UNIT 2: Topic 1 (continued) Road to Revolution -- Action/Reaction Chart
Event/Year/Picture
What Happened? Why?
Proclamation of 1763
- British decision that colonists were not
allowed to settle west of the Appalachian
Mountains.
- British wanted to avoid more fighting with
Native Americans after the French & Indian
War ended.
- British pass the Stamp Act to collect money
from the colonies to pay off debt from the
French and Indian War
- Stamp Act puts a tax on most printed
documents including wills, newspapers and
playing cards
- Townshend Acts taxed goods that were
imported into the colonies such as lead, glass,
paint, paper and tea
“Taxation without representation”
- Colonists were angry with the British soldiers
who were in Boston because of the anti-tax
protests
- It is not clear who started the fight– the British
soldiers or the colonist mob
- the incident led to the deaths of 5 civilians at
the hands of British soldiers
Stamp Act (1765)
& Townshend Acts
(1767)
Boston Massacre
(1770)
Boston Tea Party
(1773)
- Britain puts a new tax on tea and says the
colonists can only buy tea from a certain British
company
- colonists refuse to unload the British tea from
ships in the harbor – British say they must
unload it
- Colonists dumped all the British tea into the
Harbor to protest
So What?
(Why is it important?
How did it lead to Revolution?)
Key People/Terms?
British colonists resented being told they
could not settle in land they had just fought to
win.
- Colonist protestors (including Sam Adams
and the “Sons of Liberty”) boycott British
goods to protest the Stamp Act. Some
protests are violent.
- The boycotts work! Parliament repealed
(took away) the Stamp Act in 1767 and got
rid of almost all the Townshend taxes in
1770. Shows colonists that they can work
together successfully.
Paul Revere’s picture of the event stirs
colonists’ anger against Britain
Britain lowers tensions by removing some of
the soldiers and lowering most of the taxes.
Things are calm for a few years.
Britain gets really, really, really mad about this
and punishes Boston with the Intolerable Acts
Sam Adams and the “Sons
of Liberty” lead the
protests against taxes and
a boycott against British
taxed goods
Boycott – an agreement
not to buy something
Crispus Attucks: AfricanAmerican colonist who
was killed
- Paul Revere & Sam
Adams work to spread
the story and get colonists
mad at Britain
Sam Adams & the Sons of
Liberty led the protest
Event/Year/Picture
What Happened? Why?
Intolerable Acts
- As a result of the Boston Tea Party, Britain
passes the Intolerable Acts (also called the
Coercive Acts) to PUNISH Boston and the
Massachusetts colonial assembly
- The Acts shut down Boston Harbor, established
martial law, closed the colonial assembly, and set
up the Quartering Act, which forced colonists to
house soldiers in their vacant buildings
In response to the Intolerable Acts, the
colonists begin to communicate and work
together.
Colonists met in Congress in 1774 to support
the protests in Massachusetts and organize
boycotts and protests across the colonies
They send a letter to Parliament with their
grievances (complaints) Parliament ignores
them.
First Continental
Congress
Lexington & Concord
Second Continental
Congress
- British troops marched to Lexington and
Concord (towns near Boston) to arrest Sons of
Liberty leaders and take the militia’s weapons
- British troops are surprised by the militia
(Minutemen) and fight a small battle (skirmish).
They lose lots of soldiers and are forced to
retreat back to Boston.
- Met to plan after Lex & Concord.
-Sent the “Olive Branch Petition” to King George
for peace – he ignored it
- Formed the Continental Army out of colonial
militias and put George Washington in charge
- Served as the colonial govt all during the war
So What?
(Why is it important?
How did it lead to Revolution?)
- The colonists organize to protest the
Intolerable Acts, not just in Boston, but in
other colonies. (“If it can happen in Boston, it
could happen in my colony”)
- The Acts show the colonists just how unfair
the British can be, and make them want selfgovernment even more
- Colonists start to organize and work together
This is the first time the colonies have met
together as a group to coordinate action
together – a big step.
The delegates risk arrest to attend – the
British do not want the colonies meeting
together
People in the colonies start to form militias
and prepare to defend themselves
“Shot heard ‘round the world” – the name
for the first shots fired in the war for
independence. Not really heard around the
world….just a saying that the impact of this
war was huge. No one knows which side
shot first.
Colonial Minutemen prove they can fight
against the British.
- Agreed on the Declaration of Independence
- Wrote the Articles of Confederation (the
nation’s first constitution)
Key People/Terms?
Martial Law - rule by
force (govt/police/
military), instead of by
civilian courts. People’s
rights are taken away
Intolerable: can’t stand it
Coercive: forcing you to
do something
Grievances – complaints
John Adams, Sam Adams,
Patrick Henry, George
Washington-- the leaders
in each of the colonies
(except Georgia!)
Militia – a group who
form together to protect
their town. Not an army –
just a loosely organized
local group.
Minutemen: men serving
in the town militia who
could be ready to fight at
a minute’s notice
Thomas Jefferson, Ben
Franklin, John Hancock