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French And Indian War
This marked a chapter in a long imperial struggle between Britain and France. France’s move into the Ohio River valley brought conflict with the British colonies, and a series of battles led to the official British declaration of war in 1756. Prim Minister William Pitt gave the war a boost and the siege of Quebec signaled a clear British advantage. The British won the war, and took France's land in the Americas including Canada and land west of the Mississippi. -
Stamp Act
Taxation on stamps, newspapers, and both legal and commercial documents. It was met with much opposition by the colonies and repealed a year later. -
Proclamation Line of 1763
After taking France's land in the America's, issues as to governing it arose. They couldn't figure out how to govern all of it, so they simply drew a line across the Appalachian Mountains that forbade settlers from crossing that line to settle it. -
The Sugar Act
The Sugar Act was a revenue-raising act passed by the Parliament of Great Britain. It was a Modification of the Molasses Act of 1933. It reduced the tax on Molasses but added taxes to other items, such as sugar, coffee, wines, etc. -
The Quartering Act
The Quartering Act was an amendment to the Mutiny Act. It required that if there were any British troops in the area, that a family must provide housing, food, and any other supplies a soldier might need. These acts had to be renewed annually by Parliament. This was one of the many acts that caused tension between the colonies and Britain that led to the Revolutionary War. -
Stamp Act Congress
First congressional meeting of colonial representatives. They met to devise a plan of unified protest against the Stamp Act imposed by Britain. -
Declaratory Act
Stated that the British Parliament's taxing authority was the same in America as in Great Britain. Came with repeal of Stamp Act, and a lessening of the Sugar Act. -
Townshend Acts
Imposed duties on glass, lead, paints, paper and tea imported into the colonies. Townshend had hoped it would defray imperial expenses, but the colonists saw it as an abuse of power. -
The Boston Massacre
A group of British soldiers were subject to verbal harassment and objects being thrown. Without command, they opened fire on the group of people, killing 3 (2 later died from wounds) and wounding others. The colonists used this event as propaganda against the British. -
The Gaspee Incident
A group of men boarded, looted, and set fire to a British anti-smuggling ship that was on the trail of a packet ship called the Hannah. THis renewed tension between the colonies and Britain. -
The Tea Act
The British East India Company was struggling financially and could not sell enough tea. The British tried to undercut the sale of illegal tea trade in the colonies to get the colonists to buy their tea instead, which had a tax on it. This was the final straw and led to the Boston Tea party. -
Boston Tea Party
Colonial responsive to the Tea Act. Colonists went to the harbor in the middle of the night and dumped 300 crates of tea into the water; in today's worth, it was a one million dollar loss. -
Intolerable Acts
Series of punitive acts made to punish Massachusetts after the Boston Tea Party. They hoped to make an example of them to keep the colonists in line, but it had the opposite effect. One of the big factors in the development of the Revolutionary War. -
The First Continental Congress
56 delegates from different colonies (except Georgia who was hoping for assistance from the British in their issues with the Native Americans) had a meeting to discuss how to handle the Intolerable Acts. They wanted to boycott their trade and petition the king. -
Patrick Henry's Speech
Patrick Henry made on of the most famous calls to arms in American history. He rallied the militia and closed his speech with the famous line: "Give me liberty, or give me death!" -
The Battles of Lexington and Concord
These were to first two battles of the American Revolutionary War. They were fought in the Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy (present-day Arlington), and Cambridge, near Boston.
