Period 5 - US History G & C

We have completed the events leading to the Revolutionary War. The connection between the colonies and Britain fell apart because of the French and Indian War. After this war, Britain began taxing the colonies to help pay for the huge war debt of the French and Indian War. They also block the movement of people west because Britain could not afford to protect people moving into the Ohio Valley region.

• Proclamation of 1763
• Statement by King George III, saying colonist were to stay on the east of the Appalachian Mountains, Native Americans to the west.
• Stamp Act
• An attempt by British to tax colonist for every time they used any paper product. Colonist protested by gathering, letter writing, boycotting British good and violence towards tax collectors. It was eventually repelled (canceled).
• Townshend Act
• Series of taxes created by Britian, led by Charles Townshend that taxed many items such as paint, lead, glass and tea. Again, colonist protested by gathering, letter writing, boycotting British good and violence towards tax collectors. It was eventually repelled (canceled). EXCEPT FOR TEA!
• Boston Massacre
• Frustrated by British soldiers patrolling the streets of Boston, a mob began a violent protest outside the Boston Custom House. British officers, often rudely called lobsterbacks ended up shooting many of the colonist. The result was 5 dead, 10 injured, all colonist.
• Boston Tea Party
• Fifty colonist disguised themselves as Indians. They took small boats out to ships, broke into their storage areas and dumped 90,000 pounds of tea in the Boston Harbor. It was a form of protest against the Tea Act.
• Intolerable Acts
• A name given to a series of laws to punish the colonies for the Boston Tea Party. It included closing down Boston Harbor until the destroyed tea was paid. It also increased the number of soldiers in the colonies to put down the increasing unrest of the colonist. Many colonist responded by developing militias to protect themselves from these soldiers if they needed to.
• Lexington and Concord
• The British were informed of weapons being stored in Concord, Massachusetts by a militia group that called themselves the Minutemen. They marched ouot to steal the weapons away, but were delayed by a group of the Minutemen at a place called Lexington. The British troops had little trouble with the Minutemen, but after killing eight and injuring ten others, they continued to Concord. By the time they got there, the weapons had been moved. As the British soldiers marched the thirteen miles back, colonist fired at the British troops all the way back. The British had approximately 275 casualties (dead, wounded or lost).

We will now be moving to the Revolutionary War and the Declaration of Independence.