Article Two Fact Sheet

Proclamation of 1763: After winning nearly all of France’s North American empire, Britain issued a proclamation preventing colonists from moving into the newly gained territory. One reason was to prevent conflict with Natives; the other reason was to keep the population near the coasts, where there were important markets and investments. This angered colonists who fought in the war and were promised land for their military service.

Taxation without Representation: To pay back its war debt from the French Indian War, the British Parliament began to levy taxes on the colonists without any representation in the tax law process. This led to refusal to pay and revolt against tax collectors. Examples: Sugar Act, Stamp Act, Declaratory Act, Townshend Acts, Tea Act, Coercive Acts (“Intolerable Acts”)

Declaratory Act: This law stated that Parliament had the right to tax and make decisions for the British colonies “in all cases.” Until the Declaratory Act, the individual colonies had enjoyed self- governing for decades. Now Britain was assuming all governing power.

Boston Massacre: An angry crowd of colonists, outside a pub in Boston, insulted and assaulted British soldiers, who fired on the crowd, killing 5 people. Journalists began to call it a massacre to heat up the tension between the colonies and Britain.

Boston Tea Party: In protest to the Tea Act, colonists led by the Sons of Liberty dressed up as Natives and disposed of the British East India Company tea shipments by throwing them into the harbor.

Coercive Acts: Laws passed by the British Parliament to punish the tea partiers. The laws closed down the harbor, instated curfews, and allowed troops to be quartered in private residences.

Patrick Henry: Outspoken proponent from Virginia for independence, Patrick Henry gave the famous speech, which included the phrase, “Give me liberty or give me death!” At the first Continental Congress in 1774, Patrick Henry summarized the meaning of the gathering, “The distinctions between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers, and New Englanders are no more…I am not a Virginian, but an American.”

Battles of Lexington and Concord: On April 18, 1775, searching for resistance leaders Sam Adams and John Handcock, British troops patrolling the Massachusetts countryside entered into a fire fight with minutemen, killing eight. This, along with the follow up battle at Concord, ignited the Revolutionary War.

Olive Branch Petition: After Washington took charge of the colonial forces in Boston, the Continental Congress offered Britain a chance to avoid war by sending the Olive Branch Petition, stating the colonists’ desire for peace if the king would protect colonists’ rights. King George refused, instead hiring 30,000 hessian German troops to fight with redcoats.

Thomas Paine: In January 1776, Paine published a pamphlet called Common Sense, stating that it made perfect sense to separate from Britain given that it was not just a squabble over taxation, but a struggle for freedom. Paine’s writings convinced many colonists to fight for independence.

Declaration of Independence: Written by Thomas Jefferson and signed by the members of the second continental congress, the Declaration of Independence was written in response to King George’s refusal of the terms in the Olive Branch Petition. “…that whenever any form of government shall become destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government…”