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The Proclamation of 1763 was signed after the French and Indian War to appease Native Americans. It stated that land west of the Appalachian Mountains was prohibited to the colonists. It also formed colonies and territories that the natives could use as hunting grounds. Of course, the colonists were upset about these restrictions because it kept them from moving westward, limiting their opportunities to expand and advance.
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-After the French and Indian War, Britain suffered from debt. They forced taxes on the American colonies to help cover the cost.
-Parliament passed the Sugar Act, which made the taxes on Molasses lower than before (Molasses Act), but increased the taxes on other goods such as sugar, coffee, and lumber. The American colonies were enraged and refused to import any British goods in protest. Colonial leaders wrote about how Britain was violating their rights and tension began to grow. -
The American colonies were experiencing a shortage of hard money needed for trade, so they decided to print their own "Bills of Credit." Britain thought the currency was too complicated and the fluctuations of value made it difficult to collect debt and led to inflation. Britain then passed the Currency Act and assumed control over the colonial currency system, abolishing the bills and instead replacing them with pound sterling. The colonies protested and claimed that trade would worsen.
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In order to raise revenue for the expenses of the war, Britain imposed taxes on all paper documents and similar goods being imported from the colonies. The fact that the colonies never gave consent to the taxes and were forced to accept the policies enraged the colonies. They believed that the Act was unconstitutional and violated their right of representation. The colonists resorted to mob violence, protests, documents, and smuggling to oppose Britain.
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Soldiers complained that the cost of maintaining their forces in North America was high, so Parliament passed the Quartering Act to force the colonies to provide housing to soldiers for free. This allowed Britain to raise revenue and demonstrate control over the colonies. The Act required that the colonists provide barracks, housing, food, firewood, etc. to British soldiers. The colonists were angry and refused to house soldiers in time of peace, sometimes because they also could not afford it.
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On the same day the Stamp Act was repealed, Parliament passed the Declaratory Act in order to demonstrate that they still had power over the colonies. The Act asserted their authority, stating that Parliament had the full power to make laws in the colonies. Some colonists were celebrating the end of the Stamp Act, while others worried about the implications that new laws were going to be made by Parliament and that they will continue to tax the colonists mercilessly.
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The Townshend Act, which imposed a range of regulations such as implementing new taxes on imported goods and giving officers more power to search colonial traders for smuggling, making British tea cheaper than smuggled tea, forcing colonists to comply to the Quartering Act before being able to make new laws, and increasing the punishment for smuggling and creating courts conducted by a single judge. In response, colonists boycotted, protested, and pointed out the violations of their rights.
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American colonists rebelled, rallying around the streets. One morning, a group of angry colonists started to insult and threaten a British soldier Private Hugh White. He fought back and hit them with his bayonet, being met with snowballs, ice, and stones. Several soldiers showed up and began to beat the colonists and eventually fired at them, killing five colonists. Colonists used this event as propaganda against the British, painting them as violent and tyrannical.
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The Boston Tea Party was an act of rebellion, a political protest again Parliament. The rebellion was led by the Sons of Liberty, a group of colonial merchants and tradesmen that opposed the Stamp Act. The men disguised themselves as Native Americans and proceeded to board British ships and throw 324 chest of British tea into the water. Some of the colonists support the protest while other felt it was wrong and even tried to make up for all the money lost.
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The Intolerable Acts were passed by Parliament as a punishment for the Boston Tea Party. The Boston Harbor was closed until all the tea that was dumped was payed for. Free elections of town officials and town meetings were removed and limited, and colonists were required to quarter soldiers on demand. These acts led to more boycotts, protesting, and eventually the First Continental Congress, the groups of delegates that met to discuss and create a declaration.
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The Quartering Act of 1774, one of the Intolerable Acts, gave officials the authority to find place to house British soldiers. This Act is a much stricter version of the first Quartering Act. This angered the colonists because they believed it was an infringement on their rights. They thought it was so wrong that they later created the third amendment to make sure the government could not do this to citizens during peacetime.
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This Act granted religious benefits to the French. Britain realized governing Canada was difficult because of the cost of the war. At first, Britain implemented changes that upset the French, but to relieve the tension between France and Britain, Parliament passed this act to give back the French their religious rights and expand their territory in hopes that they do not join the revolution with the colonies. Canada gained land that the colonies were not permitted on, making them resentful.