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Treaty of Paris
Signed by Great Britain, France and Spain to end the Seven Years' War. France had to give up all territories in mainland North America; ending foreign military threats to British colonies there. -
Proclamation Act
The Proclamation Act was issued after the Seven Years' War and it prohibited settlement past a line along the Appalachian Mountains. -
The Sugar Act
This act put a tax on refined sugar and increased taxes on other items. This was the first time colonist were very vocal about the taxes and they wanted to have a say in the amount they were being taxed. -
The Stamp Act
Required colonists to pay a tax on any and every printed paper they used. -
The Quartering Act
The Quartering Act was two acts passed by British Parliament. These acts provided British soldiers with housing and it also required American colonists to provide food for local British soldiers. -
Stamp Act Congress
Out of the thirteen colonies, representatives from nine of the colonies ruled that the Stamp Act was unconstitutional because the tax was passed without their consent. -
Stamp Act Repealed
Months of protest led parliament to vote to repeal the Stamp Act. Since the Stamp Act was repealed they had to pass another act stating they still had the right to tax colonies. -
Declaratory Act
The Declaratory Act was passed after the Stamp Act was repealed to show the Parliament still has the power to make laws for the colonies. -
Townshend Act
The Townshend Act was a sequence of laws and taxes forced onto the colonists. The colonists reacted angrily towards this act. -
Boston Massacre
Colonist were angered by Britain's colonial policy and the presence of British troops. They began harassing some soldiers and five colonist ended up being killed in the incident. -
Committee of Correspondence
This committee had to deal with the tea crisis and was a force in the Boston Tea Party. -
Tea Act
The objective of the Tea Act was to reduce the amount of tea held by a British company. Americans were angered by this because they thought this was an indirect tax to support the British Company. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a protest against the Tea Act where Americans dumped tea from the East Indian Company into the Boston Harbor. -
Intolerable Acts
These laws were meant to punish the colonists for throwing the shipment of tea into the harbor. They responded by boycotting British goods. -
1st Continental Congress
A meeting for representatives from twelve out of the thirteen colonies to discuss resistance to the Intolerable Acts. -
Declaration of Rights and Grievances
The Declaration of Rights and Grievances was a document that stated taxes forced on British colonists without consent was unconstitutional. -
Lexington and Concord
The first military battles of the Revolutionary War. -
Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill was the first major battle of the War for Independence. -
Olive Branch Petition
A proposal requesting the recognition of American rights and an end to the Intolerable Acts. George III denied the proposal and stated the colonies were in open rebellion. -
Common Sense
Common Sense was written by Thomas Paine. He wrote this pamphlet to show American colonists there was only one way to protect their rights and declare their independence. -
Declaration of Independence
The final text for the Declaration of Independence was approved two days after being formally declared. The Declaration of Independence was a proclamation that the American colonies were no longer part of the British Empire.