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Katie US History Unit 3: The Road to Revolution

By katie01

  • The Stamp Act

    The Stamp Act of 1765 was a law stating that anything in print must have a stamp; the British owned the stamps, which weren't free. The colonists thought Parliament was trying to assert their control over the colonies and lessen their freedom when they actually were trying to earn money to pay back England's debt. This event, and the following outrage, created unity and sympathy between the previously individual colonies and caused them to act as one.
    Image: (Wilson, Corbis. Getty Images)

  • The Boston Massacre

    The Boston Massacre took the first life of the Revolutionary War. After the Bostonians threw sticks, snowballs, and other things at the British soldiers and called them "lobsterbacks" (implying that they were bottom feeders), the British troops fired into the crowd, killing 5 people. The Sons of Liberty printed pictures depicting the innocent Bostonians and the British firing without cause, circulating around the country and sparking anti-British thinking.
    Image: (Burstein, Barney. Getty Images)

  • The Tea Act

    The tax on tea was the only remaining tax from the Townshend Acts; the colonists wanted all taxes repealed, but they put up with the tea tax. The Tea Act was intended to save the East India Company from debt by allowing them to sell directly to the American colonies, making their tea cheaper than the smuggled tea. This angered the colonists (because English companies had a monopoly) and led to the Boston Tea Party.
    Image: (Bettmann Archive, Getty Images)

  • The Intolerable Acts

    The colonists called the Boston Port, Massachusetts Government, Administration of Justice, and Quartering Acts the "Intolerable Acts." Parliament passed these acts to intimidate the colonists and force them to back off but had the unintended result of bringing the country closer together. These Acts strengthened the colonists' idea that Parliament was going against the English Constitution and denying their rights.
    Image: (Markwald, Brian. teacherspayteachers.com)

  • The formation of Continental Congress

    The Continental Congress held its first meeting on September 5, 1774. Congressmen demanded the removal of any restrictive acts passed after 1773 and suggested that the colonies gather militiamen if opposition to the British was necessary. Congress directly threatened British authority, causing them to ban trade with the colonies and seize colonial trade ships.
    Image: (Brittanica. September 5, 2023)