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"hands off approach by Great Britain; British policy of loosely enforcing laws and regulations in the American colonies, allowing them to govern themselves. -
Beginning in 1763 economic policy England followed when it came to the 13 colonies. England saw the colonies as a market for English goods wanted to get money (taxes) natural resources from the colonies. -
aka 7 Years War between France and England. In the colonies, it was called the French Indian War because the colonists fought with British soldiers against France the Indians who were on side of France. Because of the war, England had a massive war debt began to tax the people in the 13 colonies. -
In 1765 the British government passed the Stamp Act to help pay off big debts from the French and Indian War. It was the first time Britain put a direct tax on the American colonists. -
In 1765 the Quartering Act was to force colonists to house and feed British soldiers. Colonists hated these laws because they had no vote in the government, leading to the famous cry, "No taxation without representation!" -
In 1767, the Townshend Acts were passed to tax imported goods like glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea. Britain used this money to pay colonial governors, taking power away from local leaders. Then intense boycotts happened and more British troops in Boston then causing the Boston Massacre. -
On March 5, 1770 the Boston Massacre happened when angry colonists and British soldiers got into a fight on the streets of Boston. It started with insults and snowballs but by the end of the fight the British troops firing their guns into the crowd. -
In 1774 Britain passed the Intolerable Acts to punish the colonists for the Boston Tea Party. These laws were so bad that colonists felt they could no longer stand British rule. -
In 1773 the Boston Tea Party was a protest against the Tea Act which gave a British company a monopoly on tea sales in the colonies. Even though the tea was cheaper colonists were angry that they were still being taxed without their consent. -
In April 1775 the Battles of Lexington and Concord were the very first battles of the American Revolution. They are famous for the "shot heard 'round the world," which started the war between the 13 colonies and Britain. -
In July 1775 the Olive Branch Petition was the last attempt by the colonists to avoid a war with Britain. Even after the first battles many colonists still hoped to fix their relationship with King George III. -
In May 1775 the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia after the first shots of the war were fired. The first meeting was just for protesting, this group acted as the first actual government for the 13 colonies. -
Published in January 1776, "Common Sense" was a very popular pamphlet written by Thomas Paine. It used simple and everyday language to explain why the colonies should break away from Great Britain and become an independent nation. -
Adopted on July 4 1776, the Declaration of Independence was a formal document written by Thomas Jefferson that told the world the 13 colonies were now a free and independent country. -
The Articles of Confederation in 1781 was the first written constitution for the United States. Since the Americans had just escaped a very powerful king they made their new government extremely weak on purpose. -
In September 1786 the Annapolis Convention was a meeting where delegates from five states gathered to discuss the problems with trade and business under the Articles of Confederation. -
In May 1787 delegates from 12 states met in Philadelphia for the Constitutional Convention. While they were supposed to just fix the Articles of Confederation, they ended up throwing them away and writing a brand-new government instead. -
In 1786 and 1787 Shays’ Rebellion was an uprising of farmers in Massachusetts who were angry about high taxes and losing their land. It was led by Daniel Shays which is a former soldier who had fought in the Revolutionary War.