causes of the american revolution Flashcards
(34 cards)
What was the purpose of the Proclamation Act of 1763?
- To limit colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains to prevent conflict with Native Americans.
How did American colonists react to the Proclamation Act of 1763?
- They largely ignored it
- resenting restrictions on westward expansion and economic opportunity.
What was the Stamp Act and why did it cause outrage?
- 1765
- A direct tax on printed materials
- colonists objected to ‘taxation without representation.’
How did colonists respond to the Stamp Act?
- Widespread protests
- formation of the Stamp Act Congress
- boycotts led to its repeal.
What was the Declaratory Act?
- 1766
- Asserted Britain’s right to legislate for the colonies ‘in all cases whatsoever,’ following the Stamp Act repeal.
Why was the Declaratory Act significant?
- It revealed Parliament’s refusal to relinquish authority
- increasing colonial distrust.
What were the Townshend Duties?
- 1767
- Indirect taxes on imports like glass, tea, and paper.
What was the colonial response to the Townshend Duties?
- Renewed boycotts
- protests
- writings by figures like John Dickinson in ‘Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania.’
When and why were the Townshend Duties repealed?
- Repealed in 1770 due to economic pressure from boycotts
- except the tax on tea remained.
What happened during the Boston Massacre and when was it?
- 1770
- British soldiers fired on a protesting crowd, killing five civilians.
How did Patriots use the Boston Massacre?
- As propaganda to portray British soldiers as brutal oppressors.
What was the Tea Act?
- 1773
- Allowed the East India Company to sell tea directly to colonies
- undercutting local merchants.
What was the colonial reaction to the Tea Act?
- The Boston Tea Party
- colonists dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbour.
What were the Intolerable Acts (1774–1775)?
- A series of punitive laws including the:
- Boston Port Act
- revocation of Massachusetts’ charter
- Quartering Act.
What was the Boston Port Act
- 1774
- Closed the port of Boston until the East India Company was repaid for the tea lost in the Boston Tea Party.
Why was the Boston Port Act significant?
- It economically crippled Boston
- increased resentment
- sparked wider colonial solidarity.
What was the Massachusetts Government Act?
- 1774
- Revoked Massachusetts’ charter and placed the colony under direct royal control
- limited town meetings.
What was the Administration of Justice Act?
- 1774
- Allowed British officials accused of crimes in the colonies to be tried in Britain or another colony.
What was the Administration of Justice Act called by colonists and why?
- Murder Act
- Colonists feared it would let British officials escape justice for abusing power.
What was the Quartering Act?
- 1774
- Required colonies to provide housing and supplies for British troops
- including in private homes if necessary.
Why were the Intolerable Acts significant?
- escelated tensions
- United the colonies in opposition
- led to the First Continental Congress.
What was the First Continental Congress?
- 1774
- A meeting of 12 of the 13 colonies (excluding Georgia) in Philadelphia
- coordinate a response to the Intolerable Acts.
What were the main decisions made at the First Continental Congress?
- Condemned the Intolerable Acts as violations of rights.
- Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress
- Agreed on a colony-wide boycott of British goods (Continental Association).
- Agreed to meet again in May 1775 if grievances were not addressed.
what did the declaration and resolves of the first continental congress entail?
- Colonists are entitled to life, liberty, and property
- Only colonial legislatures have the right to tax them
- the presence of British troops in peacetime without consent illegal
- Established a boycott of British goods
- Protested the Intolerable Acts
