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Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation did not allow settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains. This required fur traders to get a royal permission before entering the territory. It was difficult to enforce and settlers continued to go onto the territory. It was issued by England's government in the name of King George III. It was created because the Pontaic Rebellion convinced British authorities that they could not effectively protect British settlers there. -
The Sugar Act
The Sugar Act put an import tax of three cents on foreign sugar, molasses, wine, and other items entering England's American colonies. It decreased business for merchants and shipowners, who profitted from foreign trade and smuggling, so they refused to cooperate. The British did this because they wanted more money. The colonists were mad because they did it without permission. -
The Stamp Act
The Stamp Act placed a tax on printed things of all kind. For instance they taxed advertisements, diplomas, legal documents, newspaper, and playing cards. They had to be printed on stamped paper or have special stamps attached to them to show that it had been paid for. SInce the colonists protested so much many tax collectors quit their job becuase they were being threatened. -
Quartering Act of 1765
The Quartering Act was a law that required colonists to house and supply British troops. That means that they had to give them food, water, bedding, and more and they weren't even given any compensation for doing it. -
Stamp Act Congress
The Stamp Act Congress was a meeting in New York City that representatives from nine colonies went to, to prepare a unified protest of the Stamp Act to Britain. It led to the repeal of the Stamp Act in March 1766. -
Declaratory Act
The Declaratory Act was was a law passed by Parliament that asserted its power and right to make laws and changes to the colonial government no matter what. It was passed when the Stamp Act was repealed. -
Townshend Acts
The Townshed Acts were laws passed by Parliament that places duties on certain items imported by the colonists, such as tea, lead, glass, and dyes for paint. To enforce the Townshend Acts, British officials used special search warrants called writs of assistance. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was an incident in which several people were killed when British soldiers fired their guns into a group of colonists ouside of a customs house. It all began when the soldiers, which Thomas Gage sent to silence the protests of colonists and enforce the writs of assistance, got mixed up with the group of colonists gathered around a house. The crowd was throwing stuff at the soliders and calling them mean insults when one soldier fell, his gun went off, and then the rest fired. -
Tea Act
Since the British East India Company was almost bankrupt the Tea Act was created. It excused the company from paying certain duties and permitted it to sell tea at reduced tax rates. It forced colonists to buy only tea from that company since they would have to spend a lot more money buying it somewhere else. Most colonists opposed and refused to buy the tea. -
Boston Tea Party
Colonists held a huge meeting at Boston's Old South Curch after the governor refused to send three shiploads of tea back to Britain. Later that night a group of colonists boarded tea ships that were anchored in the Boston Harbor and dumped 342 chests of tea into the water. That is known as the Boston Tea Party. Some colonists liked what happened but others didnt because they thought is wasn't right destroying property. -
Coercive Acts
Coercive Acts, Intolerable Acts, were four laws designed to punish Boston for the Boston Tea Party and designed to strenghten British control over the colonies. The first act declared that the Boston port would be close until the colonists paid for the destroyed tea. The second act revoked the Massachusetts charter of 1691 and forbade town meetings. The third act allowed royal officals charged with crimes to be tried in other colonies. The fourth act was a new Quartering Act. -
Quebec Act
The Quebec Act was a law by Parliament that extended Quebec's boundary south to the Ohio River overriding the claims of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Virginia to the western lands. It also granted full religious freedom to French Roman Catholics, which upsetted many Protestant colonies. -
1st Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress was a meeting at Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia in which delegates from all the colonies except Georgia came to discuss the situation with Britain and the Intolerable Acts. They made the Declaration of Resolves and sent a letter to King George III explaining their issues with the way they were being treated and demanding that they stop the Intolerable Acts or they will boycott English goods and they also made a plan to meet again if their demands weren't met. -
Battles of Lexington/Concord
The British Army was coming to Lexington to capture Samuel Adams and John Hancock and going to Concord to destroy the American's store of weapons and ammunition but Paul Revere warned them that the Birtish were near. When British reached Lexington, no one expected to fight but when they heard a gunshot the Britsh had to fire. Some colonists were killed, others fled. The British continued on to Concord where American forces grew and they defeated the British troops. -
2nd Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress meeting was at the State House in Philadelphia and it was a meeting of the colonists, including Georgia, to decide how to react to fighting at Lexington and Concord. It was led by John Hancock. Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were also present. They established the Continental Army, tried for peace by sending the the Olive Branch Petition, issued the Declaration of Independence, and signed the Articles of Confederation. -
Olive Branch Petition
The Olive Branch Petition was a peace request to advoid war sent by the Second Continental Congress to Britain's King George III, who rejected it. It stated the wrongs that had been done against the colonies and asked the King to correct them and fix the unfair trading practices that favored Great Britain. It reaffirmed that they did not want to go to war and that they were not seeking to become independent. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a document written by Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Robert Livingston, Roger Sherman, and Thomas Jefferson, whom wrote the first draft. At first not everyone agreed to declaring independence becuase some wanted to wait until they had stronger alliances with foreign countries. Congress continued to discuss the iissues because they wanted the vote to be unanimous. The final version was offically adopted by the Congress on July 4, 1776.
