Period 3: 1754-1800
Luke Newton, January 4, 2016
Royal Proclamation of 1763
Proclamation of 1763
The Colonial western frontier was in constant conflict with Native Americans as settlers moving west encroached on Indian territory, which drew violent reactions. In an attempt to counter this problem, British parliament passed the Proclamation of 1763, which drew an imaginary line along the Appalachian Mountains that colonists were not allowed to cross. Most colonist with aspirations of moving west ignored the Proclamation and settled west of the line anyway.
Stamp Act Congress
The Stamp Act Congress was a meeting of nine colonies who met in New York in 1765. They met in response to the revenue gaining Stamp Act that had recently been enacted. The Congress opposed taxation without representation and organized boycotts of British goods as well as organize other forms of protest.
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts were taxes passed by British Parliament in 1767. These acts taxed products such as tea, glass, and paper. This tax further increased the already rising tensions between the colonists and ,the virtual representative, British Parliament.
Olive Branch Petition
In July of 1775, the First Continental Congress wrote the Olive Branch Petition and sent it to King George III. The Petition attempted to persuade the King to accept their loyalty in exchange for peace and the protection of colonial rights.
WOR-1.0 The Olive Branch Petition was an attempt at cooperation between the colonists and the British Empire. However, the peace efforts failed to avoid the Revolutionary War.
Whiskey Rebellion
In order to counter the war debts that the United States had accumulated in the Revolutionary War, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton convinced Congress to levy a heavy excise tax on whiskey. This greatly angered western Pennsylvanians who then attacked the tax collectors. In response, George Washington gathered 15,000 state militiamen and put down the insurrection with almost no blood shed. This revealed that the new government under the Constitution had the power to deal with such issues quickly and decisively.
POL-3.0 For the first time, the United States government had some legitimate power in the economic and political lives of its citizens.