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Writ of Assistance
A general search warrant that allowed British customs officials to search any colonial ship or building they believed to be holding smuggled goods. -
The Sugar Act and the Colonists' Response
Britain had borrowed so much money during the war that national debt nearly doubled. To lower the debt, financial expert George Grenville became prime minister. Grenville accused colonists of smuggling goods in without paying duties. He prompted the Sugar Act, which halved the duty on foreign-made molasses to get colonists to pay lower tax rather than smuggle, placed new taxes on specific imports, and provided colonists accused of violation be tried in court. Angry colonists complained. -
Sons of Liberty is Formed & Samuel Adams
Boston shopkeepers, artisans, and laborers organized a secret resistance group called the Sons of LIberty to protest the Stamp Act. Samuel Adams - one of the founders of the Sons of Liberty - led the colonists in a boycott against British goods (see Boston Tea Party). -
Declaratory Act
An act that asserted Parliament's full right "to bind the colonies and people of America in all cases whatsoever." -
Townshend Acts & Colonists' Response
Acts taxed goods that were imported into the colony from Britain, such as lead, glass, paint, paper, and tea. The colonists protested "taxation without representation" and organized a boycott of imported goods (see Boston Tea Party). -
Why the Townshend Acts Were Repealed
The Acts were costing more to enforce than they would ever bring in: in their first year, the taxes raised only 295 pounds, while the cost of sending British troops to Boston was over 170,000 pounds. All but the tax on tea were repealed. -
Boston Massacre
A mob gathered in front of the Boston Customs House and taunted the British soldiers standing guard there. Shots were fired and five colonists, including Crispus Attucks, were killed or mortally wounded. -
The Tea Act
The act granted the British East India Company the right to sell tea to the colonies free of the taxes that colonial tea sellers had to pay. This action would have cut colonial merchants out of the tea trade by enabling the East India Company to sell its tea directly to consumers for less. -
Boston Tea Party
On the moonlit evening of December 16, 1773, a large group of Boston revels disguised themselves as Native Americans and proceeded to take action against three British tea ships anchored in the harbor. In this incident, the "Indians" dumped 18,000 pounds of the East India Company's tea into the waters of the Boston harbor. -
Intolerable Acts
One law shut down Boston harbor. Another, the Quartering Act, authorized British commanders to house soldiers in vacant private homes and other buildings. In addition, General Thomas Gage, commander-in-chief of British forces in North America, was appointed the new governor of Massachusetts. To keep the peace, he placed Boston under martial law, or rule imposed by military forces. -
Minutemen
Minutemen were civilian soldiers who pledged to be ready to fight against the British on a minute's notice. -
The First Continental Congress Meets
In response to Britain's actions, the committees of correspondence assembled the First Continental Congress. In September 1774, 56 delegates met in Philadelphia and drew up a declaration of colonial rights. They defended the colonies' right to run their own affairs and stated that, if the British used force against the colonies, the colonies should fight back. -
The Second Continental Congress
Colonial leaders called the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia to debate their next move. The loyalties that divided colonists sparked endless debates at the Second Continental Congress. Some delegates called for independence, while others argued for reconciliation with Great Britain. -
The Olive Branch Petition
Though still hoping for peace, the Second Continental Congress was readying the colonies for war. Most of the delegates, like most colonists, felt deep loyalty to George III and blamed the bloodshed on the king's ministers. On July 8, Congress sent the king the so-called Olive Branch Petition, urging a return to "the former harmony" between Britain and the colonies. King George flatly rejected the petition and issued a proclamation that the colonies were in rebellion. -
The Continental Army
Despite the differences of the Second Continental Congress, the Congress agreed to recognize the colonial militia as the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander. -
The Publication of Common Sense
In a widely read 50-page pamphlet titled Common Sense, Thomas Paine attacked King George and the monarchy. Paine, a recent immigrant, argued that responsibility for British tyranny lay with "the royal brute of Britain." Paine explained that his own revolt against the king had begun with Lexington and Concord. He declared that independence would allow America to trade more freely, and they could make a better society free from tyranny and with equal opportunities. It sold 500,000 copes in 1776. -
The Declaration of Independence
While talk on the motion of free states was under way, the Congress appointed a committee to prepare a formal Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson was chosen to write the final draft. It declared "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness" to be "unalienable" rights. It said a government's legitimate power can only come from the consent of the governed, and the people have the right to "alter or abolish" the government that denies those rights. It listed the violations of Britain. -
French-American Alliance
The British surrender at Saratoga bolstered France's belief that the Americans could win the war, and as a result, the French signed an alliance with the Americans in February 1778 and openly joined them in their fight. -
Treaty of Paris
In September 1783, the delegates signed the Treaty of Paris, which confirmed U.S. independence and set the boundaries of the new nation. The United States now stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River and from Canada to the Florida border.
