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THE MOLASSES ACT
Placed a tax on molasses imported from the Caribbean. -
PROCLAMATION OF 1763
Forbid colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains. -
SUGAR ACT
Also called the American Revenue Act, the Sugar Act was passed in 1764. The act raised the tax rates on imports of raw sugar and molasses. It also placed a new tax on silk, wine, coffee, pimento, and indigo. -
THE CURRENCY ACT
To slow inflation, Parliament passed the Currency Act. This act banned the use of paper money in the colonies. The act angered many colonial farmers and artisans. It was easier to pay back their loans because the money was less value when they borrowed it. -
THE STAMP ACT
John Dickinson, a lawyer from Pennsylvania, drafted the Declaration of Rights and Grievances. taxed most printed materials, including newspapers, pamphlets, posters, wills, mortgages, deeds, licenses, diplomas, and playing cards. This formed groups like the Sons of Liberty, and the Stamp Act Congress who opposed taxes. -
SONS OF LIBERTY
A group of people in Boston organized demonstrations and intimidated stamp distributors. Founded by Samuel Adams and John Hancock. This caused the Stamp Act to go into effect. -
NON-IMPORTATION AGREEMENT
200 merchants signed the agreement that stated that they would not buy any British goods until Parliament repealed the Stamp Act. This caused thousands of British workers to lose their jobs, and the Stamp Act was repealed in 1766. -
WRITS OF ASSISTANCE
Helps customs officers arrest smugglers was the Revenue Act. This act legalized the writs of assistance or general search warrants that enabled customs officers to enter any location during the day looking for evidence of smuggling. -
THE TOWNSHEND ACTS
Charles Townshend introduced regulations and taxes, calling them the Townshend Acts. It put new customs duties on glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea imported by colonies. It also allowed officials to seize private property under certain circumstances without following due process. -
THE BOSTON MASSACRE
Captain Thomas Preston, of Britain, was called by a soldier for help. Troops began firing during the dispute, killing a man known as Crispus Attucks. Five people died and six were injured. This caused the British to repeal most of the Townshend Act, except for the tax on tea. -
THE GASPEE INCIDENT
150 colonists burned a ship named the Gaspee. They hated the commander of the ship because they always searched other ships without a warrant and stole food. The Gaspee was a British ship that was sent out to intercept smugglers. It was stationed off the coast of Rhode Island. This caused the making of the committee of correspondence. -
THE TEA ACT
Parliament wanted to help the British East India company come out of debt due to war and taxes. The act refunded four-fifths of the taxes that the company had to pay. This act is what caused the Boston Tea Party. -
COMMITTEES OF CORRESPONDENCE
After the Virginia House of Burgesses received the letter one of its members, Thomas Jefferson suggested that each colony create a committee of correspondence to communicate with the other colonies about British activities. These committees of correspondence helped unify the colonies and shape public opinion. They also helped colonial leaders coordinate their plans for resisting the British. -
THE TEA PARTY
150 men gathered at a dock in Boston. The men dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor, because the committee of correspondence decided that they would not allow the tea to be unloaded. They seized the tea and kept it in a warehouse where it remained unsold. The result of this was the coercive acts. -
COERCIVE ACTS
Parliament passed four new laws. This group of laws is known as the Coercive Act. These laws were intended to punish Massachusetts and end colonial challenges to British authority. After the last coercive act became law, the British introduced the Quebec Act. -
QUEBEC ACT
A governor and council appointed by the king would run Quebec. Extended Quebec’s boundaries to include much of what is today Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin. If colonists moved west, they would have to live in a territory where they had no elected assembly. The Quebec Act, coming so soon after the Coercive Acts, seemed to imply that the British were trying to seize control of the colonial governments which angered colonists, although the act didn't directly involve them. -
FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
The First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia, in order to resolve the issue of the Coercive Acts. The First Continental Congress was formed by the House of Burgesses. -
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
The Declaration of Independence was written by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, and Thomas Jefferson, it was time for independence. The colonies then became the United States of America. This caused the American Revolution to begin.
