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Proclamation of 1763
Reserved all land beyond the Appalachian Crest for the Indians to prevent western expansion and increase settlement on the coastal colonies. The colonists were angered by the act because they felt their right to live where they wanted was being violated. -
Sugar Act
Outlawed the importation of foreign rum and put a duty on molasses and levied taxes on wines, silks, coffee, etc. and was enforced strongly. New England Merchants were upset because they felt the tax on these items would be detrimental to their businesses. Merchants, legislatures, and town meetings protested the law. Colonial lawyers protested "taxation without representation." -
Quartering Act
Required colonies to provide British soldiers with provisions and barracks. The colonists objected to this act because they felt like they were being forced to allow people to live in their homes and eat their food. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act required all broadsides, newspapers, pamphlets, licenses, leases, and other legal documents to have stamps on them. This lead to organized resistances and the formation of non-importation associations. Colonists whose occupations required the use of any of the above items were angry because they felt they shouldn't have to pay money to use said items. The "Sons of Liberty" was formed in an effort to protest the Stamp Act, and militant resistance led to its nullification. -
Declaratory Act
Stated the British Parliament had the same authority to pass laws in the colonies as it did in Britain. The act was passed following the repeal of the Stamp Act, so the colonists celebrated temporarily. -
Townshend Act
Put taxes on colonial imports of paper, glass, lead, and tea from Britain. It was based on the belief that taxes placed on goods imported by America was legal while internal taxes was not. This led to the argument that Parliament did not have the right to tax the colonies, internal or external. Colonists were left agitated and many participated in the non-importation of goods to protest the act. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was an incident in which British Soldiers shot and killed five colonists during a mob. The American Colonists reacted by becoming more united against Britain and reestablished the Committee of Correspondence. They were outraged over the death of unarmed civilians. -
Golden Hill Incident
A battle between the colonists and British soldiers in New York City. The battle ended with no deaths, but is was one of the first significant incidents leading to the American Revolution. -
Committee of Correspondence
An attempt at the unification of the American Colonies by Samuel Adams. The meeting was held in Boston, and encouraged the colonial opposition of British policies. -
Tea Act
Granted the British East India Company monopoly on tea sales in the American colonies. The Americans were outraged and lead to the Boston Tea Party. -
Boston Tea Party
The Sons of Liberty dressed as Native Americans and dumped tea from British ships in Boston, Massachusetts. They were protesting the tax on tea. -
Intolerable Acts
These acts closed the port of Boston until the tea dumped in the Boston Tea Party was paid for, restricted local authority and banned most town meeting's held without the governor's consent and prevented Boston from having access to the sea. The colonists responded with the belief that they were entitled to "life, liberty, and property" and the formation of a "Continental Association" to reestablish the trade boycott. -
Quebec Act
The Quebec Act put into place new procedures of government in the Province of Quebec. The American colonists saw the act as another law put in place to increase Britain's power and control over America.