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George III ascends to the throne of England
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Period: to
Towards the Revolutionary War
Major events leading up to the Revolutionary War -
Treaty of Paris Signed
*between French & England, ends the French and Indian War or Great War for Empire -
Proclamation of 1763
*Parliament passes Proclamation restricting colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains -
George Grenville becomes Prime Minister
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Sugar & Currency Acts Enacted by Parliament
*lead to first boycott of British goods -
Parliament passes Stamp Act
*means to pay for British troops in America
*in response, Stamp Act Congress meets in New York
*Sons of Liberty protest
*Virginia House of Burgesses passes Virginia resolves -
Stamp Act repealed, Declaratory Act passed
*reasserting British power
*Restraining Act suspends New York assembly until it will pay taxes for quartering of troops--around same time -
Townsend duties enacted
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British troops arrive in colonies to enforce customs laws
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"Boston Massacre"
*4 workers shot by British troops stationed in Boston
*labeled massacre by Patriots, hugely successful piece of propaganda -
Townsend duties repealed
*except for tea! -
Committees of Correspondence begin to form
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Boston Tea Party
*Patriots dressed as Indians protect against the Tea Act by dumping crates of tea into the Boston Harbor
*in reponse Britain passed the Coercive/Intolerable Acts, closing the Boston Harbor, suspended the MA assembly & banned town meetings, amended the Quartering Act, and added the Quebec Act, limiting territory -
First Continental Congress convenes in Philadelphia
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Shots at Lexington and Concord
*Minutemen force British back to Boston
*action is taken, violence has broken out--is there any turning back now? -
Second Continental Congress meets
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George Washington takes charge of Continental Army
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Lord Dunmore offers freedom to slaves who join the British
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Thomas Paine's Common Sense published
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Declaration of Independence ratified by Congress