Javon Thomas
Mrs. Hilton History Project
American Revolution
Navigation Acts
1650-1696
The Navigation Acts were efforts to put the theory of mercantilism into actual
practice. Beginning in 1650, Parliament acted to combat the threat of the
rapidly growing Dutch carrying trade. Later laws were passed in 1651, 1660,
1662, 1663, 1670 and 1673. A companion enforcement law was enacted in
1696. Parliament acted to combat the threat of the rapidly growing Dutch
carrying trade.
Colonial resentment against the mother country.
Proclamation Of 1763
1763
The end of the French and Indian War in 1763 was a cause for great celebration in the colonies, for it
removed several ominous barriers and opened up a host of new opportunities for the colonists. The
French had effectively hemmed in the British settlers and had, from the perspective of the settlers,
played the "Indians" against them. The first thing on the minds of colonists was the great western
frontier that had opened to them when the French ceded that contested territory to the British. The
royal proclamation of 1763 did much to dampen that celebration. The proclamation, in effect,
closed off the frontier to colonial expansion. The King and his council presented the proclamation as
a measure to calm the fears of the Indians, who felt that the colonists would drive them from their
lands as they expanded westward. Many in the colonies felt that the object was to pen them in
along the Atlantic seaboard where they would be easier to regulate. No doubt there was a large
measure of truth in both of these positions. However the colonists could not help but feel a strong
resentment when what they perceived to be their prize was snatched away from them. The
proclamation provided that all lands west of the heads of all rivers which flowed into the Atlantic
Ocean from the west or northwest were off-limits to the colonists. This excluded the rich Ohio Valley
and all territory from the Ohio to the Mississippi rivers from settlement
Stamp Act
1765
Britain passes the Stamp Act to directly tax the colonists. The act
requires that
revenue stamps be put on all legal
documents, deeds, newspapers, pamphlets, dice,
and
playing cards. Taxed anything printed on paper by
requiring colonists to buy a stamp, seal, for paper products. This
act caused colonists to resent British rule.
Sons Of Liberty
1765
In Boston in early summer of 1765 a group of shopkeepers and artisans who called themselves The Loyal
Nine, began preparing for agitation against the Stamp Act. As that group grew, it came to be known as the
Sons of Liberty. And grow it did! These were not the leading men of Boston, but rather workers and
tradesmen. It was unseemly that they would be so agitated by a parliamentary act. Though their ranks did not
include Samuel and John Adams, the fact may have been a result of a mutually beneficial agreement. The
Adams' and other radical members of the legislature were daily in the public eye; they could not afford to be
too closely associated with violence, neither could the secretive Sons of Liberty afford much public exposure.
However, amongst the members were two men who could generate much public sentiment about the Act.
Benjamin Edges, a printer, and John Gill of the Boston Gazette produced a steady stream of news and
opinion. Within a very short time a group of some two thousand men had been organized under Ebenezer
McIntosh, a South Boston shoemaker.
Declaratory Act
1766
Said that Parliament had full authority over
legislation in the colonies. Colonist resentment
continued.
Quartering Act
1774
Required colonists to quarter, or house
and feed British soldiers. Continued
resentment from the colonists.
Townshend Acts
1767
The British passed new taxes on glass, paper, teas, paints and
other goods shipped to the colonies from Britain. Prime Minister
Charles Townsend wanted to raise money to cover the cost for
defending the colonies, and pay the salaries of governors and
judges in the colonies. These were known as the Townsend Acts.
Made colonists pay taxes to pay for rising military costs due to the
Quartering Act. Colonists boycotted British goods. Anger
continued to grow against the British government, and in protest.
Boston Massacre
1770
On the evening of March 5, 1770, Private Hugh White was on guard in front of the Customs
House on King Street in Boston. A crowd of people had gathered and began harassing the
soldier. His calls for help brought nine soldiers led by Captain Thomas Preston. The crowd
continued to harass the soldiers with insults, and were throwing snowballs at them. In the
commotion, someone yelled, "Fire!" and soldiers began shooting. Three townspeople were
killed and eight more were wounded, two of which died later. No one knew who gave the
order to fire. Anger and tension continued to grow as Britain sent more soldiers to Boston
when colonists resisted taxes.
Tea Act/Tea Party
1773
During the Boston Tea Party, colonists disguised as Native
Americans throw tea from
British ships into the
ocean to protest the Tea Act (December). The act was passed
to
allow the British East India Company to sell tea to
the colonists, but the tea included a
British tax. Made
the British BEIC the only company allowed to sell tea to the
colonies, which made this a monopoly over tea.
Intolerable Acts
1774
Intolerable Acts are passed. They close the
port of Boston, curtail the powers of
the
Massachusetts assembly and
town meetings, provide for compulsory
quartering of
troops by colonists,
and exempt imperial officials from trial in
Massachusetts. Made the British government
furious. These acts were an effort to make the
colonists pay for the tea and to keep the
colonists from planning other attacks.