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The Enlightenment
The Enlightenment was a time of philosophers, or thinkers, as well as science. It was to further reason and intellect, and make us a more secular society. For a rating, it might be a six on the subject of contributing to the revolution, because it sparked many ideas of freedom and different government. This definitely helped America become a country, but it was not a major role. -
The French and Indian War
In 1756, England, as well as the colonists, fought in a war against the French, which took place here in North America. England was given a substantial debt to pay for the war so they taxed the colonists. It might be considered a six in a rating because it taxed the colonists with not much of a good reason, causing anger most likely. -
Proclamation Line of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 forbidded colonists from moving west of the Appalachian Mountains, to prevent unwanted conflicts with the natives. A good rating might be a five, because it was another small part in bringing the colonists over the edge. -
Stamp Act
the Stamp Act required all printed documents to have a stamp, which included, but was not limited to, fliers, playing cards, and newspapers. As a result, the colonists began to boycott British goods. The act was repealed because of it. It could be rated an eight because it was a major step in revolting; many people were very unhappy, which caused the boycotts. -
The Boston Massacre
When colonial protesters angered British troops in Boston, and a fight ensued, where five deaths occured. It was radically exaggerated, for propaganda purposes. On a rating of 1-10, this would most likely be a nine because it caused people to get even angrier and wanting to fight against the British. -
The Tea Act
The Tea Act, established in 1773, placed a new, higher tax on tea. This led to a protest, the Boston Tea Party. So a good rating would be seven, due to it being the cause of a major event. -
Boston Tea Party
The Sons of Liberty, an intellectual group, staged a protest in which they dressed as Mohawk Indians, and threw hundreds of cases of tea, off of British boats and into the Boston harbor. A respectable rating would be a nine because this event also caused a greta deal of people to becomed riled, especially with a strange potest such as this one. -
The Intolerable Acts
As a form of punishment for happening of the Boston Tea Party, the British instituted three new acts:
The Boston Port Act- no ships were allowed to leave or enter the Boston harbor, resulting terribly for residents. The Quartering Act- colonists were forced to house and feed English soldiers. The Administration of Justice Act- no trial by jury allowed in the colonies. This would be rated a nine on a scale of importance because these acts infuriated colonists, it reduced liberties. -
First Continental Congress
Delegates from 12 of colonies met in Philadelphia to talk about the Intolerable Acts. A letter was sent to King George III asking that he repeal the acts, but no such thing occured. This event might be rated an eight because the refusal of King George III only continued to agrivate colonists and gave them the will to detach from England. -
Lexington and Concord
Briish troops had believed that weapons were being stored in Massachusetts, more specifically, Concord. On the way, they had been confronted by farmers and militia members at Lexington. The British troops had ended up defeating the colonials at Lexington, then again in Concord. This event could be rated an eight on importance because despite the defeat, many more colonists volunteered to fight, which definitely helped move things forward. -
Second Continental Congress
For a second time, delegates met to discuss pressing issues. This time the met to speak of the battles in Massachusetts. About half of the delegates were forindependence, and about half were not. In the end, most delegates had decided to support independence of the colonies, and so a committee was arranged to write a declaration. A good rating of importance could be a ten because this was when it was decided that the colonies would declare indepence. -
The Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was accepted by congress on July 4, 1776. The Declaration was written with ideas from John Locke (such as natural rights and life, liberty, and property) and ideas from Rousseau (like "All men are created equal"). It was also stated that we not only had the right to become independent, it was our responsibility to do so. On a rating of importance in the revolution, it would definitely be a ten. It is what made us a country, and what has given us freedom.
