U.S. History / Unit 2: Revolution and the Constitution
2.1 The Road to Revolution
Notes
After 1763, Britain tightened control over the colonies, and colonists protested that their rights were being violated.
- The French and Indian War (1754 to 1763) gave Britain eastern North America but left it deeply in debt.
- The Proclamation of 1763 banned settlement west of the Appalachians, angering colonists.
- New taxes: the Sugar Act (1764), Stamp Act (1765) and Townshend Acts (1767).
- Colonists argued there should be "no taxation without representation" because they had no members in Parliament. They used boycotts and groups like the Sons of Liberty.
- Boston Massacre (1770): British soldiers fired on a crowd, killing five colonists.
- Boston Tea Party (1773): protesters dumped tea into Boston Harbor over the Tea Act. Britain answered with the Intolerable (Coercive) Acts (1774), closing Boston's port.
- The First Continental Congress (1774) met to coordinate colonial resistance.
| Year | British action | Colonial response |
|---|---|---|
| 1765 | Stamp Act | Stamp Act Congress, boycotts; repealed 1766 |
| 1773 | Tea Act | Boston Tea Party |
| 1774 | Intolerable Acts | First Continental Congress |
Practice
Why did Britain begin taxing the colonies more heavily after 1763?
The war was expensive, and Britain believed the colonies should help pay for their defense.
The slogan "no taxation without representation" expressed the colonial belief that:
Colonists accepted taxes from their own assemblies but objected to taxes from a Parliament where they had no members.
Which event came directly in response to the Boston Tea Party?
In 1774 Parliament closed Boston Harbor and limited town meetings as punishment.
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