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The French and Indian War
The French and Indian War was apart of a larger global conflict called the Seven Years War. The French and British had the most territorial disputes within North America during this war. Both countries wanted access to the profitable fur trade business and the cheap fertile land. Although the British lost majority of the conflicts, they pulled through in the end and won. After they had won they created the Proclamation line of 1763 which infuriates the colonists. -
The Sugar Act
The British Parliament passed the Sugar Act in 1764 in order to help pay for their debt from the French and Indian War as well as to pay for the troops guarding the Proclamation Line of 1763. It forced the colonists to pay a 3 cent tax on goods like sugar, coffee, indigo and certain kinds of alcohol. The colonists were not happy with this law because they had no say in parliament. The slogan “No Taxation without Representation” became popular in the colonies. -
Sons of Liberty
A well-organized political organization shrouded in secrecy that was established to undermine British rule in colonial America. This group sprang up in port cities like Boston and NYC. Group member were men from all walks of life, and they were known to be hot headed and violent. -
The Stamp Act
British Parliament passed the Stamp Act in 1765 in order to support the British soldiers protecting the Proclamation Line. This Act required that a stamp purchased by the British government had to be placed on all important documents. The colonists were outraged because they were paying for troops that were keeping them out of the land they had just fought for in the French and Indian War and they still had no representation in Parliament. This led to an increase in colonial protests. -
The Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts taxed imported items such as paper, glass, paint and tea. The English Parliament passed this act to cover costs of the French and Indian War, as well as to show that they still had power over the colonies. The colonists were outraged with this act so they held public demonstrations, boycotted products and smuggled in goods. Parliament eventually decided to repeal this act because of colonial protests. -
Boston Massacre
On March 5, 1770 there was a violent confrontation between the British soldiers and the colonists on King Street in Boston.Though the colonists blame the murders on the British, though it was entirely the colonists fault.The colonists were provoking the British and hitting them with clubs and snowballs, Montgomery fell and accidentally set off the first shot. After that a colonist yelled “Fire” and the British shot thinking it was Preston giving the orders. -
The Tea Act
The Tea Act was passed by Parliament in 1773.The tea act was created to help the East India Company pay for all the debt they had for 18 million pounds of unsold tea. The colonists were receiving crates of tea that were to be sold to the colonists. The EIC then had a monopoly on tea sales and this infuriated the colonists.The colonists started to rebel by not accepting the tea to come into the colonies; some left the tea on the docks or some sent the ships back to England. -
The Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party happened on December 16th, 1773 in the docks of Boston.The colonists dressed as Native Americans for disguise and got onto the 3 British ships. They then proceeded to dump 342 crates of tea into the harbor. Colonists were only trying to prove a point; the point being that they won’t stand for being taxed on literally everything without representation in Parliament. The tea was the cheapest there was but they didn’t like the fact that it had taxes on it. -
The Intolerable Acts
This law was created to pay for all the tea destroyed in the Boston Tea Party. The Parliament started the acts by closing off the harbor until the tea was payed for.The Parliament also put British soldiers on trial for a murder in the colonies.This then led to the second part of the Intolerable Acts.This included the Quartering Acts;made the colonists let the British stay in their homes. An appointed governor was in charge of the colonies.Colonies lost the right to govern themselves. -
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The First Continental Congress
The meeting took place in Carpenter’s Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Representatives from 12 of the colonies were present. These men discussed the many issues with England and told of their outrage with the Intolerable Acts.They then sent out a letter to King George III, and confirmed they were still loyal to the king and England but did say that taxing the colonies without representation in Parliament was unfair. -
The Battles of Lexington and Concord
Redcoat troops went marching to Lexington and Concord with orders to arrest or capture any rebel leaders. No one knows who fired the first shot at the Battle of Lexington. At the end of the battle the British then marched to Concord to raid the arms stash. They did not succeed in this because the rebels had already hidden the arm stash. At Concord 1,000 militiamen met the British. The militia men shot at the British all the way back to Boston.They killed one-third of the British.
