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The French and Indian War
The French and Indian War was fought between the French and British. Both countries wanted access to the profitable fur trade business and the cheap fertile land west of the Appalachian Mountains. Although the British lost majority of the initial battles they ultimately won the war. The war caused relations to worsen between the British and the Colonists. The colonists were angry with the Proclamation Line of 1763 and the taxes they were forced to pay. -
The Sugar Act
The British Parliament passed the Sugar Act in 1764 in order to help pay for their debt from the French and Indian War as well as to pay for the troops guarding the Proclamation Line of 1763. It forced the colonists to pay a 3 cent tax on goods like sugar, coffee, indigo and certain kinds of alcohol. The colonists were not happy with this law because they had no say in parliament. The slogan “No Taxation without Representation” became popular in the colonies. -
The Stamp Act
The British Parliament passed the Stamp Act in 1765 in order to support the British soldiers protecting the Proclamation Line. The Stamp Act required that a tax was placed on paper documents such as court papers, newspapers, playing cards, etc. The colonists were outraged because they were paying for troops that were keeping them out of the land they had just fought for in the French and Indian War and they still had no representation in Parliament. This led to an increase in colonial protests. -
Sons of Liberty
The Sons of Liberty was a secret political organization. It started in Boston and New York. This was open to any males that wanted to protest. The people in this group were very violent, hot headed, and made impulsive decisions. The colonists were happy about this because it was the start of their protesting. -
Townshend Acts
The British Parliament passed the Townshend Act to cover the cost of the the French and Indian War and to reinforce England’s authority. They had to do this because the lost authority when the Stamp Act failed. Tax was placed on items such as paper, glass, paint, and tea. The colonists could do very little to protest, but they would smuggle in imports from England. The colonists stood persistent and finally the Parliament repealed the Townshend Acts. -
Boston Massacre
There was a violent confrontation between the British soldiers and the colonists in Boston. The colonists provoked the soldiers to fire at them by yelling “Fire” and attacking them with clubs. The soldiers meant no harm to the colonists, but when they heard the word “Fire” they thought it came from their leader, so they fired. This worsens their relationship even more because the colonists believed they didn’t do anything wrong and that they weren’t the ones who started this incident. -
The Tea Act
This new tax law was not designed to raise taxes in the colonies, it was created to help the East India Company with their financial difficulties. The Tea Act allowed the East India Company ship their tea to the colonies to be sold (they had a monopoly). The colonists were furious about this. They would rebel by completely refusing the shipments, leaving the tea to rot, and preventing the shipments from unloading. Under no circumstances were the colonists going to pay tax on tea. -
Coercive (Intolerable) Acts
Parliament passed a series of laws called the Coercive Acts. Punishments included closing the Boston Harbor causing many people to lose their jobs, trials in Britain for British soldiers which was very unfair because the colonists couldn’t go to trial, the Quartering Act made colonists feed and house British soldiers and town meetings were shut down which meant the colonists were no longer able to govern themselves. The colonists were upset and decided to unite against the British. -
The Boston Tea Party
On the night of December 16th, 1773 colonists snuck onto a ship docked in the Boston Harbor dressed as Indians. They successfully dumped 342 crates of tea into the harbor. The colonists did this to again show their anger about The Tea Act and hopefully put an end to it. The colonists were happy and proud of themselves for completing this difficult task and victoriously rebelling against the Tea Act. -
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The First Continental Congress
The first Continental Congress was at Carpenter’s Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Leaders from 12 of the colonies came such as George Washington, John Adams, etc. The meeting was held to discuss the crisis at hand (Coercive Acts) and decide what they were going to do about it. They decided that they would send a petition to King George the third. In that petition it stated that they were still loyal to the king, but it was unfair for Parliament to tax them when they had no say in government. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
900 Redcoat troops were headed to Lexington to seize the weapons. Paul Revere comes and warns them that the British troops were coming.The troops were ordered not to fire, but the first shot was fired. The British won that battle.The Redcoats then went to Concord to search for weapons, but the colonists had already taken them. Now 1,000 militiamen gathered to confront the British and once they had the upper hand, they took advantage and shot at the soldiers.
