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French and Indian War
The French and Indian War was the name of the American theater of the larger Seven Years War. When the war ended, Britain took control of France's colony in Canada, but also accumulated a large amount of debt. This would lead to the eventual taxation of the colonies, forcing them to declare their independence. -
French and Indian War
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Proclamation of 1763
After the French and Indian war, the British won all French territory east of the Mississippi River and Canada. King George III issued the Proclamation of 1763, which stated that the Crown directly controlled all land west of the Appalachian Mountains. His goal was to restore order to colonial expansion by directly controlling the land, but the colonies percieved this as subordinating their power and slowing colonial expansion. -
Sugar Act
This act replaced the Molassess act of 1733, reducing the tax and making sure that the tax was enforced. This tax was put into place to raise money to pay for the French and Indian War. This worried colonists that Parliament was using it's power to exploit the colonies. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act required that the colonists use stamped paper for newspapers, legal documents, diplomas, and other paper products. The colonists felt that they needed to protest the new parliamentary tax, otherwise they would lose their ability to be self-governing. The Act was met with much criticism, the colonists believing that they already taxed themselves. This marked the begining of a strained relationship with Great Britain. -
Quartering Act
This law made it mandatory for colonists to pay for some needs by soldiers in their borders. Colonists resented that their legislatures were required to raise money. The legislatures had proclaimed that they were responsible for initiating revenue-generating actions in the colonies. -
Revenue (Townshend) Act (2/2)
This money was also planned to be used as a fund to pay royal officials in the colonies, removing the elected colonial legislature's 'power of the purse', which would decrease the colonist's representation in the government. -
Revenue (Townshend) Act (1/2)
In the wake of the French and Indian War, Parliament was in major debt, and needed to find a way to pay it off. The Revenue Act taxed common goods in the colonies such as glass, paint, lead, paper, and tea that were imported from Great Britain. Unlike other taxes, which were used to control commerce and protect British and American products and businesses, this tax was used to generate money to pay off Britain's debt. -
Boston Massacre
A group of citizens in Boston gather to protest a British soldier's mistreatment of an apprentice trying to collect a debt. A mob forms, and the soldiers fire into it, leading to the deaths of 5 people. The event is sensationalized, heighening colonial tensions with Great Britain. -
Committees of Correspondence
The Committees of Correspondence were local meetings that connected towns in the colonies, started by Samuel Adams. Through a web of communications, the colonists could cooperate with each other on political matters. This was the first time a network allowed colonial leaders to communicate since 1766. This allowed the colonists to share information about plans to restrict rights in the colonies. -
Tea Act
The Tea Act eliminated importing duties on British tea and allowed the East India Company to sell directly to consumers. This money would be used to pay royal governors, thereby tightening British control over the colonies. The colonies managed to keep most tea out, but one ship made it into Boston, sparking the 'Boston Tea Party', where some of the colonists dumped the tea into the harbor. This led to the eventual blockade of Boston. -
Boston Port Bill
This Bill closed the harbor of Boston in the wake of the Boston Tea Party, The bill stated that Boston would have to pay for the ruined tea by June 1, or be shut down. The deadline was purposely made to be impossible to meet, which would ensure the blockade of the harbor by the British Navy, which would impact severely Boston's economy. Boston served as one of the first martyrs in the fight against British tyranny. -
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Intolerable Acts
Boston Port Bill
- April 1, 1774
- Boston Harbor is shut down in response to the Boston Tea Party
Massachusetts Government Act
- May 20, 1774
- Revoked Massachusetts charter and lessened democratic government in the colony
Administration of Justice Act
- May 20, 1774
- Allowed those convicted of murder while enforcing royal authority to be tried in England or other colonies
Quartering Act
- June 2, 1774
- Allowed governor to use private buildings to house soldiers -
Massachusetts Government Act
Limited democratic self-rule in Massachusetts. The Crown appointed many government positions, and the governor was given many powers. This was seen as an infringement on representative government in the colonies and as hostile actions against the colonies by Great Britain. -
Administration of Justice Act
This act allowed soldiers accused of murder in the Boston Massacre to be tried in Britain or other colonies. Britain saw this as giving them a fair and impartial trial, but the colonists saw this as Britain excusing them of murder. -
Quartering Act
Allowed governer to take private property to use as housing for soldiers. Colonists viewed it as an infringment on their rights, being forced to house the soldiers. -
First Continental Congress
Delegates from the Committees of Correspondence, 55 in all, from all of the colonies except Georgia, gather to discuss the recent actions by Parliament. They send a petition to King George III, arguing that the recently passed Coercive (Intolerable) Acts were unconstitutional, and asking him to repeal them. The First Continental Congress sets a precedent for the Second Continental Congress, which would declare independence from Great Britain. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress began meeting on May 10, 1775. Several colonies were already pressuring for independence because of recent military conflicts witht the British. Congress was directly responsible for creating the United States of America, drafting the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. This led to the escalation of the military conflicts, formally kicking-off the Revolutionary War betwen Britain and the newly formed US. -
Common Sense
Until this point, colonists had considered reconciliation with Great Britain a possibility. However, that changed when Thomas Paine published a pamphlet entitled 'Common Sense'. This identified monarchy as the cause of America's hardships, and that the Americans didn't need the British for their economic well-being. This publication prompted many colonists to believe that independence was the only answer that would solve their problems. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence finally broke American ties with Great Britain. This was a result of increasing British oppression of the colonies, saddling them with excessive debt without allowing them to be represented in Parliament. This event was seen as the birth of the United States, a modern-day superpower. By creating the United States, Congress had given the colonists something to rally behind, a cause to fight for.
