-
The French and Indian War
In the 1750's, a feud erupted between Britain and France over the Ohio River Valley. George Washington was the first to shoot after Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia tells France to leave. British won they got land an territory. This leads to the Proclamations of 1763. -
The Proclamation line of 1763
After the French and Indian war the British created a physical border, the Appalachian mountains that separate the colonists from the newly won territory. To avoid war because they were already in debt from the last war. This leads to further tensions. -
The Sugar Act
The British parliament passed the sugar act that required a 3 cent tax on sugar. Which caused tax on coffee indigo and certain kinds of wine. The colonists weren't really upset with the tax but "no taxation without representation" was the bigger issue. They thought that if they had to pay taxes then they should at least have a say in government. This leads to The Stamp Act. -
The Stamp Act
To support the troops The British Parliament passed the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act required colonists to put a stamp on important documents, court papers, almanacs, pamphlets newspapers and playing cards. The colonists were outraged because because they had to pay for the British's houses and food. The colonist thought that it was unfair to tax them when they didn't have representation in Parliament. They had a meeting and decided that only the elected colonists would have to pay taxes. -
Committees of Correspindence
The Committees of Correspondence was the first attempt out of the American colonies to try to maintain communication with one another. -
Boston Massacre
That night at around 9:00 colonists confronted 8 British soldiers in Boston. They insulted them and threw things. When someone was hit by a flying object, he fired, it could have been an accident but no one really knows. They yelled hold your fire, but no one did. in the end 5 colonists died and many were injured, including Crispus Attacus. -
Townshend Acts
In 1767, The British Parliament passed laws called the Townshend Acts. The laws were supposed to help England raise money to help cover the costs of the French and Indian War. They put tax on paper, glass, paint, and tea. The colonists boycotted the items and smuggled imports coming from England. this cost the merchants in England a lot of money. The British Parliament canceled the Acts except tax on tea. -
The Tea Act/ Boston tea party
The Tea act was designed to raise taxes in the colonies when England gave East India a monopoly on tea sale the colonists were infuriated. So around 60 colonists dressed as Mohawk Indians got onto the boat and threw 642 crates of tea into the sea. After they were done they cleaned up all their messes and left. -
Intolerable Acts
There were four parts to the intolerable acts. One,the Boston Harbor closed until the damaged tea was paid for. Two, the punishments were different, a British solider got arrested and sent to England because they knew that they wouldn't face justice in the colonies. Three, The Quartering Acts, it required the colonists to feed and house the British soldiers. Four, town meeting were shut down. It caused the colonist to unite. -
The First Continental Congress
There was a meeting held at Carpenters Hall. All 13 colonies were present except Georgia. They held the meeting to discuss the current crisis with England. They sent a petition to king George the third that said that they were still loyal to the king, but they thought that the taxes were unfair. This was the form of government. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Redcoats were headed to Lexington and Concord after hearing of colonial rebellion. When the British troops arrived in Lexington seventy militiamen awaited. Although the British ordered them to leave the "shot heard around the world" was fired. The British soldiers continued to march to Concord to destroy colonial weapons not knowing that most of them were already gone. After, the colonists chased the British back to Boston. This is the start of the American Revolution.
