Major Events Leading to the American Revolution

Why This Matters

The American Revolution didn't happen overnight—it was the result of escalating tensions over a fundamental question: who has the right to govern, and on what authority? The events leading to 1776 demonstrate core concepts you'll be tested on: the relationship between taxation and representation, the evolution of colonial identity, and how economic policies can spark political resistance. Understanding this period means grasping how mercantilism, Enlightenment ideals, and colonial self-governance collided with British imperial control.

Don't just memorize dates and acts—know what each event reveals about the breakdown of British-colonial relations. Ask yourself: Was this about money, principle, or power? The AP exam will test your ability to connect specific events to broader themes like the development of American identity and the ideological origins of the Revolution. Each event below illustrates a concept that pushed colonists from loyal subjects to revolutionaries.

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The Debt Crisis: Seeds of Conflict (1754-1763)

Britain's victory in the French and Indian War came at enormous financial cost, fundamentally reshaping how Parliament viewed its colonial relationship.

French and Indian War (1754-1763)

• Britain's costly victory—eliminated French power in North America but left the Crown with massive war debts that Parliament expected colonists to help repay
• Shifted British colonial policy from salutary neglect (loose enforcement) to active management and taxation of the colonies
• Exposed colonial-British tensions as colonists who fought alongside British regulars resented being treated as inferior subjects

Proclamation of 1763

• Banned colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains—intended to reduce costly conflicts with Native Americans after Pontiac's Rebellion
• Infuriated land speculators and settlers who viewed western expansion as their right after fighting in the war
• First major post-war grievance demonstrating Britain's willingness to restrict colonial autonomy for imperial interests

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Economic Control: Taxation Without Representation (1764-1765)

Parliament's attempts to raise revenue and regulate colonial economies triggered the first organized resistance and introduced the rallying cry that would define the Revolution.

Sugar Act (1764)

• First revenue-raising act targeting the colonies—reduced the molasses tax but actually enforced collection through vice-admiralty courts (no jury trials)
• "Taxation without representation" emerged as colonists argued Parliament had no right to tax them without colonial representatives
• Targeted New England merchants whose rum trade depended on cheap molasses, creating an economic grievance with political implications

Currency Act (1764)

• Prohibited colonies from issuing paper money—designed to protect British creditors but created cash shortages throughout the colonies
• Demonstrated Parliament's economic control over colonial financial systems, limiting colonial economic independence
• Compounded frustrations when combined with the Sugar Act, showing a pattern of British interference

Stamp Act (1765)

• First direct tax on colonists—required purchased stamps on all paper goods including legal documents, newspapers, and playing cards
• Sparked coordinated colonial resistance through the Stamp Act Congress and the Sons of Liberty, establishing patterns of organized protest
• Repealed in 1766 after boycotts devastated British merchants, teaching colonists that economic pressure worked—but Parliament simultaneously passed the Declaratory Act asserting its right to legislate for the colonies "in all cases whatsoever"

Quartering Act (1765)

• Required colonists to house and supply British troops—seen as forcing colonists to fund their own occupation
• Violated English legal tradition that standing armies in peacetime required consent, echoing fears of military tyranny
• Created daily reminders of British authority as soldiers became a visible presence in colonial towns

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Escalation and Resistance (1767-1770)

British attempts to reassert authority met increasingly organized colonial opposition, culminating in violence that transformed political resistance into a broader movement.

Townshend Acts (1767)

• Imposed duties on imported goods including tea, glass, lead, paper, and paint—Parliament tried indirect taxes after the Stamp Act's failure
• Created the American Board of Customs Commissioners and used writs of assistance (general search warrants), escalating enforcement
• Triggered widespread boycotts and non-importation agreements, with colonial women (Daughters of Liberty) playing key roles in producing homespun cloth

Boston Massacre (1770)

• Five colonists killed by British soldiers—occurred when a confrontation between troops and a crowd turned deadly on March 5, 1770
• Transformed into powerful propaganda by Samuel Adams and Paul Revere, whose engraving depicted soldiers firing on peaceful civilians
• John Adams defended the soldiers in court (most were acquitted), demonstrating colonial commitment to rule of law even amid political crisis

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The Breaking Point: Tea and Its Consequences (1773-1774)

The Tea Act and colonial response to it triggered a chain of events that made reconciliation nearly impossible and pushed the colonies toward unified resistance.

Tea Act (1773)

• Granted the British East India Company a monopoly on tea sales in the colonies, allowing them to undersell even smuggled Dutch tea
• Not primarily about raising revenue—designed to bail out the struggling company, but colonists saw it as a trap to make them accept Parliament's taxing authority
• Threatened colonial merchants who were cut out of the tea trade, adding economic grievance to constitutional principle

Boston Tea Party (1773)

• Sons of Liberty dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor on December 16, 1773—a dramatic act of defiance worth roughly $£10,000$ (millions today)
• Demonstrated colonial willingness to destroy property rather than accept unconstitutional taxation, crossing a line from protest to direct action
• Forced other colonies to choose sides—you either supported Boston's defiance or condemned it, pushing fence-sitters toward decision

Intolerable Acts (Coercive Acts) (1774)

• Punished Massachusetts collectively—closed Boston Harbor until tea was paid for, revoked the colonial charter, and expanded the Quartering Act
• Quebec Act (passed simultaneously) extended Quebec's boundaries and granted religious toleration to Catholics, alarming Protestant colonists who saw Catholic "tyranny" encroaching
• Backfired spectacularly by uniting colonies that had previously seen Massachusetts as too radical—"the cause of Boston is the cause of all"

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From Resistance to Revolution (1774-1775)

Colonial unity crystallized into formal institutions and, ultimately, armed conflict—transforming scattered resistance into a coordinated independence movement.

First Continental Congress (1774)

• Delegates from 12 colonies met in Philadelphia—only Georgia was absent, demonstrating unprecedented colonial unity
• Adopted the Continental Association—a comprehensive boycott of British goods enforced by local committees, creating de facto revolutionary governments
• Endorsed the Suffolk Resolves declaring the Intolerable Acts unconstitutional and calling for armed resistance if necessary

Battles of Lexington and Concord (1775)

• "Shot heard round the world"—British troops marching to seize colonial weapons at Concord encountered armed resistance at Lexington on April 19, 1775
• Minutemen demonstrated colonial military capability as they harassed British troops during their retreat to Boston, inflicting significant casualties
• Transformed political resistance into open warfare—there was no going back after blood was shed

Second Continental Congress (1775)

• Became the de facto national government—managed the war effort, issued currency, and conducted diplomacy
• Appointed George Washington as commander of the Continental Army, choosing a Virginian to ensure southern commitment to what had been a New England conflict
• Olive Branch Petition represented a final attempt at reconciliation, rejected by King George III who declared the colonies in rebellion

Battle of Bunker Hill (1775)

• British tactical victory at enormous cost—over 1,000 British casualties (nearly half their force) taking the hill from entrenched colonial militia
• "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes"—whether or not actually said, reflected colonial ammunition shortages and discipline
• Proved colonists could stand against professional soldiers, boosting morale and demonstrating the war would not be quickly won

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Quick Reference Table

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Self-Check Questions

1. Which two acts both attempted to raise revenue through indirect taxation, and why did Parliament believe this approach would be more acceptable than the Stamp Act?

2. How did the colonial response to the Intolerable Acts demonstrate that Britain's punitive strategy backfired? Identify at least two specific outcomes.

3. Compare the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party as catalysts for revolution—which was more significant in escalating tensions, and what does each reveal about colonial resistance strategies?

4. If an FRQ asked you to trace the development of "taxation without representation" as a political argument, which three events would you use to show how the concept evolved from 1764 to 1773?

5. What distinguishes the First Continental Congress from the Second Continental Congress in terms of goals, actions, and relationship to British authority?