Lindsey Ryan 3-11-

09

Mrs.Okurowski Social Studies

American Revolution DBQ

Back in 1763, the French and Indian War finally dismissed. The French colonies

became the British colonies; Great Britain had to obtain more protection for their land.

The British Parliament decided that the American colonies should help pay for protection

that Great Britain aspired. Since the British Parliament did this to the colonies, it made

the colonies reacted strongly. The responses of the colonies led to the formation of the

United States.

After 1763, the British government passed numerous laws that had an impact on

the American colonies. In fall 1763, King George III issued a proclamation. The

Proclamation of 1763 prohibited settlement to the West of the Appalachian Mountains.

This proclamation enforced settlers already in the region “to remove themselves”. It also

voiced that the British government would control trade with the Indians. To make sure

the laws were being enforced, the British sent about 10,000 additional British soldiers to

the colonies. In 1765, parliament passed another tax that George Grenville suggested.

That tax was the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act put taxes on advertisements, legal papers,

newspapers, almanacs, calendars, and playing cards. All of those materials had to have a

stamp showing that they paid for the tax. The reason they made the Stamp Act was to

raise money to pay the British soldiers stationed in America. Since Britain was used to

paying stamp taxes they seemed to think it was reasonable. Although, when the British

required the same things for American colonists it made the colonists furious; so they
contributed to protests and etc. After the French and Indian War, the Prime Minister

George Grenville ended the policy of salutary neglect. He wanted the colonists to pay

back the debt from the war.

The American colonists were irritated with the British government for many

reasons. Since the American colonists were irritated with Britain they took part in the

Declaration of Rights. The Declaration of rights took place in New York in October

1765. Representatives from nine colonies attended the meeting, which was called the

Stamp Act Congress. In the Declaration of Rights the delegates wrote about how the

colonists shouldn’t be taxed without their consent or without the consent of their

representatives (No taxation without representation). The American colonists were also

irritated because Britain was not keeping the Declaration of Rights in mind. In other

words their rights were still being ignored. Members of the House of Burgesses were

upset that their constitutional rights were being ignored. Their rights were being ignored

because they were still being taxed without representation. When internal taxation was

enforced upon the American colonists they were furious, and though it was very unfair.

The difference between internal taxation vs. external taxation is that external taxes were

taxes placed on trade outside the colonies. Internal taxes is what set the colonists off, they

were taxes placed on trade with the colonies. The colonists opposed internal taxation by

stating “taxation without representation”. The colonists wanted the colonial legislatures

to tax the colonists.

The colonists obviously were unhappy with the British, so they reacted to the

British many different ways. One of the ways the colonists showed they were unhappy

with the British was the Boston Massacre. At the Boston Massacre colonists began

taunting the British and threatening them with tools, which ended with about 4 people
dead. Paul Revere was a colonist who made and engraving supporting his side of the

story. He engraved it so the commander was in the back of the British telling them to fire,

when what really happened was the commander stood in front of them telling them not to

shoot, unless they were shoot at. The colonists officially broke away from England with

the Declaration of Independence. George Washington read the Declaration of

Independence to his troops in New York City 1776.This is a huge accomplishment

because it is showing that the colonists finally mad an impact on the British government.

This was an important event in history because it is when they declared their

independence from England. There were loyalists and patriots, the differences between

the two are that a loyalist supported England; and a patriot supported the colonies. The

Sons and Daughters of Liberty are groups organized to protect their rights. Another way

they showed their anger toward the British was when they boycotted all British goods.

The Declaration of Independence was an extremely important event in America’s history.

The congress nominated five delegates to draw up the Declaration of Independence. The

committee was made up of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger

Sherman, and Robert Livingston. Its ideas were put into words by Thomas Jefferson. He

wrote a clear and formal draft on the Declaration, which the committee agreed to accept

with some changes. The committee then put the complete Declaration of Independence

before congress. On July 1776, all of their hard work had paid off. Congress adopted the

Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The Americans were no longer fighting for

their rights as British subjects.

The history America had is absolutely amazing! Things like the Stamp Act, and

the Proclamation Act of 1763; both really impress me. Also knowing what an effect the

Declaration of Rights had on us really puts an impact on everything. The most dramatic
and symbolic moment was probably when George Washington read the Declaration of

Independence to his soldiers.