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Events Leading up to the Revolutionary War
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Committees of Correnspndence
The Committees of Correspondences were the colonies' form of government. Each colony had one. They were considered "shadow governments" and were mainy organized to help repeal all British taxes. The biggest and most important was the committee in Maryland who helped organize the 1st Continental Congress. -
Sugar Act
The Sugar Act was another tax on the colonies passed by the British Parliament. It was a tax on sugar and sugar was important because sugar was used to make molasses and rum. Rum was used to buy slaves in Africa. The Sugar Act was widely disliked amongst the colonists. Committees of Correspondences gathered to help repeal the act and was repealed in early 1766. -
Stamp Act of 1765
The Stamp Act of 1765 was a taxing act passed by the British Parliament. This act taxed any paper material that had the Stamp Act stamp on it. A majority of paper projects had this stamp. The act collected money used to pay for the recent French and Indian War. This act angered the colonists and was eventually repealed on March, 1766. -
The Sons of Liberty
The Sons of Liberty were a group of colonial patriots that supported American independence. The organization was founded in 1765 and led riots and boycotts across the colonies. Their most famous memebrs include Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Benedict Arnold, and Paul Revere. They are most famous for their Boston Tea Party and the battles at Lexington and Concord. -
Townshend Act
The Townshend Acts were proposed by Charles Townshend (pictured) and was yet another act on the colonies passed by Parliament in 1767. This act taxed nearly everything and was a replacement for the repealed Stamp and Sugar Acts. This act also said that British soldiers can invade the colonies. The colonists boycotted British goods and tarred and feathered British soldiers. The act was quickly repealed. -
The Boston Massacre
The Incident on Kings Street, or the Boston Massacre, took place on the night of March 5, 1770. Colonists were angered at the British soldiers in their city and began throwing snowballs and rocks at the soldiers. When a club hit a redcoat, shot rang out and hit a colonists. 5 were killed and 6 were injured. The first death of the Revolutionary War took place here and was an African American named Crispus Attucks. -
Tea Act
The Tea Act was passed in 1773 by Parliament. It taxed tea and tea only. Tea was important to the colonies and was taxed by the British. Many boycotted tea and some started riots over the act. But, the most famous act of rebellion was the Boston Tea Party, when Sons of Liberty dumped crates of British tea into Boston Harbor, -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party took place the night of December 16, 1773. 100 Sons of Liberty dressed up as Mohawk Indians and raided British ships in Boston Habor. Led by Samuel Adams, the colonists dumped 342 crates into Boston Harbor in an act of resisitng the Tea Act. Samuel Adams defended the colonists after the incident. In reponse, Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts. -
Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts were passed by Parliament in 1774 in response to the Boston Tea Party. This act contained 5 sub-acts. They were the Boston Port Act, the Quartering Act, the Massachusetts Government Act, the Quebec Act, and the Administration of Justice Act. The two that angered the colonist most were the Quartering Act, which allowed British soldiers to come into colonist's homes and spend the night, and the Boston Port Act, which closed Boston Harbor. -
1st Continental Congress
The 1st Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates from twele colonies, except Georgia. They met in Carpenter's Hall in Pennsylvania in 1774. The congress discussed what to do with the Intolerable Acts. The congress thought of boycotting and resisting the acts and they sent a petition to the King George of England asking to repeal the act. The King never responded. After the unsuccessful first congress, a second met a year later. Among those present were George Washington and John Adams.
