Causes of the American
Revolution
French and Indian War
 The French and Indian
War was a war between
Britain and the
French/Indians.
 Cause: The colonists
kept pushing the Indians
west.
 Effect: The British made
the Proclamation of
1763.
Proclamation of 1763
 The Proclamation of 1763
was a law prohibiting the
colonists to move west of
the Appalachian Mountains.
 Cause: England was still in
debt from the French and
Indian War and didn’t want
to start another war.
 Effect: The colonist still
moved west anyway
because owning land was
important (you needed it to
be able to vote).
King George
Stamp Act
 The Stamp Act was a tax
on every sheet of every
legal document.
 Cause: Britain needed
money because they
were in debt from the
war so they taxed the
colonists.
 Effect: The colonists
boycotted British goods.
They also organized the
Sons of Liberty and the
Daughters of Liberty.
Townshend Acts
 The Townshend Acts used all
the money collected for
imported goods to pay the
salaries of British soldiers.
The Townshend Acts also
caused a tax for glass, lead,
paper, and tea.
 Cause: Britain still needed
money, but they needed a
way to tax the colonies
“without offense.”
 Effect: The colonists
boycotted British goods again.
Boston Massacre
 The Boston Massacre was a
clash between British troops
and a group of colonists in
which five colonists were
killed.
 Cause: After lots of ridicule,
the tension finally broke.
Some colonists started
throwing snowball in front of
the Boston Customhouse.
The soldiers became nervous
and started shooting.
 Effect: Six of the soldiers
were acquitted, and two of
them had their thumbs
branded for shooting.
Tea Act
 The Tea Act was a tax on all imported tea from Britain.
 Cause: The colonists boycott against British goods had
hurt their trade, so the British repealed the Townshend
Acts after the Boston Massacre. Parliament only kept the
tea tax.
 Effect: The Sons of Liberty organized a protest against
the Tea Act known as the Boston Tea Party.
Boston Tea Party
 The Boston Tea Party was a
protest organized by the
colonists against the British.
All the colonists dressed up
as Indians and snuck onboard the British ships in the
harbor. Then they threw all
the tea on the ships into
Boston Harbor.
 Cause: The colonists were
upset by the Tea Act.
 Effect: The Intolerable Acts
were passed to keep the
colonists under control.
Intolerable Acts
 The Intolerable Acts were four strict laws that gave the British a
sense of more control over the colonies. First of all, they closed
down the port of Boston until the colonists paid for all of the tea
they threw into Boston Harbor. Second, they forbade any
meetings without the governor’s permission. Next, they made the
colonists house and feed British troops. Finally, instead of British
officials being tried for crimes in the colonies, they would be tried
in Britain. Also, King George the third appointed General Thomas
Gage the new governor of
Massachusetts.
 Cause: The Boston Tea
Party.
 Effect: The colonists started
the Revolutionary War.