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Prelude to the Revolution

Prelude to the Revolution

Event/ActSignificance
Salutary NeglectThe colonies were used to governing themselves.
French and Indian WarDebt led to taxes imposed on the coloniesProclamation of 1763
Sugar ActBritish try to cut down on smuggling by not giving colonists a jury trial, luxury tax
Stamp ActBeginning of protests and organization - first tax to reach all social classes.
Protest GroupsCommunication - newspapers, boycotts, organized protests (Sons of Liberty)
Declaratory ActThreat leads to more resistance/protest
Townshend ActMore protests - smuggling, boycotts ramp up
Forms of ProtestNon-violent protest - getting larger and more organized, tar and feathering
Boston MassacreFirst violent event of the Revolution - used for propaganda.
Boston Tea PartyLargest organized protest at this point - Sons of Liberty
Intolerable (Coercive) ActsPunished the colonies for the tea party - closed the harbor, new Quartering Act, trials only in England.
First Continental CongressThe first official unified colonial government
Lexington and ConcordFirst official battle of the revolution - “Shot Heard Round the World”
2nd Continental CongressGeorge Washington named commander of the army, draft of the Declaration of Independence from Britain.
Bunker HillBloodiest battle of the Revolution - showed the British that the colonies were not going to give up easily.
Olive Branch PetitionLast effort for peace from the colonists - the King tore it up.
Declaration of IndependenceFormal declaration or break-up letter between the colonists and Britain.
Common SensePamplet by Thomas Paine encouraging independence for the colonies
Thomas JeffersonAuthor of the Declaration of Independence.
John LockeHis Enlightenment ideas on natural rights inspired the Declaration of Indepenence
No taxation without representationReflected the colonists belief that they should not be taxed because they had no direct representatives in Parliament
YorktownFinal battle of the Revolution
Treaty of ParisSet up the conditions after the war - recognized independence, gave colonists land in the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys
Quartering ActRequired the colonists to provide food, lodging, and supplies for the British troops in the colonies
Declaratory ActThe British Parliament emphasized its authority to make binding laws on the American colonies
Proclamation of 1763Boundary set up between colonies and the Natives over land west of the Appalachian Mts.