Acts Chart

1. The Molasses Act (1733): This act placed a high tariff on molasses being imported by colonists from the French West Indies; it was passed in response to complaints by British West Indian planters that they were losing money.

American merchants responded to the act by bribing and smuggling their way around the law, actions that foreshadowed the impending imperial crisis. British planters, however, could only supply 1/8 of the sugar needed by the colonists, and the colonists used this fact to justify their actions. The British replaced the Molasses Act with the Sugar Act in 1764, signaling the end of salutary neglect that coincided with the end of the French and Indian War. 2. Proclamation of 1763: An act passed by King George III, which forbade settlers from settling past a drawn line on the Appalachian Mountains. This proclamation dealt with the management of inherited French colonies from the French and Indian War, and was used to protect Indian settlements.

Americans were quite upset with this because there was very good land and places to trade past the Appalachians. Only licensed traders were able to trade with the Indians past the drawn line, and many who had already purchased land past the line were not allowed to move. The British originally sought for the line to be temporary, but soon realized it was better to keep the line permanent due to the because they found westward expansion was a good way to save money, keep the colonists closer to the mother country, and prevent trouble with the Indians. 3. Sugar Act (1764): An act passed that required all colonists to pay a three pence tax on imported sugar. This act also contributed to the increase on taxes on coffee, indigo, and wine.

Americans began to realize that they were under “taxation without representation”, yet in response to the Sugar Act, could not come up with a unanimous plan of action. Merchants tried to protest and there were some boycotts, but nothing too serious. The British did not do much in response to the American’s reaction, but called for stronger law forces to prevent any additional quarrels and boycotts of the Sugar Act. PROVISIONS OF EACH BRITISH IMPERIAL POLICY

THE AMERICAN REACTION TO THE BRITISH POLICY
THE BRITISH REACTION TO THE AMERICAN REACTION

4. Currency Act (1764): This act prohibited the issue of any new bills and the reissue of existing currency. Parliament favored the “hard currency” system based on the pound.

The Americans protested very harshly against these acts. They argued that the shortage of hard capital would further hurt their already struggling trading situation with Britain. The British enacted the use of the Naval Commanders who assured that people who were caught smuggling or other violations of customs laws would have a hearing, almost always in the British favor. 5. Quartering Act (1765): An act passed that required local legislatures to house and feed new British troops sent to the colonies. Many soldiers were unwelcome because they took odd jobs and competed with unemployed colonists.

Americans did not like the Quartering Act very much, but found that there was not much to do about it. Although soldiers were unwelcome, they came in large groups with strong force, so many colonists believed that their choices were limited. The British used force and intimidation to get what they wanted, although the colonists did not put up much of a fight. The British really did not need to do much seeing as although there was tension, no physical violence or strong riots broke out. 6. Stamp Act (1765): This act placed stiff taxes on all kinds of printed matter. No one could sell newspapers, diplomas, etc. without buying special stamps. This act was somewhat of the breaking point for colonists and caused many riots.

Americans reacted very strongly to these taxes, and many riots broke out. Virginia began the riots when Patrick Henry introduced resolutions stating that Parliament had no legal authority to tax the colonies at all. Larger riots such as the Intercolonial Stamp Act Congress passed multiple series of resolutions in protest. The British continued to enact the laws they passed because it was a good source of money that could be used to benefit the mother country. There were many riots and the British navy was used to help control the colonists and keep them in line. PROVISIONS OF EACH BRITISH IMPERIAL POLICY

THE AMERICAN REACTION TO THE BRITISH POLICY
THE BRITISH REACTION TO THE AMERICAN REACTION

7. Declaratory Act (1766): an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, which accompanied the repeal of the Stamp Act 1765. It stated that the British Parliament’s taxing authority was the same in America as in Great Britain

Americans were outraged because the Declaratory Act hinted that more acts would be coming. The colonists responded by protesting that Britain did not have the right to tax them. They kept taxing the colonists and started saying that the colonists could do nothing about it. 8. Townshend Acts (1767): A series of measures introduced into the English Parliament by Chancellor of the Exchequer Charles Townshend in 1767, the Townshend Acts imposed duties on glass, lead, paints, paper and tea imported into the colonies

Americans viewed the taxation as an abuse of power, resulting in the passage of agreements to limit imports from Britain. In 1770, Parliament repealed all the Townshend duties except the tax on tea, leading to a temporary truce between the two sides in the years before the American Revolution. 9. Boston Massacre (1770):

a street fight that occurred on March 5, 1770, between a “patriot” mob, throwing snowballs, stones, and sticks, and a squad of British soldiers. Several colonists were killed and this led to a campaign by speech-writers
to rouse the ire of the citizenry

The colonists were already upset over the British Army making chaos in the streets. When word spread about the Boston Massacre, colonists were furious. The colonists sent the soldiers responsible for the killing of innocent people to trial Britain hardly saw this as a massacre. British Troops were forced evacuate Boston to the Castle William. PROVISIONS OF EACH BRITISH IMPERIAL POLICY

THE AMERICAN REACTION TO THE BRITISH POLICY
THE BRITISH REACTION TO THE AMERICAN REACTION
10. Tea Act (1773): was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain. Its principal over objective was to reduce the massive surplus of tea held by the financially troubled British East India Company in its London warehouses and to help the struggling company survive

Colonists in Philadelphia and New York turned the tea ships back to Britain. In Charleston the cargo was left to rot on the docks. In Boston the Royal Governor was stubborn & held the ships in port, where the colonists would not allow them to unload. Cargoes of tea filled the harbor, and the British ship’s crews were stalled in Boston looking for work and often finding trouble. This situation led to the Boston Tea Party.

Colonists responded to the Boston Tea Party by establishing the intolerable acts. 11. Intolerable/Coercive Acts (1774):
Series of laws sponsored by British Prime Minister Lord North and enacted in 1774 in response to the Boston Tea Party. The laws were these the impartial administration of justice act, Massachusetts Bay regulating act, Boston Port act, quartering act, Quebec act

These led to the convening of the First Continental Congress at Philadelphia on September 5. Creating the Continental Association, the congress called for a boycott of all British goods. If the Intolerable Acts were not repealed within a year, the colonies agreed to halt exports to Britain as well as support Massachusetts if it was attacked. Britain responded by insisting that these laws were made in order to help the colonies with government and put less burden on them 12. Quebec Act (1774): passed by the British Parliament to institute a permanent administration in Canada replacing the temporary government created at the time of the Proclamation of 1763. It gave the French Canadians complete religious freedom and restored the French form of civil law. Part of the intolerable acts

Americans were angry because the act stopped their westward expansion and allowed French Roman Catholic institutions in Quebec. American colonists viewed these measures as attempts by the British to expand their imperial authority provisions of the act have been called a generous and statesmanlike attempt to deal with the peculiar conditions of the province, according to the British.