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Washington arrives on outskirts of Boston with Continental
- Realizes men are disorganized and need discipline
- Need Weapons
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Sugar Act
- Indirect tax (out of sight = out of mind)
- Duties on molasses and sugar
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Stamp Act
- Tax on all paper products
- Official stamp/seal on all paper items (Proof tax was paid)
- Legal documents
- Licenses
- Newspapers
- Pamphlets
- Playing cards
- Purchased only with valuable silver coins
- If didnt purchase = fined or jailed
- Protested stamp act, Feeling rights were violated
Direct Tax- (In your face)
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Quartering Acts
- Quartering Act required colonists to house soldiers
- “If a soldier comes knocking at the door…. you’re sleeping on the floor”
- Quartering Act required colonists to house soldiers
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Declaratory Act
- Parliament declares it has powers to make laws for the colonies “in all cases whatsoever”
- Parliament passes this to save face
- Declaratory Act, 1766
“Parliament had the right to rule and tax the colonies.”
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Townshend Act
- Taxes on glass, lead, paints, paper, and tea
- Searched for smuggled goods
- Sons on Liberty start to do violent acts -British Soldiers arrive to protect tax collectors
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Boston Masasre
- Crowd gathers and hassles soldier, throwing snowballs and shouting insults.
- More troops arrive, colonists get more and more angry
- “Fire if you dare!”
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Tea Act
- Passed in 1773 and allowed British East India Company (BEIC) to sell tea directly to colonists
- Lower Prices than colonist merchant prices
- Tax Tea cheaper than smuggled tea
- Less smuggling = more tax money
- Colonial merchants feared BEIC would put them out of business
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Boston Tea Party
- Members of Sons of Liberty Dump over 340 chests of tea into Boston Harbor
- “Boston harbor is a teapot tonight!”
- Caused problems for loyalists /Tories
-Loyalist/Tory = a person in the
Colony who remains “loyal” to the King & Great Britain
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Intolerable Acts
- Passed to punish Boston for Tea Party
- Boston Harbor Closed until tea paid for
- Massachusetts Charter cancelled
- Royal officials had trial in Britain
- Large amount of land given to Quebec
- General Thomas Gage became new governor of MA
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First Continental Congress meet
- All colonies but Georgia have representative -voted to send a "statement of grievances" -Voted to Boycott all British Trade -Patrick Henry -- VA. urged colonists to unite against Britain.
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Midnight ride of Paul Revere
Paul Revere rides to warn the SOns of Liberty in Lexington and Concord that “The British are coming… The British are coming” -
Battles of Lexington & Concord
Battle of Lexington-
1st battle of American Revolutionary War
“Shot heard round the world” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
BRITISH VICTORY Battle of concord-
Americans Stop British and force them to retreat back to Boston -
Capture of Fort Ticonderoga
Benedict Arnold & Ethan Alen Capture the fort
Get all supplies in the fort including cannons
AMERICAN victory -
Second Continental Congress meet
- Print $$$
- Set up Post office
- Created a Continental Army led by George Washington
- Sent Olive Branch asking the King to protect their rights. -King hires 30,000 Hessian Soldiers in response.
- Print $$$
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Battle of Bunker Hill
- Fought on Breed’s Hill
- “Don’t Fire until you see the whites on their eyes” - William Prescott
- BRITISH Victory (Amerians ran out of ammunition) British learn defeating Americans would NOT be easy.
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“Common Sense” Published by Thomas Paine
- Pamphlet inspires more colonists to become patriots
- “Everything that is right or reasonable pleads for separation. The blood of the slain, the weeping voice of nature of cries, “TIS TIME TO PART” -Thomas Paine, Common Sense
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British Surrender Boston
- Washington Belives his Army is ready & weapons arrive
- Washington puts cannons on Dorchester Heights overlooking Boston
- BRITISH retreat -- AMERICAN Vicotry
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Second Continental Congress meet again
-Debate on declaring independence
-Thamas Jefferson is the primary author of the document -
Second Continental Congress votes for Independence
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The declaration of independence is signed!!