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French and Indian War
A. The war started due to the French and the colonists wanting more land which led to conflict.
B. The Natives sided with the French and Britain responded with military action.
C. Britain won the war and pushed France completely out of North America. Parliament then passed the Proclamation of 1763 to stop the colonist from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains. -
Proclamation of 1763
Parliament banned all settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains.
The colonists were outraged because they didn't like England telling them what to do. -
Sugar Act
George Grenville was responsible for the Sugar Act.
The Sugar Act reduced the tax on molasses. Parliament did this with hopes of paying of their large war debt.
This was one of the first taxes put out by Parliament.
The colonists didn't like it because they were being taxed without representation. -
Quartering Act
The Quartering Act forced colonists to house and take care of British soldiers. -
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Stamp Act Congress
Representatives from nine out of the thirteen colonies met in New York City to devise a unified protest against new British taxation. They later wrote up the Declaration of the Rights and Grievances of the Colonists which stated their rights as colonies. -
Stamp Act
George Grenville was responsible for the passing the Stamp Act.
Required that all legal documents and anything else made of paper to have a British seal on it.
The colonists were outraged with the Stamp Act and later held a Stamp Act Congress. -
Declaratory Act
Parliament repealed the Stamp Act and declared it had the right to rule and tax the colonies -
Townshend Acts
The person responsible for the Townshend Acts was Charles Townshend.
The act taxed goods from England and allowed customs officers to have writs of assistance which allowed them to search any hoe for smuggled goods.
The tax money was used to maintain British troops in America and to pay the salaries of Royal Governors.
Colonists were outraged and refused to buy tea unless it was smuggled. -
Boston Massacre
British soldiers were being harassed by colonists.
Soon a crowd gathered on Kings Street around the customs house.
During the commotion British Soldiers fired into the crowd killing 2 on sight ad 3 mord died of their wounds later. -
Boston Tea Party
Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty were responsible for the Boston Tea Party. This was the colonial response to the Tea Act which was part of the Townshend Acts. The Sons of Liberty dressed as Mohawk Indians and snuck onto British Ships. They then proceeded to dump over 92,000 pounds of tea into the Boston Harbor. In response to the Boston Tea Party, Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts. -
Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts were made to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party. The Intolerable Acts closed Boston's Harbor and took away Massachusetts Legislature. -
Quebec Act
The law extended Quebec's boundaries and guaranteed religious freedom to Catholic Canadians. They were furious because it limited opportunities for colonies to expand their western frontier. -
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First Continental Congress
Representatives from all 13 states except Georgia were involved including Thomas Jefferson, Peyton Randolph, Patrick Henry, and George Washington. They all met in Philadelphia in September 5, 1774 to discuss England's unfair taxation and them imposing laws that they believed unfair. The result was a push for peace with the Olive Branch Petition. -
Battle of Lexington and Concord
British soldiers were heading to Concord to look for hidden weapons and ammunition along with going to capture Samuel Adams and John Hancock.
The British Redcoats were met by Minutemen in Lexington and a conflict broke out.
The Colonists had 93 casualties and the British Army had 273 casualties.
The significance of the Battles of Lexington and Concord is it was the first battle of the Revolutionary War. -
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Second Continental Congress
Representatives from 12 of the 13 colonies met along with Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Peyton Randolph, and John Hancock met in Philadelphia to establish a Continental Army led by George Washington.
Two documents were written the Declaration of Independence which the colonies stated their independence from England and the Olive Branch Petition which called for peace between England and the colonies. -
Battle of Bunker HIll
The battle occurred in Charlestown, Massachusetts.
The British Army sent 3 waves of soldiers up the hill the first 2 failed but the last one pushed the Continental Army back.
The British won the battle but suffered heavy losses.
In response the colonists actually believed they could have a fighting chance in the war. -
Common Sense
Thomas Paine is the author of the pamphlet Common Sense.
Thomas Paine is trying to support the idea of independence from Britain.
The significance is this pamphlet was written to convince undecided colonists to push for independence. -
Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson was tasked to write the Declaration of Independence and was signed on July 4, 1776.
The significance of the Declaration of Independence was that the colonies were stating their independence from Britain.
Main ideas included in the Declaration of Independence was that the colonies were rebelling against Britain and establishing their own government.
The colonists had mix reactions with only one third supporting independence. -
