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Proclamtion of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 was a law passed by Great Britain which prohibited the colonists from settling west of the Appalachian mountains. The law also required fur traders to obtain royal permission before entering the territory. -
Sugar Act of 1764
Parliament passed the Sugar Act of 1764. This act imposed a duty, or import tax, on foreign sugar, molasses, and several other items entering Great Britain's American colonies. -
Stamp Act 1765
The Stamp Act was an act set by Great Britain that taxed legal documents. It was put in place to pay off the debt that Great Britain owed from the French and Indian War. At this point in time, England did have political control over the colonies, but colonists were starting to rebel. The Stamp Act placed a tax on printed matter of all kinds: advertisements, diplomas, legal documents, newpapers, and playing cards. These materials had to be printed on stamped paper or have special stamps attached. -
Quartering Act 1765
Law enacted by Parliament; required colonists to house and supply British troops. -
Stamp Act Congress 1765
Delegates from nine colonies who gathered in New York City to voice their rejection of the Stamp Act and to deny Parliament's right to tax the colonies. -
Declaratory Act 1766
Law passed by Parliament that asserted its right to make laws governing its American colonies. -
Townshend Acts 1767
Parliament passed the Townshed Acts in 1767. These laws placed import duties in such common items as tea, lead, glass, and dyes for paint. British customs officials revived the use of special search warrants calles writes of assistance to enforce the Townshend Acts. -
Boston Massacre 1770
A mob of colonists started to insult and throw stones, oyster shells, snowballs, and wood at British soldiers. Redcoats (the British) got nervous and shot seven shots, killing five of the colonists. The colonists ended up calling this the Boston Massacre. -
Tea Act 1773
An act passed by the British Parliament in 1773 to reduce the tax on tea shipped to the colonies. It allowed the British East India Company to sell tea to the American colonies at a price lower than that of smuggled tea and to create a monopoly of the tea trade in the colonies. Americans saw the act as a violation of their constitutional rights. -
Boston Tea Party 1773
Protests against the Tea Act in which a group of colonists boarded British tea ships and dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor. -
Coercive Acts 1774
The Coercive Acts were four laws passed by Parliament to punish colonists for the Boston Tea Party and to tighten government control of the colonies. The Coercive Acts included the Massachusetts Government Act, the Administration of Justice Act, the Boston Port Act, and the Quartering Act. -
Quebec Act 1774
The Quebec Act of 1774 was a law enacted by Parliament. It extended Quebec's boundary south to the Ohio River and granted full religious freedom to French Roman Catholics. -
1st Continental Congress 1774
Convention fo colonial delegates to discuss their grievances against Parliament. -
Battles of Lexington/Concord 1775
On April 19, 1775, British General Thomas Gage sent 700 soldiers to destroy guns and ammunition the colonists had stored in the town of Concord, just outside of Boston. They also planned to arrest Samuel Adams and John Hancock, two of the key leaders of the patriot movement. -
2nd Continental Congress 1775
A meeting of colonists in Philadelphia to decide how to react to the fight at Lexington and Concord. -
Olive Branch Petition 1775
Delegates sent the Olive Branch Petition to King George III in which they claimed that the King's ministers in the colonies were corrupt and had forced the colonists to fight. The colonists urged the King to put an end to the fighting and return to peace. Rather than agree with the colonists, King George instead declared that the colonies were in rebellion. -
Declaration of Independence 1776
The United States Declaration of Independence is a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain were now independent states, and thus no longer a part of the British Empire. Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration is a formal explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain.
