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Writ of Assistance
A writ of assistance is a written form given by a law enforcement official to do something. This was written by the English in order to stop smuggling of goods from the colonists when the Sugar Act was passed because the colonists felt that they were taxed unfairly and weren't allowed to import from other countries. Colonists were outraged and hired an attorney to deem the writ as unjustified, but lost the trial. -
Treaty of Paris
The British and French monarchies signed this document to end the French and Indian War (Seven Years War). The French gave up all land claims in North America. British recieved the land east of the Mississippi river. and the Spanish recieved the land to the west. This led to the Proclamation of 1763. -
Sugar Act
The Sugar Act taxed goods and imports such as wine, cloth, coffee, silk, and sugar. The English saw that the Molasses Act was about to expire, so they needed another act to tax the colonies because of the debt from the French and Indian War. The colonists were angry that the English taxed them without permission. It also took away the right to a jury trial. -
Stamp Act
England imposed the stamp act on it's colonies which taxed people on all printed material such as newspaper and magazines. England wanted to pay for the troops stationed in North America when the British won the French and Indian War, since they were in debt. The colonists were angry with this because it taxed them without their knowlege, and therefore considered it a violation of their rights. -
Quartering Acts
The Quartering act passed by Parliament made the colonists house British soldiers in barracks, or if they were too small to house them, they had to place them in inns, stables and ale houses. The owners of the homes would also be required to pay the costs to house and feed the troops. The colonists felt like this was another way that they had their rights infringed, so they responded by refusing to house the soldiers, feed them, and some colonists even killed their soldier. -
Declaratory Act
The English saw that boycotts were hurting the British trade, so they revoked the Stamp Act. The colonists actually grew angry at this because they knew that it meant more acts were going to be imposed by England. They knew because it was almost the same as the Declaratory act for the Irish which put Ireland in a slave-like condition to the crown. -
Townshend Acts
These acts imposed taxes on goods such as paint, glass, paper, lead, and tea on the colonists to collect revenue. The colonial merchants boycotted those English goods. Riots and outrage came from the colonists which came to spark the phrase "no taxation without representation." The constant boycotts caused the English to repeal the taxes except for the one on tea. -
Boston Massacre
Due to tension, a crowd of colonists gathered around a group of British soldiers on duty in Boston, Massachusetts. The soldiers were faced with harassment, verbal abuse and thrown objects by the angry colonists. The soldiers were joined by eight more and fired into the crowd and killed five of the colonists as the crowd began to disperse. This incident increased their inclination to rebel, because they felt the British would kill to enforce unjust tax laws. -
Tea Act (Boston Tea Party)
The Tea Act, passed by British Parliament, was passed to help the East India Company's economy rise up so their tea was directly shipped to the colonies and sold at a bargain. The colonists who were independent shippers and some of the smugglers of tea were damaged because of this. The colonists also thought that this was another case of "taxation without representation" because they couldn't buy from any other merchants at the same price. -
Intolerable Acts
The British passed the Intolerable Acts to punish the colonists for the Boston Tea Party. The acts closed off the Boston harbor until the colonists paid for the tea they ruined, soldiers could not be tried for any crimes they might commit in the colonies, and it restricted town meetings to only one per year. The colonists saw these acts as a violation of their constitutional rights, they saw them as ways of cruel and unusual punishment, and it further increased their hate towards the British.
