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French and Indian War
The French and Indian War was a war between Britain and France. The war ended with a treaty. The Treaty was called The Treaty of Paris in which gave Britain a great amount of territory such as all of French Canada, and resulting in the change of Europe's balance of powers. The war exhausted the British treasury, resulting in King George taxing colonist to help pay for the war. This lead to the Sugar and Stamp act. -
Period: to
1763-1789
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Sugar Act
King George III believed colonist should help pay for the Seven Years' War and the French and Indian War. In order to increase taxes colonist paid, Parliament passed the Sugar Act. The Sugar Act imposed import taxes. Soon after the Sugar Act, other acts such as the Stamp act and the Declaratory Act was then passed. Colonist did not support nor agree with these acts because they had no say or representation, they felt it was unfair to pass these acts without their approval. -
Boston Massacre
A sequence of aggressive altercations continued in which contributed more anger in the colonists. One of those altercations was the Boston Massacre. In 1770, British soldiers opened fire on a crowd in Boston, killing 5 innocent protestors. This initiated the colonists aspiration for independence. The aggressive altercations including the Boston Massacre all lead up to the colony gathering in Philadelphia to decide what actions to take. -
Revolutionary War
The aggressiveness and violence continued between the British and the colonists in which then erupted into a war known as the Revolutionary War. Most of the battles ended with British victories, but the colonist stayed determined with independence as their goal. These wars then lead up to the creation of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. The declaration of Independence is a document that reflects John Locke's ideas. -
The Constitution becomes supreme law of the land
The Constitution divided power in government and states. It provides a system of checks and balances so that power is distributed fairly. It became the law of land when 9 of 13 states accepted the terms of it. The Constitution produced the most innovative government of it's day. This document created a federal republic.
