The Birth of Discontent

By 1319542

  • Proclomation of 1763

    The Proclamation of 1763 restricted where colonists could settle, while also giving back certain lands to Native Americans and restricting purchases of these lands. The colonists refused to follow these new restrictions and continued to move west and make land purchases.

  • Sugar Act

    In order to help prevent sugar and molasses being smuggled into the colonies this act was passed to reduce the taxes on those goods while increasing the tax on wine, lumber, and other regularly used goods of the colonists.
    The colonists again boycotted the items that were being taxed, and even sent 50 individual letters to Parliament.

  • Stamp Act

    This act made it so that any form of documentation or writing material were taxed in the form of a stamp before they were sent off. The colonists boycotted goods, rioted, and attacked tax collectors.

  • Quartering Act

    The Quartering Act required colonists to provide housing for any British soldiers living in the colonies that were enforcing the multiple acts and the Proclamation of 1763. The colonists believed that it violated the Bill of Rights of 1689, so they refused to follow it and would not pay to house the troops.

  • Declaratory Act

    The declaratory act gave Parliament the authority to tax in America as they had in Britain. This caused the colonists to start smuggling goods and bribing tax collectors in order to avoid taxation.

  • Townshend Act

    This act put an indirect tax on lead, glass, oil, paper, paint, and tea. The Colonists responded by boycotting these imports, and the many protests led to the Boston Massacre in 1770.

  • Boston Massacre

    The British posted 4,00 soldiers in Boston in the October of 1768. Tensions eventually rose between a merchant and sentry, then this small disagreement became a massacre once multiple people and soldiers surrounded the sentry after he hit the merchant with the butt of his musket. The colonist in response reassembled the Council of Correspondance.

  • The Gaspee Affair

    The Gaspee ship was being ran by William Dudingston, and it was accused of seizing colonial cargo and supplies withou payment, amongst other illegal actions. In respone a group of colonists burned the ship down after shooting Dudingston.

  • The Tea Act

    The Tea Act was put in place to replace the Townshend Acts. In response the colonists dressed as indians and had the BOston Tea Party.

  • Quebec Act

    This act was intended to give religous freedom to Catholics in Canada and supress rebeeliions in Massachusetts to isolate it from the other colonies, but the colonists in the other colonies joined forces with Massachussetts in order to form a united defense against the British at the First Continental Congress.

  • The First Continental Congress

    In response to the recent eventsof the time the First Continental Congress was held to discuss a new united front against the British. It also wrote a petition to the king for the repeal fo the intolerable acts. In the end the colonies boycotted all British goods.