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Causes of the American Revolution
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End of the French and Indian War
The French and Indian War was when the Colonists and British soldiers were fighting the Native Americans and the French for land in the Ohio River Valley. They needed the valley for farm land and space. The result was that the French lost all their land in North America and the British got Florida from Spain, French land east of the Mississippi River and parts of Canada. The colonists were happy to get the land, but were upset that the British started taxing them for the price of the war. -
The Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 was when King George III said colonists could not move west of the Appalachian Mountains. The colonists were mad about it because the king would not protect them from Indian attacks. They ignored him and moved west anyways. -
Sugar Act
The sugar act was a tax on sugar and molasses. The colonists didn't like this idea because they believed it was "Taxation without Representation” because they have no representative in parliament. The colonist's response to this act was to boycott the taxed sugar and to smuggle the illegal sugar much like people do with drugs today. -
Quartering Act
The Quartering Acts forced colonists to house British soldiers stationed in their colony. It was a violation of the colonist’s rights and they were outraged! The colonists refused and there was quite a bit of violence towards British soldiers. The colonists got mad at the British and it brought more violence between the two. -
Stamp Act
The stamp act was a special tax on stamps for legal documents like wills birth certificates, newspapers, dice, cards and contracts. This once again upset the colonist's because they didn't have a say in parliament. They boycotted and sent petitions to the king. The colonists also smuggled theses items with the special tax. This brought on a lot of violence too. -
Townshend Acts
This was a tax on imports like glass, paper, and tea. This brought up Writs of Assistance, which allowed British officers to search colonial ships for smuggled goods. The colonists felt as if this was again, "Taxation without Representation" and violated their rights. The merchants signed a non-importation agreement and more boycotts occurred. -
The Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was when several British soldiers shot and killed five colonists. The colonists threw ice and rocks, as well as made fun of the soldiers. The colonists felt like this was just the beginning of hard times yet to come. -
Tea Act
The tea act allowed colonists to import British tea directly from India. The British still taxed tea, but it was cheaper than ever before. Colonists saw it as a trick to be without a representation parliament. The tea act lead to the Intolerable Acts. -
The Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was when the Sons of Liberty dumped crates of British Tea into the Boston Harbor. The Boston Tea Party led to the Intolerable Acts and then the First Continental Congress. The Intolerable Acts were a punishment for all the chaos. -
Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts were punishments for Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party. The banned town meeting and closed the Boston Harbor until all the tea was paid for. There was also a new quartering act. The colonists were outraged and felt as if these punishments were way too harsh. All the other colonies supported Massachusetts and then held the First Continental Congress. -
The First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress, was a meeting of representatives from 12 of the 13 colonies in Pennsylvania, They discussed how to respond to the Intolerable Acts. They decided to demand a repeal of Intolerable Acts and create new boycotts. All colonies also had fully trained militias. This lead to the colonists disobeying the British, which then lead to Paul Revere’s Ride. -
Paul Revere's Midnight Ride
"The British are coming! The British are coming!", was yelled as Paul Revere made his famous midnight ride through Masachusetts to warn everone that the British ships were in sight and the were ready to attack. This helped the colonists so the minute men could wait for the ships in the harbor. -
Lexington and Concord
The Lexington and Concord was the first battle in the Revolutionary War. It was also called "The Shot Heard 'Round the World" becasue it was the offical start of the American Revolution.This took place at Lexington, Massachusetts and where the minutemen and British soldiers met. No one knows who fired the first shot but there are many stories that tell you it was either British or the American Colonist. Still no one knows.
