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The Proclamation of 1763

The Proclamation of 1763 said that the colonists could not move west of 

the Appalachian Mountains. The colonists felt as though Britain had 

betrayed them, because they wanted to settle in the Ohio River Valley, 

and they felt as though they earned it. Because of this and the colonists' 

defiance, Britain kept 10,000 soldiers in the colonies to enforce the law.

The Stamp Act

The Stamp Act made it so that anything that was printed on paper was 

taxed by making colonists buy a stamp, or seal, for paper products. The 

colonists started to resent British rule, and groups like the Committees of 

Correspondence and the Sons of Liberty were formed to protest the 

taxes. People boycotted certain goods. The Stamp Act Congress met in 

New York to talk about the taxes, and they sent a request to the king 

asking him to repeal the taxes. Eventually, the Stamp Act was repealed, 

but the Declaratory Act was established.

The Quartering Act

The Quartering Act forced the colonists to quarter, or house and feed, 

British soldiers. The colonists didn't like having an army of soldiers with 

writs of assistance, which are blank search warrants that never expire, 

and housing and feeding the soldiers was costly. To make it worse, the 

soldiers began to take low-paying jobs away from the colonists. In 

response to the colonists' anger, the British said that the colonists should 

pay their share of the expense of protection from Native Americans. 

The Townshend Acts

The Townshend Acts made colonists pay taxes on imported tea, glass, 

paper, and other items to pay for rising military costs due to the 

Quartering Act. The colonists boycotted British goods, the Daughters of 

Liberty made their own cloth, and the Sons of Liberty used violence and 

attacked the homes of British officials. Britain sent troops to protect the 

officials, and Parliament repealed most of the taxes except the tax on tea.

The Tea Act

The Tea Act made the British East India Company the only company 

allowed to sell tea to the colonies, which made it a monopoly over tea. The 

colonists didn't want to pay import taxes, so colonial merchants didn't 

unload the tea or they didn't sell it in the colonies. The Daughters of 

Liberty made their own tea. The Sons of Liberty did the Boston Tea Party, 

which took place on December 16, 1773, in which they dressed as Native 

Americans, illegally boarded British ships, and dumped 342 crates of 

British Tea into the Boston Harbor. To punish them, Britain passed the 

Coercive Acts. 

The Intolerable Acts (The Coercive Acts)

The Coercive Acts stopped all trade between Boston and Britain, didn't 

allow town meetings, gave Britain control of the colony, and strengthened 

the Quartering Act. They colonists called them the Intolerable Acts. Goods 

were brought in from other colonies to support Boston, and Revolutionary 

Spirit was stirred throughout the colonies. 

Conclusion

  In the end, I think the colonies declared independence from Britain 

because they didn't want to pay their taxes or listen to the Acts, and 

because they eventually became too fed up with Britain. Originally, they 

were only angry because of the Acts,   but over time they got really 

frustrated at Britain, with the help of events like the Boston Massacre.

 I think Britain could have avoided all this just by listening to the colonies 

more and by trying to find a compromise. If they had seen what it was 

like for the people living in the colonies, they probably would have been 

more understanding and more willing to work something out. I think 

Britain also could probably just have left the colonies alone to do their 

own thing instead of bothering them with things like taxes.

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