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

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

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

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

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

6. Stamp Act, 1765

7. 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

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

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

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

11. 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)

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

13. 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

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more colonial unity; Britain repealed the Stamp Act

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

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

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

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

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

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

21. Boston Massacre, 1770: engraving by Paul Revere

22. 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

23. Other views of the massacre