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Proclamation of 1763
After the French and Indian War, Britain passed a law banning settlement past the Appalachian Mountains to protect white settlers from attacks from the Native Americans and the Native Americans from white settlers. Only licensed traders were allowed to deal with the natives past the line. However, many colonists wanted more farmland and settled beyond the Appalachians anyway. -
Sugar Act 1764
Previously, the tax on sugar was six pence per gallon, but it was rarely enforced. This act cut the tax on imported sugar from foreign countries down to three pence per gallon, but it became enforced more strictly. The enforced taxes would hurt the rum industry in the colonies but was profitable for the British West Indies, which mainly produced sugars. -
Stamp Act 1765
The Stamp Act of 1765 taxed all printed paper the colonists used, including newspapers, legal documents, and even playing cards, to pay off war debt and maintain British soldiers in North America. It was repealed a year later in 1766 after Britain began losing great amounts of money from the American boycotts. -
Quartering Act 1765
This act required the colonists to provide quarters and supplies for the British troops in America. These troops were stationed in America to protect the colonists from attacks from the French and Indians, as well as to defend the frontiers. The colonists considered this law another assault on their liberties and considered it another form of taxation without consent. -
Stamp Act Congress
An intercolonial congress made to take action against the Stamp Act. Delegates from nine colonies met in New York in October 1765 and decided to petition the king and the two houses of Parliament. The petition acknowledged that Americans owed Parliament “all due subordination,” but demanded colonies should only be taxed rightfully through their own provincial assemblies. -
Declaratory Act 1766
Passed on the same day the Stamp Act was repealed, this act was passed because some English officials were worried that unless England forced the colonists to obey the Stamp Act, they would soon no longer follow any of Parliament’s laws. The Declaratory Act asserted Parliament’s authority over the colonies “in all cases whatsoever.” -
Writs of Assistance
Reinforced in the Townshend Acts, the writs of assistance authorized British customs officers to search anywhere they thought Americans would be hiding smuggled goods and contraband. They essentially acted as a blank search warrant. -
Townshend Acts 1767
These acts suspended the New York assembly until they agreed to the Quartering Act, which allowed British soldiers to live in the colonists’ houses and take supplies. Taxes were put on English imported goods like glass, paper, and tea. A new board of customs commissioners was formed to combat smuggling in Boston. The colonists then boycotted the goods under the Townshend Acts. After Townshend died, the new prime minister Lord North repealed all taxes under this act except the one on tea. -
Boston Massacre 1770
On a foggy night, a mob in Boston, angered by the presence of British soldiers, began to throw snowballs and rocks at the British sentries at the customs house. When one of them fell, the soldiers began to shoot into the crowd, killing five. Colonists depicted the incident as a ruthless attack by the British against innocent townspeople and used it as propaganda against the British. -
Tea Act 1773
Allowed the tea of East India Company to be shipped directly to the colonies without paying any navigation taxes. Lord North passed this act because he thought the colonists would like the cheaper tea. However, colonists were still angry because this allowed the East India Company to monopolize colonial tea trade and the money made from taxes was going to members of Parliament. The colonists responded with a widespread boycott of tea, bigger than any before, and the Boston Tea Party. -
Boston Tea Party
During the night, three companies of 50 men each masquerading as Mohawks boarded three British ships in the Boston harbor. They opened the tea chests on the ships and threw 342 chests into the harbor as a protest against the continuous imposition of “taxation without representation” by Britain. -
Coercive Acts 1774
Because Boston refused to pay for the tea that they had destroyed, the Coercive Acts, also known as the Intolerable Acts, were passed. These four acts closed the port of Boston, reduced the power of colonial governments, drastically reduced the powers of colonial governments, allowed royal officers to be tried in England or other colonies when accused of crimes, and provided quarters for troops in the colonies. -
Quebec Act 1774
This act was designed to provide a civil government for French-speaking Roman Catholic inhabitants of Canada and the Illinois county. The boundaries of Quebec were expanded, and the Roman Catholics and their church were recognized legally. However, the colonists thought the British were trying to subject Americans to the tyranny of the pope and hinder westward expansion. -
1st Continental Congress
Delegates from 12 colonies (Georgia was not present) met in Carpenter’s Hall in Philadelphia. Although they rejected a plan to unite the colonies against Britain, they did create a list of grievances of the colonies and sent it to Britain, requesting the repeal of the legislation passed since 1763. They agreed to stop all trade with Britain, recommended making military preparations in case of British attack in Boston, and decided to meet again during the spring of 1775. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
British General Thomas Gage sent a troop of 1000 soldiers out from Boston to Concord at night to surprise the colonists and seize their large supply of illegal gunpowder. However, William Dawes & Paul Revere warned the villages. Dozens of minutemen awaited the soldiers in Lexington. Shots were fired and 8 minutemen died. When the British got to Concord, the colonists had removed most of the gunpowder. Farmers continued gunfire; the British suffered almost 3 times as many deaths as the colonists. -
2nd Continental Congress
The delegates decided to form the Continental Army, with George Washington as its leader. To pay for supplies, they printed money. As a last effort to reconcile with Britain, the delegates passed the Olive Branch Petition, though they also wrote a declaration of war the next day. With the Olive Branch Petition rejected, the Continental Congress built their military up and passed the Declaration of Independence. -
Olive Branch Petition
Written by John Dickinson, it was the final attempt by the colonists to appease King George III and avoid war with the British. In the document, the colonists pledged their loyalty to the crown and asserted their rights as British citizens, although it was written after the Battles of Lexington and Concord. However, the king thought the colonists’ actions were unacceptable and had already decided on going to war. He rejected the petition without reading it. -
Declaration of Independence
Written mostly by Thomas Jefferson, it was adopted by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776. Delegates from 12 of the 13 colonies voted in favor of declaring independence. The document officially proclaimed the independence of the thirteen American colonies from Great Britain It also addressed ideas that would become the basis of the Constitution, stating that all men are created equal and entitled to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
