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Navigation Acts
a series of laws passed by the British Parliament that imposed restrictions on colonial trade -
Thomas Paine “Common Sense”
a way for colonial legislatures to communicate with their agents in London -
End of salutary Neglect
one of the main causes of the American Revolution. This policy effectively ended after the French and Indian War in 1763, when the British decided to reinforce the Navigation Acts, other trade restrictions and regulations, and place taxes on the colonies. -
Proclamation of 1763
a British-produced boundary marked in the Appalachian Mountains at the Eastern Continental Divide -
Sugar Act
provided for a strongly enforced tax on sugar, molasses, and other products imported into the American colonies from non-British Caribbean sources -
Sons of Liberty
Patriot paramilitary political organization shrouded in secrecy, was established to undermine British rule in colonial America and was influential in organizing and carrying out the Boston Tea Party. -
Stamp Act
required the colonists to pay a tax, represented by a stamp, on various forms of papers, documents, and playing cards -
Townshend Acts
new duties were placed on imports of glass, lead, paper, and tea to the Colonies from Great Britain. -
Boston Massacre
seven British soldiers fired into a crowd of volatile Bostonians, killing five, wounding another six, and angering an entire colony -
Boston Tea Party
On the night of December 16, 1773, dozens of disguised men, some as Indigenous Americans, boarded the three East India Company ships and dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor. -
Intolerable Acts
a series of four laws passed by the British Parliament to punish the colony of Massachusetts Bay for the Boston Tea Party -
First Continental Congress
formally declared that colonists should have the same rights as Englishmen -
Thomas Paine “Common Sense”
a 47-page pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775–1776 advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies -
Give me Liberty or Give me Death
Patrick Henry delivering his great speech on the rights of the colonies, before the Virginia Assembly, convened at Richmond, March 23rd 1775, concluding with the above sentiment, which became the war cry of the revolution. -
Lexington and Concord
Massachusetts colonists defied British authority, outnumbered and outfought the Redcoats, and embarked on a lengthy war to earn their independence -
Second Continental Congress
the meetings of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolution and the Revolutionary War -
Olive BranchPetition
to be sent to the King as a last attempt to prevent formal war from being declared. -
Declaration of Independence
states the principles on which our government, and our identity as Americans, are based.