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Stamp Act
The Act resulted in violent protests in America and the colonists argued that there should be "No Taxation without Representation" and that it went against the British constitution to be forced to pay a tax to which they had not agreed through representation in Parliament. -
Boston Massacre
The incident fueled the anger of colonists like Samuel Adams and Paul Revere. They used the massacre as propaganda, recreating a Henry Pelham painting and distributing copies all over the Boston area in order to incite the public. Revere in such a way as to cast the British in a more negative light. -
Boston Tea Party
The violent protests in Boston Harbor were met with a direct response from Great Britain. In April 1774, the British Parliament passed the Coercive (or Intolerable) Acts, which punished Massachusetts for the Tea Party incident. -
The Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts were aimed at isolating Boston, the seat of the most radical anti-British sentiment, from the other colonies. Colonists responded to the Intolerable Acts with a show of unity, convening the First Continental Congress to discuss and negotiate a unified approach to the British. -
Common Sense
By promoting the idea of American exceptionalism and the need to form a new nation to realize its promise, Paine's pamphlet not only attracted public support for the Revolution but put the rebellion's leaders under pressure to declare independence.