MS. STAZY’S
EIGHTH GRADE
US HISTORY
USF
Sioux Falls, SD
2/12/2008
8US1.1
Conflicts That Led to the American Revolution
Proclamation of 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
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act of 1765 (short title Duties in
American Colonies Act 1765; 5 George III, c.
12) was the fourth Stamp Act to be passed by
the Parliament of Great Britain but the first
attempt to impose such a direct tax on the
colonies. Once in effect, the tax met with great
resistance in the colonies. On April 5, 1764,
Parliament passed a modified version of the
Sugar and Molasses Act (1733), which was
about to expire. Under the Molasses Act
colonial merchants had been required to pay a
tax of six pence per gallon on the importation of
foreign molasses. This hurt the British West
Indies market in molasses and sugar and the
market for rum, which the colonies had been
producing in quantity with the cheaper French
molasses.
Townshend Acts
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.
The Townshend Acts (1767) passed by
Parliament on June 29, 1767 refer to two Acts
of the Parliament of Great Britain passed in
1767, which were proposed by Charles
Townshend. These laws placed a tax on
common products imported into the American
Colonies, such as lead, paper, paint, glass,
and tea. It also granted certain duties in the
British Colonies. This Act also gave the
revenue from the taxes to the British
governors that were normally paid by town
assemblies. This act reaffirmed the legality of
writs of assistance which gave tax collectors
permission to search for smuggled goods.
Often, these smuggled goods were sold in
England and in the European countryside.
Therefore creating more income for the
British. The Acts led to outrage among the
colonists and helped spark the Liberty seizure
and riots of 1768.
Ms. Stazy’s American Revolution Newsletter
Sugar Acts
On April 5, 1764, Parliament passed a
modified version of the Sugar and Molasses
Act (1733), which was about to expire. Under
the Molasses Act colonial merchants had
been required to pay a tax of six pence per
gallon on the importation of foreign molasses.
This hurt the British West Indies market in
molasses and sugar and the market for rum,
which the colonies had been producing in
quantity with the cheaper French molasses.
The First Lord of the Treasury, and
Chancellor of the Exchequer Lord Grenville
was trying to bring the colonies in line with
regard to payment of taxes. He had beefed up
the Navy presence and instructed them to
enforcement.
Intolerable Acts
Summary
Conflicts that Led to the American Revolution:
The Intolerable Acts or the Coercive Acts were
1. Proclamation of 1763
names given by colonists in the Thirteen
2. Stamp Act
Colonies to a series of laws passed by the
British Parliament in 1774. The acts were met
with outrage and resistance in the colonies and
were important developments in the growth of
3. Townshend Act
4. Sugar Act
5. Intolerable Act
the American Revolution.
6. Tax on Tea
Tax on Tea
Britain tried to raise additional revenue by
the Townshend Duties passed by
Parliament in 1767. They used the
distinction that the colonies had made
during the Stamp Act debate about internal
and external taxes. Duties were placed on
colonial imports of lead, glass, paper, and
tea. The money collected on these imports
was used to pay the salaries of British
officials in America. They hoped to make
these officials more loyal to Britain and
more independent of colonial legislatures.
Sources Used:

http://www.historywiz.com/teatax.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intolerable_
Acts

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Townshend
_Acts

http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/rel
ated/sugaract.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stamp_Act_
1765

http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/rel
ated/proc63.htm