Events Leading to the American Revolution

1
Events Leading to the American Revolution

• 1754-1774

2
French and Indian War1754-1763

• Britain battled France and Native Indians and
  won. Many colonists fought with the British.
  Britain won the right to keep Canada and other
  territories.

3
Sugar Act(4/5/1764)

• Britain imposed a three-cent tax on foreign
  refined sugar and increased taxes on coffee,
  indigo, and certain kinds of wine without the
  colonists consent.

4
Stamp Act(3/22/1765)

• First direct British tax on American colonists.
  Every newspaper, pamphlet, and other public and
  legal document had to have a Stamp, or British
  seal, on it. Colonists protested with
  demonstrations. Sons of Liberty were formed out
  of this. This act was later repealed.

5
Patrick Henrys If this be treason
Speech(5/29/1765)

• Well-known speech ending with, "Give me liberty,
  or give me death!" He was an outspoken critic of
  the Stamp Act and introduced seven resolutions
  against it to the Virginia House of Burgesses.

6
Stamp Act Congress(3/22/1765)

• In response to the Stamp Act, colonists formed a
  a diplomatic body which delivered its answer to
  the Crown. Seeing the hostile reaction in the
  colonies, the British government repealed the
  Stamp Act in March 1766 but at the same time
  passed the Declaratory Act. This also gave the
  colonists a model for the Continental Congress.

7
Townshend Acts(6/29/1767)

• Laws (passed down from Britains Treasurer)
  placed new taxes on glass, lead, paints, paper,
  and tea. After violent protests, Britain
  eventually repealed all the taxes except the one
  on tea and sent more troops to the colonies.

8
Boston Massacre(3/5/1770)

• Shooting of five American colonists by British
  troops on March 5, 1770. One person, an
  African-American man named Crispus Attacks, was
  killed. This deepened American distrust of the
  British military presence in the colonies.

9
Boston Tea Party(3/5/1770)

• Frustrated at a new tax on tea, American
  colonists calling themselves the Sons of Liberty
  and disguised as Mohawk Native Americans boarded
  three British ships dumped 342 whole crates of
  British tea into Boston harbor. Similar incidents
  occurred in Maryland, New York, and New Jersey in
  the next few months, and tea was eventually
  boycotted throughout the colonies.

10
First Continental Congress(Sept/Oct 1774)

• The First Continental Congress was a group of 56
  delegates from 12 colonies (all except Georgia)
  who met in Philadelphia in September of 1774.
  They came together to act together in response to
  the Intolerable Acts. They met in secret because
  they didn't want Great Britain to know that they
  were united.