Revenue Act of 1762
1762: Tightened collection of trade duties that merchants had evaded through bribery
Proclamation Line of 1763
order by the British king that closed the region west of the App Mountains to all settlement by colonists
Excise levies
sales tax on luxury items
George Grenville
British prime minister who decided the colonists should help with the taxes
Currency Act 1764
forbade colonists from printing their own money, required them to use gold and silver.
Sugar Act of 1764
replaced the ineffective molasses act of 1733, actually reduced the duties on imported sugar, but the British made a concerted effort to enforce the act and punish smugglers
Admiralty Courts
in British law, special administrative courts designed to handle maritime cases without a jury.
Stamp Act
A means of raising revenue in the colonies, and was passed by Parliament. It stated that all legal documents, contracts, licenses, pamphlets, and newspapers must carry a notification that it had been taxed. It angered the colonists greatly, and led to the creation of a colonial Congress in protest.
Virtual Representation
British governmental theory that Parliament spoke for all British subjects, including Americans, even if they did not vote for its members
Quartering Act
Act which required colonies to provide food and lodging for British troops
Patrick Henry
Outspoken member of House of Burgesses; inspired colonial patriotism with "Give me liberty or give me death" speech
James Otis
A colonial lawyer who defended (usually for free) colonial merchants who were accused of smuggling. Argued against the writs of assistance and the Stamp Act.
Stamp Act Congress
A meeting of delegations from many of the colonies, the congress was formed to protest the newly passed Stamp Act in 1765. It adopted a declaration of rights as well as sent letters of complaints to the king and parliament; the first sign of colonial unity and organized resistance.
Sons of Liberty
Secret societies formed to protest new taxes passed by Parliament. Led the Boston Tea Party and threatened tax collectors.
Common Law
a system of law based on precedent and customs
Natural Rights
the idea that all humans are born with rights, which include the right to life, liberty, and property
Separation of powers
a principle of govt. whereby constitutional authority is shared by 3 separate branches of govt.
Declaratory Act of 1766
Reaffirmed Parliaments right to "bind" the colonies in all cases whatsoever. The British would not yield absolute sovereignty over the North American colonies.
Townsend Act
Act which places a tax on everyday items. Was later repealed except for its portion on tea.
Restraining Act
suspended the New York Assembly until it submitted to the Quartering Act. And it declared that New York's assembly and all other representative bodies were completely dependent on the will or Parliament
Daughters of liberty
An organization formed by women prior to the American Revolution They got together to protest treatment of the colonies by their British Rulers
Non-importation
The act of not importing or using certain goods.
Lord North
Prime minister of Britain during the American Revolution
Committee of Correspondence
colonial organization organized in 1770 to spread news of Great Britain's actions and acts throughout the colonies
Tea Act
Law passed by parliament allowing the British East India Company to sell its low-cost tea directly to the colonies - undermining colonial tea merchants; led to the Boston Tea Party
Dartmouth
Name of the ship that arrived in Boston Harbor with tea from the East Indian Tea Company
Coercive Act
a law passed by the British Parliament in response to the Boston Tea Party which called for the blocked of Boston Harbor until the lost tea was repaid by the colonists
Quebec Act
Passed in 1774 by the British Parliament, it extended political and legal concessions to the inhabitants of Quebec and granted them religious freedom.
First Continental Congress
September 1774, delegates from twelve colonies sent representatives to Philadelphia to discuss a response to the Intolerable Acts which included nonimportation and nonconsumption agreements and vowing to cut off colonial exports
Committees of Safety & Inspection
created by the First Continental Congress to monitor and support the boycott of British goods.
Loyalists
American colonists who remained loyal to Britain and opposed the war for independence
Middlesex County Congress
illegal convention that advised Patriots to close the royal courts of justice and transfer their political allegiance to the popularity elected House of Representatives
Minutemen
Member of a militia during the American Revolution who could be ready to fight in sixty seconds
Lord Dartmouth
the colonial secretary who proclaimed the colonies to be in a state of "open rebellion". He ordered General Gage to march against the colonies.
Lexington and Concord
town in eastern Massachusetts near Boston where the first battle of the American Revolution was fought April 15, 1775
Gaspee
Patriots board and burn this British revenue cutter after it ran aground off Providence, Rhode Island.