History of the USA · Colonial America and independence. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.
After 1763 Britain tried to make the colonies help pay for their defence. The Stamp Act (1765) taxed printed paper and was the first direct tax on the colonists. They answered with boycotts and the argument that only their own assemblies could tax them: no taxation without representation.
Each British measure brought a stronger response. The Tea Act led to the Boston Tea Party (1773), which led to the Intolerable Acts (1774), which led to the First Continental Congress. Fighting began at Lexington and Concord in April 1775.
The Declaration of Independence (4 July 1776), drafted by Thomas Jefferson, stated the case. Victory at Saratoga brought the French alliance, Yorktown ended the fighting, and the Treaty of Paris (1783) recognised independence.
Do not say the Boston Tea Party was a protest against high tea prices. The Tea Act made tea cheaper; the protest was against Parliament's right to tax and the East India Company's monopoly.
Answer: Stamp Act (1765), Declaratory Act (1766), Boston Tea Party (1773), Intolerable Acts (1774).
Type what you are stuck on. The helper finds the explanation, worked examples and the notes to read, free and instant.
← Colonial AmericaThe Constitution and the early republic →Take a History of the USA test