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1st Quartering Act
The quartering act was a law passed that enforced that Americans must house and feed British soldiers in the colonies. This angered the colonists. Housing soldiers meant less privacy and more money having to be spent in order to feed everyone. They also didn't want to do it simply because of how badly the British had been treating them. The colonists firmly believed in freedom, privacy and property. This law was a tremendous violation of all of those beliefs. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was a tax on every sheet of legal documents. This law was put in place because the British needed money to pay back their war debt. This tax was a direct tax. The colonists didn't believe this was fair and decided to boycott British goods. They also organized The Sons of Liberty and The Daughters of Liberty. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a clash between the British soldiers and a group colonists. The colonists were still angry about the quartering act and decided to throw snowballs at the soldiers which resulted in hitting them with clubs causing the soldiers to shoot to defend themselves. The result of this clash were five colonists killed, men and boys. John Adams defended the soldiers in court further angering the colonists. The soldiers were found not guilty. -
Tea Act
The Tea Act was a tax on tea. Tea was a very famous and widely drank beverage so the colonists became very angry. The British East India CO. became in danger of becoming bankrupt. The colonials were so angry The Sons of Liberty arranged a protest against the Tea Act. It was what is known as the Boston Tea Party. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was executed as a sign of rebellion. The colonials dumped 342 barrels of tea into the harbor. This resulted in $1-3 million of tea to be destroyed. This was seen as a threat to the british rule. King George was angry and punished those directly involved, as well as reducing the colonies to a state of dependence. The final result of all of this chaos was the Intolerable Acts. -
Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts were four strict laws that gave the British a sense of more control over the colonies. They closed the Boston port until the colonists paid for all the tea they destroyed. They forbade meetings without the governors permission and made a second quartering acts. The last law they made allowed any soldier with a capitol offense to be free. This angered the colonists to the point where they started the revolutionary war. -
Declaration of Independence
Representatives from the colonies had met to discuss what to do about Britian's unfair treatment. They decided to form their own nation. The declaration of independence was a list of grievances that expressed the American's mind. Jefferson was chosen as the author and everybody besides Dickenson signed. It was officially passed on July 4th 1776. After this it was time for war.