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The French and Indian 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 west of the Appalachian Mountains. Although the British lost majority of the initial battles they ultimately won the war. The war caused relations to worsen between the British and the Colonists. The colonists were angry with the Proclamation Line of 1763 and the taxes they were forced to pay. -
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 New York City. Group members were men from all walks of life, and they were known to be very hot headed and extremely violent. -
The Stamp Act
The British Parliament passed the Stamp Act 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. They also still had no representation in Parliament. This led to an increase in colonial protests. -
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. -
The Boston Massacre
There was a violent confrontation between the British soldiers and the colonists in Boston, which is known by historians as the Boston Massacre. The colonists were provoking the soldiers by throwing things at them and taunting them, which caused one of the soldiers to fall from being hit with one of their clubs. His gun then accidentally fired. The other British soldiers fired out of confusion. Ultimately, the colonists were charged guilty of being responsible for this event. -
The Tea Act
This new tax law was not designed to raise taxes in the colonies, it was created to help the East India Company. This company was having financial difficulty and had 18 million pounds of unsold tea, so England allowed them to ship it to the colonies for sale. England gave the company a monopoly on tea sales, so they controlled it all. The colonists were infuriated at the fact that England gave the company this authority. The colonists were refusing to pay taxes on tea that they didn’t even want. -
The Boston Tea Party
On December sixteenth, 1773, colonists dressed up as Indians in disguise and dumped 342 crates of tea off of a British ship. This was a very sneaky mission and was done because of the anger that the colonists had towards the British parliament. This was a form of protest that is known as violent protest. These men were breaking the law and destructing the East India Company’s merchandise. Again, this ties back to the fact that they are infuriated that they have no say in their government. -
The First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress was held in Carpenter’s Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They discussed the current crisis with England and expressed their anger with the Coercive Acts. They clearly confirmed in their petition to King George that they were still loyal to the king. They told all of the colonies to boycott the British goods. They also said that if the English government did not reply to them quickly, they would meet again and the colonies would stop exporting goods to England. -
The Coercive (Intolerable) Acts
After the Boston Tea Party occured, the English government was furious, so Parliament decided to punish the colonists by passing a series of laws called the Coercive Acts. The colonists renamed these acts the Intolerable Acts because they were truly not tolerable. These acts included four parts such as the Boston Port Act, the Administration of Justice Act, the Quartering Act, and the Massachusetts Government Act. All of these acts required some law that the colonists were not happy with. -
The Battles of Lexington and Concord
900 Redcoat troops headed to Lexington and Concord to arrest the rebel leaders and seize their weapons. The war lineup was sixty militia men against HUNDREDS of British soldiers. Nobody knows who fired the first shot at Lexington. This battle injured and killed many people. The Redcoat troops reached the town of Concord. There were over 1,000 militiamen gathered in Concord to confront the British. They followed them and killed a majority of the Redcoat troops.
