Road to Revolution

French and Indian War

May 28, 1754

The French and Indian War was over land in the Ohio River valley. It was between the British and the colonies and the French and Indian allies. Ended in 1754, English won.

Navigation Laws

Jan 16, 1763

Prime Minister George Grenville ordered British Navy to strictly enforce Navigation Laws. He needed money to help pay back expenses from French and Indian War. The colonists didn't like it and they started to have more tension with England.

Sugar Act

Apr 5, 1764

First Law passed for raising tax revenue. Increased the duty on imported sugar from West Indies. The colonists didn't agree with this. They would feel a lot of resentment towards Britain.

Stamp Act

Mar 22, 1765

Used to raise revenues to support the new military force. Stamp was required on certain paper. The colonists rallied against the British and boycotted them. The act was repealed after great opposition from the colonists.

Declaratory Act

Mar 18, 1766

This was passed after Stamp Act was repealed. Parliament reaffirming their rights over the colonies. It defined the absolute and unqualified sovereignty over the colonies.

Townshend Acts

Jun 15, 1767

New Prime Minister Charles Townshend passed these acts. He actaully hoped these would help the colonists. Taxed glass, white lead, paper , paint, and tea. The colonist saw it as abuse of power. The act was eventually repealed.

Boston Massacre

Mar 5, 1770

A mob started taunting a squad of redcoats. The nervous redcoats fired into the crowd and killed or wounded 11 people.

Intercolonial Committee of Correspondence

Aug 30, 1773

These committees were the colonies way of keeping communication between them. Encouraged opposition to the British. The Virginia House of Burgesses started and encouraged each committee to send one representative. Helped lead up to the First Continental Congress.

Boston Tea Party

Dec 16, 1773

The British were taxing the tea imports, that weren't British, to the colonies. The colonists would refuse to buy it and they wouldn't let the ships be unloaded. The colonists of Boston boarded three ships and destroyed the tea and threw it into the harbor. Caused the Intolerable acts and the shut down of the Boston Harbor.

Intolerable Acts

Mar 28, 1774

Parliament passed these after The Boston Tea Party. Was aimed to restore order in Massachusetts and to punish Boston for the Tea Party. Caused the colonists to prepare to defend themselves against the British.

First Continental Congress

Aug 30, 1774

The colonies sent representatives. They wrote up several dignified papers. They were appeals to the British government.

Lexington and Concord

Apr 19, 1775

Hundreds of British soldiers marched to Concord in order to seize a colonial weapons. They met the militia at Lexington. There were shots fired and the British ended up retreating. This started the Revolutionary War.