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Proclamation of 1763
They prohibited colonists from moving West of the Appalachian Mountains into Native American territory. They saw this as a limit on their freedom. -
Period: to
1763-1776
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George Grenville
The British finance minister, decided the American colonists should contribute more toward British expenses in North America. His first step was to take action against smuggling in the colonies. -
Sugar Act
Parliament passed the Sugar Act to stop the smuggling between the colonies and the French West Indies. The Act lowered the tax on Molasses imported by the colonists. The sugar act also established special courts to hear smuggling cases. In these courts british appointed judges, rather than juries. -
Summer
Through out the summer of 1765, protesters burned effigies-rag figures-representing unpopular tax collectors. They also ransacked and destroyed houses belonging to royal officials and marched through the streets shouting that only Americans had the right to tax Americans. -
Stamp Act
Parliament passed another, even more disturbing, law in an effort to raise money for Britian. This law, the Stamp Act, placed a tax on almost all printed material in the colonies. -
Replace
In February 1766, Parliament gave into the colonists demands and replaced the Stamp Act. Yet the colonies trust in the king and parliament was never fully restored. -
Declaratory Act
Stated that parliament had the right to tax and make decisions for the british colonies "in all cases whatsoever." The colonists might have won one battle, but the war over making decisions for the colonies had just begun. -
Townshend Act
Under townshend's leadership parliament passes a set of laws in 1767 that came to be known as the Townshend Act. In these Acts the british leaders tried to avoid some of the problems the Stamp Act caused. -
Summer
In the summer of 1768, nervous customs officers sent word back to Britain that the colonies were on the brink of rebellion. Parliament responded by ordering two regiments of troops to Boston. -
British Ships
On October 1,1768 a fleet of British ships sailed into Boston Harbor and docked. Seven hundred soldiers in red uniforms filed out of the ships with "muskets charged, bayonets fixed, colours flying, drums beating and playing." -
Samuel Adams
In 1772 Samuel Adams revived the Boston committee of correspondence, an organization used in earlier protests. The committee circulated writings about colonists' grievances against Britain. -
Declaration of Independence
July 4, 1776 The Declaration of Independence was approved. The Declaration has four major sections. The Preamble, or introducion, states that people who wish to form a new country should explain their reasons for doing so. The next two sections list the rights the colonists believed they should have and their complaints against Britain. The Final section proclaims the existence of the new nation.
