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French and Indian War
In the 1750's a feud began between France and Britain. The English want cheap farm land but the French were already there. This ended in a 7 year long war that the British won. They got a lot of land in the US. The British then force the colonists to pay taxes. Their relationship is changed and Britain is in debt. They make the colonists pay taxes for them. Britain then establishes the Proclamation of 1763, which angers the colonists. -
The Proclamation Line of 1763
Following the French and Indian war, the British Parliament establishes a border aligned with the Appalachian Mountains to maintain and separate the colonists from the unhappy Native Americans. In order to control war debt it became illegal for colonists to cross this border. This proclamation made the colonists very angry! -
The Sugar Act
The British Parliament passed the Sugar Act to help pay back debt from the French and Indian war. Colonists were taxed 3 cents on all sugars. The British government did not give the Colonists a voice, they were forced to pay tax. Their chant was 'No Taxtation Without Representation!' -
The Stamp Act
British Parliament passed the Stamp Act to help pay for the troops stationed in then colonies. Stamps were placed on any important papers, documents, newspapers, playing cards, court papers, indicating that tax needed/was paid. Colonists had to pay these taxes to keep the troops up. The troops were stationed in the colonies to protect the colonists and the new land. -
The Townshend Acts
There was another act passed by Parliament to try to recover from Britain's debt. It placed taxes on items imported from England like glass, tea, paper, paint, etc. Colonists set up boycotts on these products to try to get rid of the Townshend Acts. -
The Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre is when the British soldiers attacked the colonists, but the colonists provoked them. The colonists tricked the British into thinking their commander had told them to fire. The British soldiers were armed with guns, and the colonist men were armed with clubs and snowballs. Five colonists were killed. Most of the British soldiers were found 'not guilty'. -
Committees of Correspondence
Samuel Adams started the very first Committee of Correspondence. These were formed to share information between colonies about what they are doing to rebel against England. These helped maintain bonds that would help with future wars. -
The Tea Act/ The Boston Tea Party
Parliament passed a tax on tea to help give money to the East India Company. The colonists were very unhappy about the tax and even created the Boston Tea Party. Sixty colonists dressed as Mohawk Indians went to Boston Harbor and dumped 342 crates of tea into the ocean. They did this to show how unhappy they were about this new tax. -
The Coercive (Intolerable) Acts
The British gave the colonists four new laws that were nicknamed the Intolerable Acts. These were: Boston Harbor was shut down, British soldiers had all of their trials in Britain, Town meetings were shut down, and colonists were forced to feed and house British soldiers. These were intolerable because colonists had no say in their government and all jobs at the Boston Harbor were shut down. These made the colonists very angry. -
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The First Continental Congress
The first time the colonies worked together and formed a type of government. This was their first step towards becoming the United States. The meeting was held to discuss their current crisis with England. The people involved in this meeting were George Washington, John Adams, Samuel Adams, etc. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The British commander made a plan to steal and destroy the rebels weapons. Paul Revere and some others want and warned the Patriots that the Redcoats were coming. British troops arrived in Lexington to find 60 militia men and order them to go home. Then, the 'Shot Heard Round the World' went off. Eight militia men are killed after. Thousands of militia men followed the British soldiers back to Concord and killed many of them. This is how the American Revolution began.
