Proclamation of 1763
In the wake of the Seven Years War, Britain had no desire to spend still more resources in defense of the colonies. Thus, when Pontiac's Rebellion broke out along the frontier, they issued the Proclamation of 1763. It decreed that no colonists could cross the Appalachian Mountains and was intended to prevent further violent conflict with the Indians. However, the colonists had fought the war largely for this land and felt that the decree cheated them of their hard won spoils of victory. They streamed into the area anyway. Therefore, the British not only derived little benefit from the act but also lost considerable respect among the colonies.
Stamp Act
Britain had acquired a huge debt defending the American colonies during the French and Indian War and felt that a constant British military presence was necessary to repel any large Indian uprisings. To pay for these expenses accumulated in defense of the colonies, they thought it only reasonable to impose such measures as the Stamp Tax. All legal documents, permits, contracts, pamphlets, wills, and even playing cards had to bear a tax stamp. Contrary to the projections of British Parliament and even Americans like Benjamin Franklin, the stamp tax was met with enormous opposition. It spawned the creation of local protest groups all over the colonies as well as the Stamp Act Congress, a prime example of colonial unity. Attempts to collect the tax were often met with violent opposition or intimidation. Like the Proclamation of 1763, the Stamp Act had minimal benefit for the British and greatly angered the colonists.
1st Continental Congress
Like the Stamp Act Congress, the 1st Continental Congress was formed in response to a specific series of acts. This time, it was the Intolerable Acts. The Congress, in order to force Parliament to repeal the acts, put into action a boycott of British imports described in their “Articles of Association”. If Britain did not meet their demands the Congress also threatened to stop supplying raw materials, a near complete destruction of Britain's Mercantilist System. The boycotts were successfully implemented but were never allowed to greatly effect policy as the Revolutionary War broke out a year later. The 1st Congress also planned for the second which would become the temporary American government during the Revolutionary War.
Townshend Acts
As with the other acts of parliament instituting taxes in the colonies, the Townshend acts were designed to alleviate Britain's massive debt following the Seven Years War. The Townshend Acts were designed as a tax on imports, a theoretically far more acceptable measure than the hated Stamp Tax. The act placed duties on the importation of lead, paint, paper, and tea among other materials. To combat smuggling and general colonial disobedience it provided for the creation of new admiralty courts in which Americans could be tried without a jury. However, the act, like the Stamp Tax, angered colonists who rioted and renewed efforts at smuggling while boycotting “legitimate” goods.
Boston Massacre
Boston locals, chafing under the intense British military presence at the time, gathered as a mob in response to a small incident involving a conflict between several young boys and a British officer. They began throwing stones and chunks of ice as well as clubbing the British soldiers. In the confusion, a soldier was knocked down by an ice chunk and one of the soldiers fired his gun, triggered the others to fire as well. Five colonists were killed and a number more were wounded. Paul Revere created an engraving of the incident that was widely distributed. The “massacre” became a symbol of British oppression and severely worsened British-American relations.
Intolerable Acts
In response to the Boston Tea Party, Parliament felt it had to rein in the unruly Massachusetts colony. It passed the Boston Port Act, Quartering Act, Administration of Justice Act, and the Massachusetts Government Act. The Quebec Act, though not related to the events in Massachusetts, later became grouped with the others. Together (in no particular order), the acts closed Boston Harbor, allowed British soldiers to be more easily housed in the colonies, severely limited the power of the Massachusetts government, allowed royal officials to murder or otherwise wrong colonists and then be tried in England, and finally, gave a huge tract of land around the Great Lakes area to the conquered French peoples of Quebec. These acts came to be collectively referred to as the Intolerable Acts, and provoked widespread resentment for Britain and sympathy for Massachusetts. The First Continental Congress was also formed in direct response to the acts and became a strong source of colonial unity.
2nd Continental Congress
America, as a rebelling colony, was largely without organized central government. Obviously, this was not a great situation when a war was being conducted against a massive empire. The 2nd Continental Congress would act as this government through the course of the Revolutionary War. It coordinated military strategy and provided the needed political structure for the colonies. It also drafted the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation, the basis for today's Constitution. The Continental Congress would give way to the Congress of the Confederation towards the conclusion of the Revolutionary War.
