H
ere’s a time line of major events that
led to the split between the American
Colonies and Great Britain.
1651–1696
NAVIGATION ACTS
This series of laws restricts foreign trade by the
Colonies so that it is favorable to England: Traders
have to use English ships, crews on ships have to be
mostly English sailors, and foreign goods have to be
shipped first to England before continuing to the
Colonies.
1763
ROYAL PROCLAMATION
Following the French and Indian War (1754–1763), the
British government decrees that the western boundary line for British colonists is the east side of the
Appalachian Mountains. Colonists who already have
started moving into the new frontier and have made
claims to that western land are upset.
April 5
SUGAR ACT
1764
This indirect tax reinforces the Molasses Act of 1733,
which required a payment of 6 pence per gallon on
imported molasses. The colonists mostly avoided
paying that tax by smuggling. The new act drops
the tax to 3 pence, but British officials take steps to
enforce it.
September 1
CURRENCY ACT
Parliament takes control of the colonial currency
system, which includes a variety of paper bills and
credits and lacks any standard value. This leads to a
shortage of hard currency and financial difficulties
for the Colonies.
March 22
STAMP ACT
1765
This law is the first direct tax imposed on the
American Colonies. Its purpose is to raise money for
the military defense of the Colonies. It requires that
all paper products (newspapers, legal documents,
advertisements, almanacs, licenses, and even cards
and dice) in the Colonies bear a stamp. The colonists
are angered by this “taxation without representation”
in Parliament. They form the Stamp Act Congress in
October to resist the law. It is repealed in 1766.
March 24
QUARTERING ACT
This act requires colonists to provide food and lodging (in unoccupied buildings) for British soldiers who
by Mark Clemens
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are stationed in America. Colonists resist attempts to
make them take on this expense. They also question
the need for a standing army during a time of peace.
PATRICK HENRY
by Marcia Amidon Lusted
illustrated by Zach Franzen
1766
March 18
DECLARATORY ACT
Parliament repeals the Stamp Act, but it passes this
act, which states that the British government has
authority over the Colonies “in all cases whatsoever.”
Although the act does not use the word “tax,” members of Parliament believe that this power is included
in the act.
1767
New York’s assembly is suspended for its refusal
to obey the Quartering Act and provide housing
for more than 1,000 British soldiers in 1766. The
Quartering Act expires in March.
July 2
TOWNSHEND ACTS
Named for British statesman Charles Townshend,
these acts attempt to collect duties on items—such
as glass, lead, paints, paper, and tea—coming into
the Colonies from Great Britain in order to help
finance the cost of administrating the Colonies.
Boston merchants refuse to pay the tax and establish
nonimportation agreements that spread to other
colonies. By 1770, most of the acts, except for the tax
on tea, are repealed.
October
1768
“I know not what
course others may
take; but as for me,
give me liberty, or
give me death!”
L
awyer and patriot Patrick Henry was a participant in nearly every aspect of America’s
founding. His speech against the Stamp Act in
Virginia’s House of Burgesses made some listeners cry “treason!” But others were motivated
to join his cause. Some historians argue that his
Stamp Act Resolutions began the Revolutionary
War. Henry participated in every protest against
British tyranny and for colonial rights. His most
famous words (above) were spoken in March
1775, during a speech calling on Virginia to raise
a militia to oppose the British.
Duties are taxes
on imports that
are charged by
a government.
British troops arrive in Boston to keep order and
enforce the Townshend Acts.
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1770
March 5
BOSTON MASSACRE
The presence of British regulars in Boston pushes
residents to a boiling point. Confronted by an angry
and aggressive crowd, British soldiers fire on the mob
and kill five colonists. Although a jury finds that the
soldiers fired in self-defense, publicity efforts turn it
into the “Boston Massacre.”
May 10
TEA ACT
1773
This law attempts to save the financially strained
British East India Company. It gives the company
a monopoly on the sale of tea in the Colonies. It
allows the company to export the tea directly to the
Colonies instead of going to Great Britain first. It also
is an attempt by Great Britain to show that it can tax
the Colonies without their consent. The colonists
refuse to support the tax and organize boycotts.
December 16
BOSTON TEA PARTY
After a number of the Colonies resist efforts by
Great Britain to enforce the Tea Act, Boston takes
dramatic action: A group of Boston men seize
and destroy the cargoes of tea on three ships in
Boston Harbor.
March 28
COERCIVE ACTS
1774
Known in the Colonies as the Intolerable Acts,
these laws are meant to punish Massachusetts for
the Boston Tea Party. Boston Harbor is closed to all
trade, and the colony’s right to self-government is
abolished. The people of Massachusetts are forced to
provide lodging for British troops in private homes,
if necessary. In addition, cases between the colonists
and royal officials are to be tried in Great Britain or
another British colony.
June 22
QUEBEC ACT
This act outlines the steps for the permanent administration of British Canada (the territory that Great
Britain won after the French and Indian War). Among
other things, it puts the land between the Ohio
River and the Mississippi River under the control of
Quebec’s government. The American colonists view
this as an attempt to restrict their growth. The act
also affirms the right of former French Canadians to
practice Roman Catholicism, which is a cause of concern to the mostly Protestant American colonists.
WOW!
Freedom took
a long time.
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September 5 to October 26
FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
The treatment of Boston under the Coercive Acts
motivates colonial leaders to meet and form a plan
of action. Delegates from all the Colonies except
Georgia meet in Philadelphia.
1775
April 19
BATTLES OF LEXINGTON AND CONCORD
The first shots in the Revolutionary War are fired
in Massachusetts, as British soldiers move to seize
stores of ammunition, and militiamen move to hide
the ammunition and stop them.
May
SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
Shortly after the Second Continental Congress
convenes, news arrives of the Battles of Lexington
and Concord. The congress apppoints George
Washington commander in chief of the
Continental Army in June. The congress also sends
the Olive Branch Petition to King George III in July,
seeking a way to reconcile and avoid conflict.
August 23
After news of the fighting at Breed’s Hill in
Massachusetts reaches England, King George III
issues a proclamation. It declares the American
Colonies in “open and avowed rebellion.” The king
refuses to receive the Olive Branch Petition, making some colonists more independence-minded.
1776
July 2–4
Delegates to the Second Continental
Congress finalize and adopt the Declaration of
Independence. The Colonies and Great Britain are
officially at war.
b
Fighting began in Massachusetts in 1775—before the colonists
officially declared their independence from Great Britain.
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