Key Colonial Laws and Events in American Revolution

Proclamation Line of 1763

Set westward boundary beyond which British settlers were not to go.

Specie

Gold and Silver coins that became valuable as paper money became worthless due to depreciation.

Currency Act

Banned the colonies from printing their own money and insisted that the colonists pay their debt and taxes with hard currency or specie.

Sugar Act

Set a tax on imported sugar to stop colonists from smuggling sugar from outside of the British Empire.

Stamp Act

Set a tax on paper, legal documents, newspapers, pamphlets, etc., and established the precedent of taxation without representation.

Declaratory Act

Ended the Stamp Act and reaffirmed Parliament's rights to tax the colonies 'in all cases whatsoever.'

Townshend Acts

Taxes on glass, paint, oil, lead, paper, and tea.

Quartering Act

Demanded that colonists house British troops in public buildings and even in their homes.

Boston Massacre

Incident where 5 people were killed, including Crispus Attucks, after young boys threw snowballs at British troops.

Boston Tea Party

Event where 340+ chests of tea were dumped into Boston harbor.

Salutary Neglect

An unofficial British policy of loosely enforcing parliamentary laws in the American colonies from the late 17th - 18th century.

Deborah Sampson

Disguised herself as a man to serve as a spy and soldier in the Continental Army during the American Revolution.

Camp Followers

Women who followed the Continental and British armies, providing support such as cooking, laundry, and caring for children.

Deputy Husband

Women who took up men's responsibilities, like running the farm or store.

Coercive/Intolerable Acts

Passed in response to the Boston Tea Party; moved trials to England, required royal approval for officials, closed Boston port, and allowed quartering of troops in private homes.

Battle of Yorktown

A decisive victory by the American forces that led to the end of the Revolutionary War.

Battle of Lexington and Concord

The first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War.

Revenue

The income generated from taxes and other sources.