The Thirteen Colonies uniting against their British overlords was not a sudden movement but was the result of a series of events that increased tension between Britain and its colonies. These tensions began to develop after the 7 Years' War between France and Britain. This post lists some of the major events and developments that lead to the Americans revolting.
1. The Stamp Act
This was the first direct tax on the American colonies, this imposed a tax on all paper products in the colonies. It was passed on March 22, 1965, and angered many colonists. They argued that this taxation was violating their rights. Britain imposed this tax because of the heavy debt that it had racked up during The Seven Years’ War with France. Britain had spent a lot of effort protecting The Colonies from French possessions in Canada & Louisiana, so The Parliament felt that The Colonies should pay their share. This act gets its name from the fact that the paper documents were stamped to show that they had been taxed.
2. The Quartering Act
Passed in 1765, The Quartering Act required colonists to provide food, drink, and shelter (hence the name, Quartering) to British troops stationed in their communities. This law was passed to assert British control over the colonies and make defending their overseas colonies easier and less costly. Americans’ distaste for this act can be found in the 3rd Amendment of The U.S. Constitution, which forbids quartering to happen during peacetime.
3. The Townshend Act
The Townshend Acts were passed in 1767 and taxed glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea imported from Britain to the colonies. This doesn’t sound so bad until you realize that The Colonies were only allowed to trade with Britain. This was also a result of the Seven Year’s War and the enormous debt Britain had racked up with it.
4. The Boston Massacre
On March 5th, 1770, a group of colonists cornered a lone British soldier. More soldiers and colonists came to the scene and soon the British were being pelted with rocks and sticks. The situation soon escalated into a single soldier shooting into the crowd in the chaos, and in panic, his fellow soldiers did the same. The result was five dead and six injured, this really stressed relations between the colonists and the British. Many patriots (Colonists who did not like Britain) used this as propaganda to convince other people that they would suffer if they continued to live under British rule.
