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After the French and Indian War, the British wanted to administer the territory they took from France and they also didn’t want another war with the Native Americans. The Proclamation of 1763 drew a line to prevent the colonists from going West of the Appalachian mountains and settling there. The British were afraid that if the Colonists started settling West of the Appalachian Mountains, they might start another war with the Native Americans which Great Britain could not afford. With the fear of the debt Great Britain already had, they also didn’t want Colonists traversing to other places because it could mean that they started trading with the Spanish, which would not help get rid of Great Britain’s debt. The Colonists were angered by this law for they felt as if they should be able to use the land they helped win in the French and Indian War.

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The Sugar Act of 1764 was a law passed adding a tax to imported sugar, coffee, textiles, indigo, dyes, and wine. This law was placed to partially crack down on the smuggling of products between the West Indians and the Colonies,  it  also was supposed to help pay back Great Britain’s debt from the seven year war and support the British troops in America. This law had three major parts. The first part created a complicated loading and unloading system for cargo. Another part put a tax on the fore said items. The law also cut the importation of molasses in half to make the tax for molasses easier to collect. The Sugar Act replaced the Molasses Act of 1733.

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Although the Stamp Act was passed in March of 1765, it didn’t’t take affect until November 1 of the same year. This was the first direct tax from Great Britain to the Colonies. The Stamp Act required a official stamp for up to fifty documents including legal documents, newspapers, pamphlets, and even playing cards. This was another act to help pay back Great Britain’s debts after the French and Indian war. As a result, the Colonists created a slogan “taxation without representation” as a battle cry to protest this tax. It was, as well, the start of the Sons of Liberty, an organization that stood up for the Colonists. The tax also caused the first Stamp Act Congress in which nine colonies sent representatives to New York to see if there were ways to resist the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act was repealed on February 22 of 1766 because it failed to make enough money for Great Britain.

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The first Quartering Act was passed in March of 1765. This act required the Colonists to provide necessities for the British soldiers in America like food, drink, transportation and fuel, and housing. The Colonists were ordered to give the soldiers barracks to live in, and if a soldier didn’t have a spot there, they were allowed to take residence in a Colonists’ home. The Colonists were not happy about this because they were paying and supporting “protection” that they didn’t need.

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On March 18, 1766, Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, but also created the Declaratory Act to ensure that the Colonists wouldn’t avoid a tax again. The Declaratory Act made it so the Colonists had to follow every British law and rule. This gave the chance for Great Britain to assert it’s authority over America and the Colonists.

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As Great Britain still had a multitude of debt to pay off and earlier taxes, like the Sugar and Stamp Act, had failed to raise any money, Great Britain tried again with the Townshend Acts, which were passed in June of 1767. The Townshend Acts placed a tax on lead, paint, paper, and glass, which were the most commonly used items in everyday colonial life. There was also a three-pence tax added to tea for the buyers. Colonists boycotted British products after this, and the Massachusetts Assembly drafted the Circular Letter which was a call to action to fight against the unfair taxes. In 1770, the Townshend Acts are repealed just like it’s predecessors, with failing to make much money.

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On March 5, 1770, a group of Colonists formed a mob in front of the Customs House, which held British soldiers. A sentry called for help as the mob advanced after the sentry supposedly hit a child with his musket. Help came running, and a brawl started between Colonists and British soldiers under the leadership of Captain Thomas Preston. As Colonists threw snowball, sticks, and anything they could find at the soldiers, a shot was fired in the panic and other shots followed. Five Colonists died and six others were wounded. In a trial, the soldiers were found innocent because they thought their captain had given the order to fire, and Captain Preston was tried innocent as well because he didn’t give the order to fire.

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The tea Act, passed in 1773, while reinforcing the tax from the Townshend Acts from 1767, overall, it made the tea less expensive. The biggest problem that Colonists had with the Tea Act was that only the British East India could ship the tea right to the Colonists. All of the other companies had to go to England to be “inspected” before they moved onto the Colonies. Colonists protested and boycotted the BEI Company and eventually, the tension built up to the Boston Tea Party.

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The Boston Tea Party of December 16, 1773

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The Boston Tea Party of December 16, 1773

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In November of 1773, a ship called the Dartmouth, arrived in the Boston Harbor carrying tea from the British East India company. The Sons of Liberty leader, Samuel Adams, wanted the tea to be returned without paying tax, whereas Governor Thomas Hutchinson wouldn’t let the ship leave until the cargo was unloaded and the tax paid. A small group made up of people from the Sons of Liberty stood at the dock to make sure the tea wasn’t unloaded. As the stand-off continued, the Eleanor and the Beaver also came to the Boston Harbor harboring tea from the British Eat India Company. This was the last straw and on December 16, 1773, members of the Sons of Liberty dressed up as Native Americans and dumped the tea from the three ships into the harbor. They dumped over 300 crates of tea into the harbor, which totaled to be about 15,000 euros worth or tea.

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The Coercive Acts, (also called the Intolerable Acts by the Colonists because they couldn’t tolerate to be treated the way they were) were composed of five parts. The Boston Port Bill, which didn’t let ships enter or leave the Boston Harbor until the price of the tea lost in the Boston Tea Party was payed back in full. The Massachusetts Regulating (Government) Act, which only allowed major assemblies, like the Massachusetts Colonial Assembly, to have one or none meetings a year. The Impartial Administration of Justice Act, which moved all trials for British soldiers to England. The Quartering Act which was like the previous one, but this time allowed the Governor of each colony to claim Colonists homes for the housing of soldiers if sufficient barracks were not already provided for them. Finally, The Quebec Act took land away from the Colonies and added onto Canada.

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The First Continental Congress met from September 5th to October 26th, 1774. Fifty-six men from twelve of the thirteen colonies converged in Philadelphia to discuss what could be done about the Coercive Acts and the rising tension between the Colonists and the British. The Congress tried to work with the British Government to repeal most of the laws and they also banned imports from Great Britain unless their problems were seen to before the September of 1775.

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The Battles of Lexington and Concord (April 1775)

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The Battles of Lexington and Concord (April 1775)

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On April 18, 1775, Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith and Major John Pitcairn, under the orders of Governor General Thomas Gage, gathered British soldiers to march to Concord to capture the gun powder and ammunition stored there. Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Dr. Samuel Prescott spotted the soldiers and fore warned the people of the British’s march. On April 19, 1775, Pitcairn and his men arrived in Lexington, where a group of Colonist soldiers stood there waiting for them. Pitcairn gave the order to fire, and eight Colonists died while ten more were injured. The British troops continued to march on to Concord, but with the warning from Revere, the Colonists managed to move the stores, and the British found nothing. The soldiers, angry for failing their mission, destroyed everyday supplies, buildings, and flour-stores. The British made a hasty retreat back to their fort though, as almost 400 Colonists came armed from behind. The British totaled 273 casualties, and the Colonists had 95 casualties. Overall, the Colonists considered it an early victory in a long and hard war.

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This document was made at the second Continental Congress in 1775 in a last ditch effort to try to recreate peace between the Colonies and Great Britain because they knew that the strain of war would be bad for everyone. They sent William Penn to London to remind King George the 3rd, but he refused to even see Mr. Penn and reiterated his intent to continue with the war.

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Also in the second Continental Congress, which was still going when the Declaration of Independence was written in June/July of 1776, the congress chose people to write the Declaration to state America’s Independence from Great Britain. Thomas Jefferson was the main writer of the Declaration and was given the nickname “Father of the Declaration of Independence.” Overall, the Declaration was signed by fifty-six people and went into effect on July 4, 1776.