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The Stamp Act
A direct tax imposed by British Parliament specifically on the colonies of British America. It required that many printed materials in the colonies be produced on stamped paper produced in London, carrying an embossed revenue stamp. The purpose of the tax was to help pay for troops stationed in North America after the British victory in the Seven Years' War. The 13 British Colonies were united in the position that the Act was unconstitutional since they were not represented in the Parliament. -
1st Meeting of the Colonies
From October 7th - 25th, representatives from many of the British colonies met in New York City in order to devise a united protest against new British taxation. -
The Declaratory Act of 1766
This act is also known as the American Colonies Act. It accompanied the repeal of the Stamp Act and stated that Parliament's authority was the same in America as in Britain and asserted Parliament's authority to pass laws binding on American colonies. -
The Townshend Acts
Five acts are considered to be part of the Townshend Acts: the Revenue Act, the Indemnity Act, the Commissioners of Customs Act, the Vice Admiralty Court Act, and the New York Restraining Act. These acts were the idea of Charles Townshend in order to raise tax revenue. The money was to be used to pay the salaries of governors and judges so they would be independent of colonial rule. -
Boston Massacre
British Army soldiers fired shots into a crowd of angry colonists and killed five men. The angry crowd was harrassing and insulting a soldier, who was joined by other soldiers before the shots were fired. This event galvanized colonists against the throne. -
Boston Tea Party
As a boycott of taxes on tea, and after officials in Boston refused to return three shiploads of taxed tea to Britain, a group of colonists boarded the ships and destroyed the tea by throwing it into Boston Harbor. The incident remains an iconic event of American history, and other political protests often refer to it. -
The Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts were a series of laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 as a punishment for the colonists' Boston Tea Party. The Boston Port Act was passed on March 3rd, 1774. The Massachusetts Government Act and the Administration of Justice Act were passed on May 20th, 1774. The Quartering Act was passed on June 2nd, 1774. -
The Boston Port Act
On March 30, 1774, the British Parliament set up a blockade of the Boston Port as a response to the Boston Tea Party. This angered all the colonists, including the Loyalists because it harmed them all. The port was patrolled by the Royal Navy to enforce this law. -
First Continental Congress
Fifty-six delegates from 12 of the 13 colonies met to coordinate protest of the British taxes. The meeting included such notable men as George Washington, Patrick Henry, John Adams, and Samuel Adams. Georgia was the only colony not represented. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War.[9][10] They were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy (present-day Arlington), and Cambridge, near Boston. The battles marked the outbreak of open armed conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and its thirteen colonies in the mainland of British North America. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that started meeting on May 10, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon after warfare in the American Revolutionary War had begun.The second Congress managed the colonial war effort, and moved incrementally towards independence, adopting the United States Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. -
The Declaration of Independence
Declaration of Independence
4 Jul 1776 July 4, 1776 The Declaration of Independence was approved. The Declaration has four major sections. The Preamble, or introducion, states that people who wish to form a new country should explain their reasons for doing so. The next two sections list the rights the colonists believed they should have and their complaints against Britain. The Final section proclaims the existence of the new nation. -
Treaty of Paris
The British Empire formally abandoned any claims to the United States.
