Road to the Revolution Timeline

By 18sknox

  • The Molasses Act

    The Molasses Act was placed tax on Molasses, Sugar, and Rum that was imported. Molasses from anywhere except from Great Britain was taxed to control trade in the colonies. This forced colonists to only buy from the British, which was too expensive. This caused smuggling into the colonies. Since the British did not stop colonists from smuggling, it became a common trend to avoid taxation. Salutary Neglect contributed to the increasing autonomy, which eventually led to Americas independence.

  • Proclamation of 1763

    This occurred after the French and Indian War, banning all settlement past a line drew along the Appalachian Mountains.This ended westward expansion,when the French had to pass land over to the British after they lost the war.The British wanted to move into land they won from the war,but the Natives did not like this.They believed every man should have the right to life, liberty and property.After fighting for 7 years,the British wanted to end the French fur trade,because they were monopolizing.

  • The Sugar Act

    The sugar act, replaced the Molasses Act. This added an indirect tax to the cost of sugar and other related items. This also gave the British representatives the ability to search homes and shipping vessels without a warrant. This would take away a merchants right to property and privacy, also taking the merchants time to search their large vessels. This angered colonists, because hadn't done anything wrong, and the British were searching their things without warrants.

  • The Stamp Act

    The Stamp Act provided a tax on all printed goods. This was a direct tax on each item that was paid separately ranging from $1-$10.This was an additional tax on top of the already existing taxes, that made colonists feel as if there rights were being violated. The Sons of Liberty organized protests to boycott printed goods so that the British was not receive their money. This leaded to the Stamp Act Congress, where elected representatives were sent to protest together.

  • The Quartering Act

    The Quartering Act required Americans to provide shelter and food for British soldiers stationed in their colony. The colonists resented this act because they had to pay for provisions through taxes, and the British passed this act in order to save money. Colonists were mad because they were paying for soldiers they did not want in their colony, let alone their home. The 7 year war, ended many years ago, so there was no reason for red jackets to be in the colonies.

  • The Townshend Acts

    The Townshend Acts were a series of Acts passed by Great Britain. These acts put taxes on glass,paints, lead, paper and tea imported into the colonies. They raised the Revenue in colonies to pay for salaries of governors and judges to ensure their loyalty to Great Britain. The Townshend Acts also enforced trade regulations. Most Americans saw these Acts as abuse of power, leading to the repeal of the Townshend Acts in 1770, only leaving a tax on tea.

  • The Boston Massacre

    The Boston Massacre began as a street fight between British soldiers and colonists. Colonists irritated British soldiers, until eventually a British soldiers killed 5 colonists, but there is no way to know who fired first. This pushed the colonists to want independence from the British and because the colonists were outraged that British soldiers killed there people. John Adams then defended soldiers in court, where they were found not guilty. Colonists were now enraged.

  • The Tea Act

    The Tea Act was designed to help the British East India Company by taxing tea, that was financially facing bankruptcy and burdened with 18 million pounds of unsold tea. This was to made to cause revenue in the colonies, but colonists were turning the ships back, leaving the tea to rot or did not unload the ships so that Britons were receiving their money. This led to the Boston Tea Party, eventually leading to the American Revolution.

  • The Boston Tea Party

    The Boston Tea Party, was led by Samuel Adams and colonists who dressed as Mohawks. They destroyed an entire ship filled with tea from the British East India Company. The damage costs were between $1- $3 million. With this rebellion, it showed that colonists were going to accept the taxes put on their goods from the British. The colonists threw chests of Tea into the Boston Harbor. This eventually escalated into the American Revolution when the British government responded aggressively.

  • The Coercive and Intolerable Acts

    These Acts were adopted by the British after the Tea Party outrage. These were meant to punish the colonists. The five acts, restricted town meetings, closed the Boston Port until the damages from the tea party were paid for, allowed British officials immune to criminal prosecution, required colonists to house British troops, and extended freedom of worships of Catholics in Canada. The goal was to cut Boston from the rest of the colonies, but ended with other colonies coming to help Boston.