Causes of the American Revolution

Administration of Justice Act

The governor could transfer trials of British soldiers and officials to Great Britain to protect them from American juries.

Albany Plan of Union

A proposal that the colonies unite to form a federal government for common defense (1754). Proposed by Benjamin Franklin. DID NOT PASS. But, showed that many colonial leaders were thinking of joining together.

Boston Massacre

March 5, 1770 - Crowd of colonists taunting and throwing snowballs at a British soldier escalates into shootings that left 5 colonists killed.

Boston Port Act

The shutdown of Boston Harbor until the city paid for the tea that had been destroyed during the Boston Tea Party.

Boston Tea Party

December 16, 1773, 150 colonists disguised as Native Americans dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor.

Coercive Acts

4 laws passed by Parliament in the spring of 1774 as a way to punish Massachusetts and end colonial challenges to British authority. The acts violated several traditional English rights including trial by jury and the right NOT to have troops quartered in one's home.

Committee of Correspondence

Each colony organized a group of citizens to communicate with other colonies about possible British threats, unify the colonies & shape opinion

Customs duties

taxes on imports and exports

Declaration of Rights and Grievances

Only the colonists' political representatives, NOT Parliament, had the right to tax the colonies.

First Continental Congress

55 delegates representing 12 colonies who endorsed the Suffolk Resolves, & backed a non-importation agreement.

French & Indian War

1754 - 1763. Great Britain & France fight for control of North America. Won by British.

Intolerable Acts

What colonists called the combination of the Coercive Acts and the Quebec Act.

Lexington and Concord

Location of the first shots of the American Revolution. April 19, 1775. 99 British soldiers killed / 49 colonists killed. By May 1775, the militia had surrounded Boston trapping the British soldiers.

Loyalists

Americans who supported the British side. Many were government officials, Anglican ministers, and landowners. Many lived in Georgia, North and South Carolina, and New York

Massachusetts Government Act

A law that required all council members, judges, and sheriffs in Massachusetts to be appointed by the governor instead of being elected. The act also banned all town meetings.

Minutemen

a special unit of men trained and ready to defend Concord at a moments notice

Non-importation

A pledge NOT to buy any British goods until Parliament repealed the Stamp Act.

Patriots

Americans who believed that the British had become tyrants. Many were merchants, farmers, planters, and urban workers. Many lived in Virginia and New England

Proclamation of 1763

A line drawn from North to South along the Appalachian Mountains. Colonists were not allowed to settle West of the line without permission from the British government.

Quartering Act

A law that required local officials to provide lodging for British soldiers, in private homes if necessary.

Quebec Act

The act extended the province of Quebec to the Ohio River, established the Roman Catholic faith as the official religion, and did NOT allow for a government with a representative assembly.

Stamp Act 1765

A tax on almost all printed materials including newspapers, pamphlets, posters, wills, mortgages, diplomas, etc. The first ever DIRECT Tax levied on the colonists.

Sons of Liberty

A group that organized protest against British taxes and policies.

Stamp Act Congress

1765, representatives from 9 colonies met. Declared the colonies can NOT be taxed by England because they are not represented in Parliament. More importantly, showed that representatives of the colonies could work together and gave political leaders in various colonies a chance to know each other.

Sugar Act of 1764

It raised the tax rates on imports of raw sugar and molasses and placed taxes on silk, wine, coffee, pimento, and indigo. Property of merchants accused of smuggling was seized and presumed illegal until proven legal and goods were seized without DUE PROCESS.

Suffolk Resolves

Resolution that urged colonists to disobey the Coercive Acts, to arm themselves, and to stop buying British goods.

Tea Act of 1773

British law that made tea from the East India Tea Company cheaper than smuggled Dutch tea by selling directly to the shopkeepers, bypassing American merchants who usually distributed the tea.

Seven Year's War

The Fighting in Europe between France and Great Britain. The war began in America and spread to Europe in 1756. Great Britain won.

Townshend Acts

New regulations and taxes passed by Parliament in 1767 which put new customs duties on glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea imported by the colonies. British officials could seize property without DUE PROCESS, it legalized Writs of Assistance, and used Vice-Admiralty Courts.

Treaty of Paris

Officially brought an end to the war between Great Britain and France in 1763.

Vice-admiralty courts

Courts run by British naval officers. These courts had no juries and trials were held in Nova Scotia. Used to convict colonial smugglers.

Writs of Assistance

General search warrants that enabled customs officers to enter any location during the day to look for evidence of smuggling.

Salutary Neglect

An English policy of not strictly enforcing laws in its colonies. Ignoring laws that would enforce mercantilism policies. Policy before the French and Indian War