British Action
Proclamation of 1763-
created a boundary line along
the crest of the Appalachian
Mountains after the Seven
Years War
Sugar Act- a duty of 3 pence
per gallon on French
molasses, allowing British
molasses to compete with
French molasses without
destroying the colonies’
export and distilling
industries
Currency Act- banned the use
of paper money throughout
the colonies. Americans
would have to pay their debts
with British currency, foreign
coins, or bills of exchange
Stamp Act- required stamps
on printed material (letters,
legal documents, newspapers,
cards)
Repeal of the Stamp Act and
passage of the Declaratory
Act- stated that Parliament
had the right to tax the
colonies
Townshend Duties- imposed
duties on paper, paints, glass,
and tea. Part of the money
would be used to defray
military expenses but the
majority would go towards
the salaries of governors,
judges, and imperial officials
Tea Act- provided the
company with a government
loan and eliminated customs
duties on their tea, enabling
them to sell it at a lower price
and giving them a monopoly
of the American tea market
Quartering Act of 1774-
required the colony to build
barracks or accommodate
Rationale
-Britain wanted to deter white
farmers from moving west,
which would spark conflicts
with the local Indians. This
would mean that they would
have to keep fewer soldiers in
the colonies and spend less
money on their defense.
-Grenville wanted a
replacement for the Molasses
Act
-It was a means of repaying
the debt incurred by the
British during the Seven
Years War
-It would protect the financial
interests of British merchants
in America
-The colonies had been over-
printing their money and
forcing people to accept it at
its face value
-Offset the cost of keeping
British troops in America
-British merchants favored its
repeal because the colonial
boycotts of British goods had
caused a drastic decrease in
their sales.
-Rockingham repealed it to
assist British merchants and
modify colonial opinion with
respect to taxation
-Intended to provide royal
officials with a guaranteed
income, freeing their salaries
from the controls of the
colonial assemblies and
enabling them to enforce
Parliament’s laws and royal
directives.
-provide financial relief for
the British East India
Company, which was deeply
in debt because of
mismanagement and military
expeditions
-Thought it would pave the
way for other levies
Forcing MA into submission
Colonial Reaction
Resentment and failure to
comply
Boston experimented with
boycotts. Some refused to
accept the act by smuggling.
Smoldering resentment. The
southern colonies needed the
most cash. United the north
and south against Britain
Petitions, boycotts, violence.
Vandalism, death threats
against tax collectors. The
acts angered the middle class.
They had the worst impact in
the NE colonies, which were
full of lawyers whose job was
now taxed
Rejoicing over the repeal;
ignoring Declaratory Act
Boycotts, petitions,
newspaper attacks
Protest, Boston Tea Party,
Boston Massacre, boycott.
The Americans had a natural
distaste for standing armies,
and many tea merchants
resented the new monopoly
and being out of a job
Protest in assemblies
Rationale
-the colonists felt the Britain
was imposing on their rights
to own land
-They felt that their growing
population required more land
-economic opportunity for
lower classes
-Many American soldiers had
died in defense of that land
-They feared a rise in the
price of molasses.
-Thought that it would wipe
out their trade with the French
sugar islands
-they thought that it
contradicted the constitution
-first time the colonists acted
in unison
-Parliament had seized
control of the colonial
monetary system from
American colonies
-They felt that they were not
adequately represented in
Parliament
-It was an internal tax,
meaning that the colonists
were being taxed on their own
goods. This made it feel more
invasive.
They felt like they had won
-posed a threat to American
autonomy.
-revived the colonial debate
about taxation
-the measures were not
designed to regulate trade but
to bring revenue to the
imperial government
-Patriots accused the ministry
of using low prices to bribe
Americans to give up their
opposition to Parliamentary
taxation
-prevented the East India
Company from landing new
shipments
Americans resented the idea
of standing armies
soldiers in their homes
Coercive or Intolerable Acts
1) Port Bill closed Boston
Harbor until the East India
Company was paid back for
its tea 2) Government Act
annulled the MA charter and
prohibited town meetings 3)
Justice Act allowed the
transfer of trials for capital
crimes to other colonies or
Britain
Lexington and Concord-
Fighting that broke out
between the British army and
colonists
-wished to force MA into
submission
-New England was defying
British authority by holding
assemblies and storing
weapons
Boycott, convening First
Continental Congress. All
colonies were affected by the
closing of Boston Harbor
Paine’s Common Sense
-The acts increased their
sense of danger
-wanted to seek political
compromise with the British
ministry
-wanted a new imperial
system
-they wanted to defend their
rights, but felt that Parliament
could not represent them
sufficiently because it was too
far away
The Americans were
frustrated and now wanted to
create and control their own
assemblies

Vocab:
Internal vs. external tax: a tax imposed on the goods made in a state vs. a tax on imported goods
Court power vs. country power: supported the king vs. supported non-royals and non-nobles
Generation X: generation of men in their 20s who came of age during the Revolutionary period
Virtual representation vs. real representation: one person can represent anyone no matter where
they are from vs. a governor of an area must come from that area to understand the local issues