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Molasses Act
Act where molasses was taxed. Britain taxed the colonists on rum, molasses, and sugar. Britain wanted to control the colonists sugar. The colonists protested this. They said that the British West couldn't make enough molasses to reach what the colonists needed. The colonists thought that the price of rum would go up. The colonists got upset because they did not want the taxes for things to go up. -
Start of the French and Indian War
Many of the colonists were moving into the Native American's land, so the Native American's got mad. This war was a war on land, to see who would get the land that went past the Appalachian Mountains. Whenever Great Britain won the war, they told the colonists that they could not move past the Appalachian Mountains. This made colonists mad because they fought for that land, and yet they could not own/live on it. -
Signing of Treaty of Paris
This treaty ends the seven year French and Indian War. France gave up all of their land in North America, besides New Orleans, because it had Caribbean sugar islands. Britain got all of the land that was east of the Mississippi River. -
End of the French and Indian War
French and Indian War ended. The British/colonists won this war. -
Proclamation of 1763
After fighting and winning in the French and Indian War, George the Third, forbid any movement west of the Appalachian Mountains. The only way the colonists could move west of the Appalachian Mountains was if it was guaranteed to be secure from Native American attacks. Many of the colonists were upset with this because they fought for the land, but they were forbid to live on it. -
Pontiac's Rebellion/Uprising
This rebellion started whenever Native American's who were under the Ottawa chief, Pontiac, attacked the British forces in Detroit. Pontiac got many tribes to help with the rebellion. Pontiac had a plan, that they would take down the settlements that were undefended. Pontiac and his followers went against the colonists and Britain. The colonists and Britain were startled about this and they were upset. From this, the colonists would remove the Indians from "their" land. -
Sugar Act
This act was made by the British Government. It was an attempt to finance the defense of the colonies. They wanted to encourage the British rum production, so they dropped the molasses taxes. There was taxes on colonial exports of lumber, iron, and other goods that had to pass through the British customs. There was a tax also placed on foreign Madeira wine. There was a court that would have to hear smuggling cases (without a jury). There was a lot of protest to this act. The colonists were mad. -
Currency Act
There was a constant shortage of currency in the colonies. They could only get their currency through trade with Great Britain. The colonists would produce their own bills, but Parliament did not like this so they made the Currency Act. This act meant that Parliament would have control over the currency in the colonies. The colonists were not happy about this. -
Quartering Act
This act was made to get money for the British troops. The act was that the colonists' assemblies were required to pay for supplies for the British troops. The New York assembly argued about this. They argued that this could not be forced. -
Stamp Act
This act was made to get money for the defense of the colonists. The British Government needed money to pay for the colonists safety. From this, Parliament required every single legal newspaper, pamphlet, legal document, etc., the colonists had to get any paper their used "stamped". The stamps were costly.The colonists were upset because the paper became expensive, and before the paper was free, but now they had to buy stamps. The colonists were happy whenever Parliament repealed the Stamp Act. -
Stamp Act Continued
The colonists riot and they begin to boycott the British goods. They begin the Sons of Liberty, Daughter of Liberty, and they begin to come together and start a government. They start to unite and they come together to make decisions. They work together to get things done. After the Stamp Act, they gathered a Stamp Act Congress and that started to start our government. -
Virginian Resolution
This happened whenever the Virginian assembly would not go for the Stamp Act, they refused to do the requirements of the Stamp Act. -
Stamp Act Congress Starts
Colonists write a letter to this Congress. There were representatives from nine out of the thirteen colonies that declared the Stamp Act as unconstitutional. They said it was a tax that was made without their consent, and that made it unconstitutional. The colonists are starting to unite because they realize they are being "abused" by Great Britain. -
Stamp Act Congress Ends
This act ends. Colonists start to unite. -
Declaratory Act
Parliament repeals the Stamp Act. Parliament declares that it has all rights to tax the colonies.This act says that Great Britain has power over the colonies "in all cases whatsoever". The colonists were really happy that Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, and they didn't read the fine print, to see that Parliament was declaring power over the colonies. The colonists were happy about the Stamp Act being repealed, until they found out Parliament was going to control them. -
Townshend Revenue Act
(Townshend Duties) Taxes on glass, paper, lead, paint, and tea to try and help pay for the colonies. This was named after Charles Townshend (he was the Chancellor of the Exchequer). John Dickinson publishes a letter that is from a farmer in Philadelphia, that protested this act. The colonial assemblies disapprove of this tax. -
British Troops Arrive in Boston
After the Townshend Act, the British thought that they needed to put troops in Boston to maintain the order in Boston. The Secretary of State for the Colonies, Lord Hillsborough, put 4,000 troops in Boston to get back the order. Having this happen, did not help with the situation between Britain and the colonists. The colonists were upset because they wanted to break free and they started to realize what Britain was doing to them. With this, like many events, the colonists were uniting. -
Boston Massacre
The colonists were starting to unite and they were starting to see that Britain was abusive and oppressive. The British soldiers came into Boston and then the colonists started fighting with them and the British troops fought back. There were five colonists killed in the Boston Massacre. The colonists who wanted to break free from Britain, and the colonists who wanted to stay with Britain started to resent each other. This made the colonists very upset and furious. -
Boston Massacre Continued
The colonists that wanted to be freed from Britain started to unite. Some of the colonists who wanted to stay with Britain would eventually see that Britain was wrong and they would change sides. There was a Boston Massacre trial and John Adams defended the British troops (even though John Adams would become a future president). The colonists wanted the soldiers to be held guilty, but the Loyalists wanted them to not be found guilty. -
Tea Act of 1773
Passed by Parliament, this act allowed the British East India Company Tea the ability to control all the sales of tea in the colonies. By doing this, the colonists formed the group called Sons of Liberty. The colonists were starting to unite. The Sons of Liberty disguised as Mohawk Indians on December 16th, 1773. They boarded three ships that were in the Boston Harbor and they destroyed 92,000 pounds of tea. The Tea Act was looked at as the last straw for Britain to control the colonies. -
Lexington and Concord Battles
These battles started the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. "The shot heard around the world." There was a lot of tension between the colonies and Great Britain. There was a lot of tension mainly with Massachusetts. There was a lot of British troops who marched to Concord. Paul Revere (and some other riders) called off the alarm. The Colonists' soldiers and the British soldiers met at Lexington and started to fight. It was very intense. There were a lot of other battles that followed. -
Lexington and Concord Battles Continued
The plan for the British forces was that some British soldiers would go to Lexington, and they would capture the Colonial leaders John Hancock and Samuel Adams. After that, they would go to Concord and they would take the gunpowder. Some friends and spies told the Americans what the British Forces plans were. Some of the colonists were happy about this, because they were on the road to being free, but the colonists who supported Britain were not happy. The colonists were starting to unite. -
Lexington and Concord Battles Continued
The first shot was fired, but nobody knows which side the shot was shot from. This shot started the fighting. This shot was called the "shot heard around the world", because it was the first shot that began the American Revolutionary War.
