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Sugar Act
The Sugar Act signed in 1764, lowered taxes from the Molasses Act (1773). The goal of the Sugar Act was to decrease smuggling among the colonies, for example, sugar from the West Indies that was being brought in. An indirect tax was added to the cost of sugar that way the colonies wouldn't see the tax being added. This also gave British customs officials Writs of Assistance, which means they could search property without a warrant, to try and find smugglers and decrease the amount of smuggling. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was a direct tax on all printed goods (newspapers, books, etc.) The tax ranged from $0.01-$10 depending on the item. -
Quartering Act
The Quartering Act of 1765 made the colonial legislatures responsible for paying for and providing barracks to house British troops in the colonies. Other accommodations for the British troops were places like inns, livery stables, ale houses (bars), and other public houses. Relationships between British soldiers and colonists were often tense and sometimes led to violence. As a result, many colonists were outraged and got aggressive toward British troops which led to the Boston massacre. -
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Act repealed and essentially replaced the Stamp Act of 1765. This put a tax on glass, lead, paint, tea, and other goods. The money collected from taxes on these goods was used to pay the salaries of British soldiers stationed in the colonies. As a result, the colonists boycotted British goods once again to avoid paying these taxes. The Townshend acts were repealed 4 years later in 1770. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a confrontation in 1770, in which a group of nine British soldiers fired 13 shots at colonists in a crowd of three or four hundred colonists throwing snowballs, ice chunks, and clubs at the soldiers. The effects of the Boston Massacre are that 6 colonists are shot and killed by British soldiers. This helped Boston to unite the colonies against Great Britain. The Boston Massacre helped spark the colonist's fight for American independence. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea party was a result of the Tea Act of 1773. This act put a tax on tea, which was heavily consumed by American colonists, During the Boston Tea party, the Sons of Liberty (led by Samuel Adams and John Hancock) dumped 442 chests of Tea into the Boston harbor. Great Britain takes this as a threat to British rule and then decides to try and reduce the colonies to a state of dependence. Essentially as a punishment, Great Britain enacts the Intolerable (coercive) Acts upon the colonies. -
1st Continental Congress
The first Continental Congress was formed as a result of the intolerable acts. Representatives from all of the colonies except Georgia met in Philidelphia to answer 2 main questions: What are our rights? And how should we defend them? The continental congress then planned out boycotts to protest the Intolerable acts. -
Intolerable (coercive) Acts PT. 1
The Intolerable acts were a combination of 4 different Acts: the Boston Port Act, the Massachusetts Government Act, the Justice Act, and the 2nd Quartering Act. The Boston Port Act closed the port of Boston until all damages from the Boston Tea Party were paid for by the colonists. The Massachusetts Government Act gave the British governor complete control over town meetings and took the right of self-government away from the colonists. -
Intolerable (coercive) Acts PT.2
The Justice Act stated that British officials could not be tried in a court in the colonies, They were sent back to Britain to be tried for their crimes there. This effectively gave the British free reign do to whatever they wanted because they couldn't be tried for their crimes in the colonies. The 2nd Quartering Act allowed British troops to be housed in private homes and facilities in the colonies. And forced the colonists to feed and take care of these soldiers so they treated them poorly. -
Intolerable (coercive) Acts PT. 3
The Quebec Act of 1774 extended the Canadian Borders to cut off the western colonies of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Virginia. The Intolerable Acts led to the unexpected outbreak of public concern throughout the colonies which then led to the creation of the First Continental Congress (1774). -
Olive Branch Petition
The Olive Branch Petition was a letter written to King George III by the First Continental Congress. The Olive Branch Petition contained 3 things: A cease-fire request for Boston, It asked King George III to repeal the Intolerable acts, and to define of the colonist's rights. But the King sees this as a joke and declares the colonies in a state of rebellion. As a result, the colonies come together to prepare for war against Great Britain. -
Declaration of Independence
The United States Declaration of Independence was written by the 2nd Continental congress. And stated the reasons for the colonies separating from Great Britain, giving a list of grievances. Which was a unanimous decision by all thirteen colonies to separate from Great Britain and become a new country, the United States of America. As a result, the colonies had to be fully committed to fight the American Revolutionary War.