Events leading up to the Declaration of Independence #1-5

Proclamation of 1763 What happened: British barred settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains to keep settlers from fighting with natives

Result/reaction: difficult to enforce; colonists get mad, move west anyway

Sugar Act, 1764 What happened: Britain put a tax on sugar and molasses entering colonies to raise $

Result/reaction Colonists are angry because England enforces this law, unlike earlier laws

Stamp Act, 1765

What happened England placed a tax on all printed matter; ads, newspapers, playing cards, etc. had to have special stamps to show tax had been paid

Result/reaction colonists claimed there should be “no taxation without representation,” signed non-importation agreements

Non-importation agreements Date: ongoing; after Stamp Act What happened: merchants signed agreements promising not to buy or import British goods

Result/reaction Not all merchants honored the agreement Some mass demonstrations got violent

Sons of Liberty When: ongoing What happened: committees of lawyers, merchants, artisans, politicians formed; used pamphlets, petitions, meeting and violence (tarring and feathering tax collectors)

Result/reaction Revolutionary spirit is getting stronger; important colonists, such as Samuel Adams, participate

Stamp Act Congress, 1765 What happened: after a lot of protests in the streets, delegates from 9 colonies gathered to voice objections to the Stamp Act

Result/reaction: more colonial unity; Britain repealed the Stamp Act

Declaratory Act, 1766 What happened: English Parliament asserted full power and authority to make laws for the colonies in all cases

Result/reaction Colonists did not pay much attention to this act, but it was clear that England still intended to tax the colonies

Townshend Acts, 1767 What happened: England placed import duties (taxes) on tea, lead, glass, and dyes for paint

Result/reaction Colonists were very angry, especially because writs of assistance (special search warrants) were used to enforce this law

Quartering Act, 1765 What happened: colonists were required to provide money to quarter (house and supply) British troops

Result/reaction Colonists increasingly refused to provide money and became angrier at taxation

Boston Massacre, 1770: engraving by Paul Revere

Boston Massacre, 1770: was Revere’s view accurate? What happened: Five colonists (including Crispus Attucks, an African-American) were killed when shots were fired by the British Reaction/result: Sons of Liberty gave the event the name “massacre,” and poems, songs, visuals were produced to get colonists to support the war

Other views of the massacre