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Proclamation of 1763
The proclamation was issued you by King George III after England acquired French lands in North America at the end of the French and Indian War. It forbade colonists from settling past a line through the Appalachian Mountains. The purpose of this was to stabilize relationships with Native Americans and bring together the English empire. -
Sugar Act of 1764
This was a revenue raising act passed by the Parliament of Great Britain. It was created to receive more money from England's colonies. The earlier Molasses Act of 1733 had been poorly enforced and the English hoped by increasing measures to collect the tax they would get more money. -
Stamp Act 1765
This act imposed a direct tax on specifically the British Colonies. It required that most printed materials had to be printed on stamp paper that was produced in England. The purpose of the act was to help pay for the troops that were in North America. -
Quartering Act 1765
This act said that that England could house its soldiers in American public houses and barracks. However, if there was not enough room, soldiers had the right to house in barns, stables, inns, etc. Also, colonial authorities had to pay for the cost of housing and feeding the troops. -
Stamp Act Congress
This was a meeting between October 7th and October 25th that consisted of representatives from a few of the British colonies. This was the first gathering of elected representatives that protested the rising problem of British taxation. -
Declaratory Act 1766
This act accompanied the repeal of the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act was repealed because boycotts were hurting British trade. The declaration stated that the Parliament's authority was the same in both the colonies and in England. Additionally, it enforced that the laws Parliament passed were binding in the American colonies. -
Townshend Acts 1767
These acts were named after Charles Townshend and applied to the British colonies. The five major acts include Revenue Act of 1767, the Indemnity Act, the Commissioners of Customs Act, the Vice Admiralty Court Act, and the New York Restraining Act. The goals of the acts were to raise revenue in the colonies to pay salaries, punish NY for not complying with 1765 Quartering Act, enforce trade regulations, establish right that British Parliament could tax colonies.for Parliament to tax colonies. -
Boston Massacre 1770
This was an incident that killed 5 colonists and injured several others. Due to rising tensions between the British soldiers and the settlers, a mob had formed around a British sentry who was subjected to verbal abuse and harassment. He was then backed up by eight other soldiers who also were subjected to thrown objects and verbal abuse. They began to shoot at the crowd without orders instantly killing 3 settlers while 2 others died later because of injuries they had sustained during the fight. -
Tea Act 1773
The objective of this act was to reduce the massive surplus of tea held by the financially struggling British East India Company's London warehouses and help the company survive. -
Boston Tea Party
This was a nonviolent political protest against the tax on tea that the Americans had not authorized by the Sons of Liberty in Boston. Disguised as Indians, protesters went onto an East India Company ship that was filled with tea and dumped all of its contents into the Boston Harbor ruining the tea. -
Coercive Acts 1774
These acts are also known as the Intolerable Acts because of all the colonists’ common hatred towards England. Four of the acts related to the Boston Tea Party and stripped Massachusetts of historic rights and self-government. -
1st Continental Congress
This was a convention of delegates from 12 colonies (Georgia was not present) that got together at Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia, PA early in the American Revolution. The meeting was called in response to Coercive Acts. The congress met to discuss options which included a boycott of English trade and petitioned King George III to stop the Acts. -
Quebec Act 1774
The fifth act of the Intolerable acts was the Quebec Act which extended the boundaries of the Province of Quebec. In addition, it instituted reforms which were favorable to the French Catholic inhabitants of the area. It was considered by the colonists one of the Intolerable or Coercive Acts because they were all created in the same legislative session. -
Battles of Lexington/Concord
These battles were the first engagements of the American Revolutionary War. They were fought in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, in many towns including Lexington, Concord, Cambridge, Lincoln, and Menotomy. This marked the open arms conflict between England and the 13 colonies. -
2nd Continental Congress
This was a convention of delegates from all 13 colonies and was held in Philadelphia, PA. The congress organized the defense of the colonies during the Revolutionary War by training armies, directing strategy, making treaties, and appointing diplomats. They adopted the United States Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776. -
Olive Branch Petition
This was adopted by the congress in an attempt to prevent a full blown war between England and its colonies. The petition confirmed American loyalty to England and entreated the King so there would not be further conflict. However, the petition succeeded another document that made the colonies claim of loyalty questionable. In August 1775, the colonies declared they were in a rebellion with England and rejected the petition. -
Declaration of Independence
This is a statement adopted by the continental congress that announced that the 13 colonies were separate from the British Empire. Thomas Jefferson composed the original draft which congress would later edit. The document stated why Congress had voted to become independent from England.
