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Navigation Acts
The Navigation Acts were laws passed by England to maintain control over colonial trade. The acts made colonists buy English goods and limited trade between the colonies and other countries. -
Treaty of Paris of 1763
The Treaty of Paris ended the French and Indian War over the Ohio River Valley. The French were forced to leave North America and British control was expanded. -
Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 stated that no colonist could go west past the Appalachian Mountains. It was employed to end Pontiac's Rebellion, and while it was successful, it led to even more resentment to the British from the colonists. -
Sugar Act
The Sugar Act placed a tax on any goods containing sugar, and while it did lower the previous tax, the British began to enforce it much more strictly and abandoned salutary neglect. Smugglers were punished harshly, and colonists now were forced to pay tax on sugar. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp act put taxes on all paper goods. The laws resulted in the forming of the Sons of Liberty and more widespread protest of British presence. -
Quartering Acts
The Quartering Acts required all colonists to house and support British soldiers. They resulted in increased tension and revealed the worry of the British to the colonists. -
Stamp Act Congress
The Stamp Act Congress was the first gathering of elected representatives from the colonies in America. The main purpose was to organize a nation-wide protest against the stamp act. The colonies began to lean towards democracy more and more as a result and further break away from Britain. -
Declaratory Act
By passing the Declaratory Act, the British were given the right to pass any law or act they pleased on the American Colonies. Colonists now even had less of a say in government, and proceeded to protest even more. -
Townshend Act
The Townshend Act imposed taxes on British goods before they reached merchants. Being made to lessen the blows of taxation without representation, the Townshend Act only resulted in protest and organizations like the Sons and Daughters of Liberty. -
Boston Massacre
Tensions among the colonists had reached a peak in 1770 after having virtually no voice in British government. Close to 200 colonists mobbed a small group of British soldiers on King Street, resulting in soldiers opening fire and the death of 5 and wounding of 6. The incident was used as propaganda to inspire hatred for the British by Paul Revere and other revolutionaries. -
Writs of Assistance
After the Boston Massacre, as a way to crack down on smugglers, the British passed the Writs of Assistance, which essentially gave any British Soldier the right to search anybody's property for smuggled goods. Less privacy made colonists dread for the British turn to anger. -
Tea Act
After massive protest, the Townshend Acts were finally repealed, save for the Tea Act. The Tea act, however, gave the British a monopoly on all tea sales through the East India Company, which was an integral part of British economy. Colonists knew they were still being taxed by the British and unwillingly supporting the British government, resulting in massive protest and later the Boston Tea Party. -
Boston Tea Party
After the Townshend Acts were repealed leaving only the Tea Act, colonists decided to organize a massive, aggressive protest in Boston Massachusetts. Colonists dressed as Native Americans boarded British merchant ships and threw overboard 342 chests of tea. The result was the punishing Intolerable Acts. -
The Coercive Acts
The Coercive, or Intolerable, Acts were a set of laws imposed on the colonies as a punishment for the Boston Tea Party. The Boston Harbor was closed completely, and all government in Massachusetts was hand picked by the British Government. The Revolutionary War followed the very next year. -
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia, and voted to ban all trade with Britain, the building of a militia, and a union of the colonies, which failed. This meeting planted the seeds for future independent government. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were a series of interactions between minutemen and British soldiers with the order to destroy military supplies and cut off British resistance. Warned by Paul Revere and William Dawes, 70 minutemen gathered at Lexington and later 4000 at Concord. The British won the fight at Lexington, and the battle began formally the American Revolution. The British destroyed military supplies in Concord, but were fired upon during their march back and lost 273 men. -
Second Continental Congress
After Lexington and Concord, a Second Continental Congress met and established an official army, named George Washington as the general, and authorized the printing of money to pay soldiers. Once again, they met in Philadelphia. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
Following the Battle of Lexington and Concord, the minutemen take Bunker Hill. The British attacked with 2,200 solders, and as the minutemen had limited ammunition they eventually lost the battle, but not before causing the death of 1000 British soldiers. -
Olive Branch Petition
In a last-ditch attempt to avoid full on war with the British, the Olive Branch Petition was created by the continental congress to petition the king for peace. The king then rejects the petition, leading to the American Revolution. -
Common Sense
Most colonists wanted to avoid war with the British in 1776, but Thomas Paine wrote the pamphlet Common Sense, arguing that a complete break from Britain was necessary. By highlighting political corruption and injustice, many loyalists felt the need for independence as well. -
Declaration of Independence
The colonies needed to make a decision following the growing revolution. The majority decided to vote in favor for independence.