other colonists. This was an important step towards the Revolution because it was the first time uniting the colonies had been talked about. -
The Seven Years War
1754-1763: The British, assisted by the Prussians and Americans fought the French allied by Spain and Austria. The British struggled during the first 2 years, but William Pitt turned the war around and England rallied to win the war. The British saw the victory as proof of their power and the colonists viewed it as a great way for them to help their mother country. -
Proclamation of 1763
The England Board of Trade decided to not allow colonial settlement past the Appalachian Mountains. They did this to restrict western expansion and calm the Indians fears of the whites taking their land. -
Sugar Act
In a positive manner, the Sugar Act lowered the duty to molasses from 6 to 3 pence silver, but it made shipmasters document everything that went on board their ships. It was put in place to catch smugglers and anyone found disobeying was tried in an admiralty court. -
Currency Act
The Currencey Act prohibited the colonies from making their own money. This prevented the colonists form cheating the British by paying back loans with money that was less than face value. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was arguably the worst of the acts enforced. It placed a tax on all legal documents, customs papers, newspapers, almanacs, college diplomas, playing cards, and dice. Each had to be marked with a stamp indicating that the tax had been payed. The punishment was the same as with the Sugar Act. This pushed the colonists over the edge. -
Quartering Act
The Quartering Act forces colonists to accomodate a soldier if needed. The main purpose of this act was to save England money on the soldiers staying in America. The colonists found this law very annoying and felt like they were being taken advantage of. -
Declaratory Act
This followed the repealing of the Stamp Act saying that Parliament had the power to make laws for the colonies "in all cases whatsoever." It was meant to clarify Parliament's power, but did a terrible job of it. It did little to repair the relationship between colonists and Brits. -
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts were named after Charles Townshend, the replacement first minister for William Pitt. In 1767 he unleashed a fury of new laws including a tax on lead, paper, paint, glass, and tea. He also suspended the New York Assembly until they showed that they could follow the Quartering Act as well as a few other things. The colonists were extremely mad about this, especially after William Pitt had done such a great job before him. -
The Boston Massacre
In protest to the Townshend acts, many rioters would throw all kinds of things at soldiers that were posted in the colonies. One day, the soldiers felt the need to fight back and they shot and killed 5 people while injuring others. Obviously, it wasn't actually a massacre, but that is how the colonists treated it and they felt outraged that their own soldiers had killed them. -
The Boston Tea Party
After living with ridiculous rules over their heads for too long, the colonists responded with the Boston Tea Party. 50 colonists dressed as Indians boarded 3 different ships in the Boston harbor and threw all 90,000 pounds of tea overboard. This is important because the colonists had been angry for some time, but this is the first action they take. -
Coercive Acts
Parliament issued the Coercive Acts also known as the Inolerable Acts in response to the Boston Tea Party and other rebellions. They closed the port of Boston indefinitely and punished the colony of Massachussetts in several other ways. This is important because it starts the cycle of retaliation between the colonies and Britain. -
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress was established in order to discuss how to remain in control of American rights and how to retaliate against the British. All the important men from each colony gathered in Philadelphia. These meetings unite the colonies and try to create their own government. -
Declaration of Rights and Grievances
This document written by the First Continental Congress stated that the colonies had the right to tax and legislate themselves. It limited the power of Parliament over the colonies. The British don't like this declaration and plan to show the colonies who is boss
