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John Dickinson
John Dickinson was a politician that opposed the revolution but fought for the colonists freedom. Colonists didnt like him due to his stead fast opposition to the American separation from Britian, Britain didn't like him because he was in an American congress but they liked him because he opposed the revolution. John Dickinson abstained from signing the Declaration of Indepencence. -
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French and Indian War
British soldiers fight French soldiers and Native Americans. The Native Americans joined the fight because they thought the British would remove them from their homelands, they joined the French because the French were less invasive. The colonists thought the British were weak after this due to the British retreat at Fort Duquesne. The British thought the French were invading their territory and that was one of the primary issues that led to the war. -
Treaty of Paris
France loses Canada and all territory east of the Mississippi to Great Britain. The colonists liked the new land gained from this deal and started to expand. The British although happy with victory were now greatly in debt. The Native Americans also came out on the short end because they had a more difficult time bargaining with the British than they did the French. -
Sugar Act
The Sugar Act placed a tax on sugar, wine and other important things. The British needed this extra money to pay down debt from all of their wars. The British said that they would use this money to protect the colonists. The colonists merchants disliked this act because they thought it would reduce their profits. The British perspective was that the colonists were smuggling in goods without paying any duty on them and therefore this new tax was needed. -
Stamp Act
A tax on printed pieces of paper such as newspapers and playing cards was imposed on the colonists. This money would be used to support the troops that were stationed in the colonies. In May of that year the colonists united to defy the law, led by a secret resistance group called the Sons of Liberty. After a year the British nullified the law, due to colonial rebellions and boycotts. -
Quartering Act
The British troops in the colonies are allowed to stay in any house they feel like. The British thought this would help increase control in the colonies while the colonists thought it was an invasion of their space. -
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Intolerable Acts
After the Tea Party, King George III mandated that more rules were forced on the colonists. These acts limited colonial rights that the colonists thought were intolerable, while the British ued to assert their control. Examples included shutting down Boston Harbor and the Quartering Act. -
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Quartering Act
The British troops in the colonies are allowed to stay in any house they feel like. The British thought this would help increase control in the colonies while the colonists thought it was an invasion of their space. The British were responsible for paying a nominal amount for the shelter and food being provided, but it was still offensive to the colonists. -
Stamp Act Congress
A group of 27 delegates from 9 colonies mildly petitioned against the Stamp Act but the king ignored their petition. The colonists believed that they should only be allowed to impose taxes on themselves, not by the British. During this event the delegates wrote and approved a 14-point declaration of rights and Grievances. The British ignored the group because of their mildness but it was a step in the right direction for the new government because it showed that they could work together. -
Declatory Act
The Declatory Act asserted parliaments control to make laws that effected the American Colonies. The colonists responded by acting more rebellious and the British tried hard to enforce this act. It further declared that any laws made from anyone other than the King were invalid. -
Townshend Act
This Act raised taxes in the colonies on objects and goods that were imported from Great Britain such as lead, glass, paint, paper and tea. Lead by the sons of liberty the colonists boycotted again based on the growing idea that taxation without representation was unfair. In response the British stationed more troops in harbors to protect collection offficers. Finally, the British gave up the taxation effort on all goods with the exception of tea. -
Boston Massacre
When some colonists were rebelling against the British the British opened fire and killed five people. It happened in front of the Boston Customs House. The colonists used this to fuel their revolution, and the British tried to calm the situation the best they could. -
Tea Act / Tea Tax
Used to help the struggling East India Trade Company by making it cheaper to buy tea from The British East India company than colonial merchants. This cheaper rate was due to the fact that the East India Company did not have to pay tax on the tea that they sold. The colonists start to rebel again, leading up to the famous Boston Tea Party. -
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Commities of Correspondence
A group of colonists who were set up to coordinate action against Great Britain. The colonists used this to set up the first Continental Congress in which they drew up a declaration of colonial rights. Great Britain put General Thomas Gage as the new governer of Massachussets, in his reign to assert power he put Boston under Marshall Law. -
Boston Tea Party
During a moonlit night, a group of colonists dressed as Mohawk Indians boarded some ships in Boston Harbour and decided to dump the cargo of tea into the sea. Roughly 18,000 pounds of East India Company tea was ruined. The colonists were ecstatic over these events, while the British closed down Boston Harbor. -
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First Continental Congress
A group of colonists met from different colonies to voice their opinions against Britain and to make their greif heard through out the world. In this congress they drew up a declaration of colonial rights. The colonists used this to form their government while the British tried to shut it down. -
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Second Continental Congress
The group of colonists from the first colonial congress came again to declare their freedom from Britain and elect their first president and decide on how the war would go. The Declaration of Independence was written during and for this congress. The British viewed this as anarchy while the colonists viewed this as hope.
