Early Conflicts & Proclamations
This primary area of conflict in the early 1750s led directly to the French and Indian War.
What is the Ohio River Valley?
These legal documents permitted British customs officers to search any home or warehouse for smuggled goods.
What are Writs of Assistance?
Colonial leaders used this 1770 event as propaganda to fuel anti-British feelings across the colonies.
What is the Boston Massacre?
This name was given to colonists who wanted to break away from Great Britain and fight for independence.
Who are Patriots?
In May 1775, the Second Continental Congress took this major step by establishing a central military force and selecting George Washington as its commander.
What is forming the Continental Army?
Suggested by Benjamin Franklin in 1754, this plan aimed to unite eleven colonies under one council for joint defense against the French.
What is the Albany Plan of Union?
Passed in 1765, colonists strongly opposed this law because it was the first direct internal tax on printed goods passed without colonial consent.
What is the Stamp Act?
Organized by Samuel Adams, this network shared written letters to pass news and coordinate anti-British protests across the colonies.
What are the Committees of Correspondence?
Delegates first met in Philadelphia in September 1774 for this assembly to challenge British laws and represent unified colonial interests.
What is the (First) Continental Congress?
Sent to King George III as a final peace request, this document asked the king to protect colonial rights and avoid further military conflict.
What is the Olive Branch Petition?
To avoid further conflict after the war, King George III issued this act banning colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains.
What is the Proclamation of 1763?
Groups like this organization protested British policies by burning effigies, organizing street protests, and enforcing trade boycotts.
Who are the Sons of Liberty?
During this December 1773 protest against British tax laws, the Sons of Liberty dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor.
What is the Boston Tea Party?
These April 1775 skirmishes in Massachusetts were the first armed military engagements of the American Revolution.
What are the Battles of Lexington and Concord?
Written by Thomas Paine in early 1776, this famous pamphlet convinced thousands of colonists that complete independence from Britain was necessary.
What is Common Sense?
This main financial reason drove Great Britain to begin passing new tax acts on the American colonies during the 1760s.
: What was paying off war debt from the French and Indian War?
Passed in 1766 after repealing the Stamp Act, this act stated Parliament had full authority to tax and make laws for the colonies "in all cases whatsoever".
What is the Declaratory Act?
King George III and Parliament responded to the Boston Tea Party by passing these harsh laws to punish Massachusetts.
What are the Coercive Acts (or Intolerable Acts)?
This battle showed both sides that while Americans were brave fighters, the war against Great Britain would be long, hard, and bloody.
What is the Battle of Bunker Hill?
This Founding Father was chosen as the primary author of the Declaration of Independence.
Who is Thomas Jefferson?