History Unit 4

Proclamation of 1763

British law after the French and Indian War that banned colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains to avoid conflict with Native Americans, angering colonists who wanted that land.

Massachusetts Government Act

Intolerable Act that took away most self-government in Massachusetts by canceling many parts of its charter and putting the colony more directly under British control.

Snowball effect toward revolution

Each event from the French and Indian War debt to new taxes, violent clashes like the Boston Massacre, the Tea Act and Tea Party, and the Intolerable Acts built more anger and unity until many colonists were ready to fig

Boston Harbor Act

Intolerable Act that closed Boston Harbor to all trade until the destroyed tea was paid for, crippling the colony's economy and punishing many for the actions of a few.

Intolerable Acts (Coercive Acts)

1774 set of harsh laws passed to punish Massachusetts and Boston for the Tea Party, which united many colonists against Britain.

Boston Tea Party

1773 protest in which colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians boarded British ships in Boston Harbor and dumped chests of tea into the water to oppose the Tea Act.

Propaganda and Boston Massacre

Colonial leaders and artists like Paul Revere produced images and stories that exaggerated British cruelty in the Boston Massacre to turn more colonists against Britain.

Administration of Justice Act

Intolerable Act that allowed royal officials accused of crimes in the colonies to be tried in Britain or another colony, which colonists feared would let officials escape punishment.

First Continental Congress

1774 meeting of delegates from most colonies in Philadelphia to respond to the Intolerable Acts; they agreed to support Massachusetts, organized a colony-wide boycott, and began forming militias.

New Quartering Act

Intolerable Act that allowed British troops to be housed in colonists' homes or other buildings if necessary, increasing resentment about standing armies in peacetime.

Colonial reaction to Townshend Acts

Colonists boycotted British goods, increased smuggling, and organized protests; tension rose as more British soldiers were sent to enforce order.

Tea Act

1773 law that gave the British East India Company a monopoly on tea sold in the colonies and allowed it to sell tea more cheaply, while keeping the tax, which colonists saw as a trick to get them to accept taxation.

Colonial reaction to Stamp Act

Colonists organized boycotts, formed the Stamp Act Congress, and groups like the Sons of Liberty, which pressured Britain until Parliament repealed the Stamp Act.

Townshend Acts

1767 taxes on imported goods like glass, paper, paint, lead, and tea; Britain also used writs of assistance (blanket search warrants) to enforce them, increasing colonial anger.

Declaratory Act

1766 law passed when the Stamp Act was repealed; it stated that Parliament had full authority to make laws and tax the colonies in all cases whatsoever, asserting British control.

French and Indian War

Conflict (1754–1763) between Britain and France in North America; Britain won but was left in deep debt and began taxing the colonies to pay for war and defense.

Boston Massacre

1770 street clash in Boston where British soldiers fired into a crowd of colonists, killing five; colonists used it as propaganda to portray the British as brutal oppressors.

Stamp Act

1765 tax requiring colonists to buy and use official stamps on legal documents, newspapers, and other paper goods, leading to protests, boycotts, and the Stamp Act Congress.

Colonial unity after Intolerable Acts

Colonies that had once acted separately began cooperating, sending food and supplies to Boston and working together in the First Continental Congress, which moved them closer to open rebellion.