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Proclamation Line
The Proclamation line of 1763 set by Great Britain's King Gorge III restricted the expansion of colonies west of the Appalachian Mountains. This forbids settlement in Ohio River Valley. The effect of this was the colonist became angry and rebelled against it. They moved west anyway because they felt it went against their right of property. -
Sugar Act
The Sugar Act of 1764 placed taxes on sugar but also lowered the taxes on molasses. In an attempt to decrease smuggling they gave custom officials Writs of Assistance, which gave them freedom to search colonist property for any reason. In return the colonists rebelled because they felt the it violated their freedoms, particularly the right to property. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp act placed by Great Britain places tax on all printed goods. The tax ranged from 1 cent on newspapers to $10 for diplomas. Again the colonists began to get angry because printed goods were very popular for sending messages, reading, etc. In response to this the colonists began boycotting. The sons and daughters of liberty created a non-importation agreement so Britain couldn't import certain goods. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre in 1770 was what started out to just be a street fight between Colonists and British Soldiers. The colonists began by throwing snowballs, ice chunks, and a club at the British Soldiers, that is when Captain Preston commanded the soldiers to load their guns. 13 shots were fired killing 6 colonists. This even created lots of tension between the two parties. More boycotts, and taxation happened after this. -
Boston Tea Party
In response to the tea act of 1773 colonists disguised themselves Native Americans and loaded a British ship carrying barrels of tea. They dumped hundreds of barrels into Boston Bay. Damage to cargo is estimated to be around $1-3 million. Great Britain saw this as a "threat to British rule". -
Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts were acts made by the British rule in order to punish the colonists for the Boston Tea Party. The Boston Port Act, Massachusetts Government Act, and the Justice Act were some of the big ones. The colonists were outraged by this because they couldn't ship anything out or into the colonies. This is when the First Continental Congress met and discussed a boycott on on British goods. -
1st Continental Congress
The First Continental Meeting was an inter-colonial meeting in Pennsylvania to discuss the new Intolerable Acts and a possible complete boycott. The meeting prioritized two questions. What are their rights, and how they should defend them. In the end, most of the colonists agreed to boycott British goods. -
Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The British prepared to surprise the colonists and seize their colonial leaders and munitions, instead the colonists had a spy system set up led by Paul Revere. The shot heard round the world began these battles, killing 8 militia. This was important because the British plan was no longer secretive. -
Olive Branch Petition
The Olive Branch Petition was proposed at the second Continental Congress by John Dickinson who was against war and independence. The petition urges Great Britain to avoid war between the two. King George III refused to even consider it and call it a joke. This strengthened the influence and position of the men like John Adams and Samuel Adams who favored Independence. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a document announcing the united states independence from Britain. The declaration helped unify the colonies so that they all fought together. The colonists made this Declaration because they felt their rights were violated numerous times and they deserved freedom. Although the war didn't end until 1783 this document ultimately gained American independence.