American+Revolutionary+Documents

__**American Revolutionary Documents **__ =** The American Revolution, 1764 to 1775, was essentially a colonial rebellion against Britain in order to gain independence and become their own country. The rebellion was brought on due to the amount of Acts and documents Parliament had passed. Why are they significant though? To really understand why, you have to take a look at the point of view of the colonists. The Acts Parliament was passing really angered the people and enough was enough. The people stood up and fought for their freedom. This actually had a huge impact on the world. The American Revolution lead to other revolutions on a global standard like the French Revolution. The American Revolution is such a big part of the United States of America's history because it caused a chain of events. **=
 * =**The documents lead/encouraged the American Revolution. **=
 * =**The American Revolution lead to United States freedom. **=
 * =**Freedom leads to Britain not being such a big hot shot in the economy. **=
 * =**Britain's not so big part in the economy lead to the United States of America to be one of the major elements in today's economy! **=

** To really get a feel on the significant documents of the American Revolution, the pamphlets/acts below are presented in chronological order. ** = =

__**Proclamation of 1763 **__



 King George III distributed a proclamation on October 7, 1763 which insured a place for the Native Americans to live. The Proclamation basically told the colonists that they could not live west of the Appalachian Mountains. This upset the colonists since some had already had either land or land grants there. After the Proclamation was issued, many colonists ignored it. This was one of many causes of the American Revolution (American Revolution).

"Orangeburg 5 Teaching American History Grant." //__Teaching American History in South Carolina: A State-wide Approach to Teaching Professional__ Development //. 2009. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. .

__**Sugar/Currency Act **__

 The Sugar Act in 1764 was the first law passed by Parliament, which was the first of many, to raise money from the colonies (Documents). <span style="color: #121917; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Sugar Act taxed sugar and molasses. The law lowered the tax on sugar, but also cracked down on colonial smuggling (Sugar Act). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">That same year, the Currency Act was passed to forbid the colonies from passing around and creating their own money or currency. This was one of many acts that increased peoples anger towards the crown and Britain (Documents). <span style="color: #121917; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">It was put into place as an effort to curb inflation and keep some creditors safe from financial ruin (Currency Act).

__**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16pt;">The Quartering Act **__

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;"> Passed in 1765; the Quartering Act pressured Colonial governments to provide housing, food, and supplies for the British troops ( <span style="color: #121917; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 19px;">Quartering Act <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">).

__**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16pt;">Stamp Act **__

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> In 1765, Parliament passed the Stamp Act which doubled in meaning as a way for Britain to gain more money. Stamps were put on documents like newspapers, pamphlets, cards, and more to show that the tax was paid (Documents). <span style="color: #121917; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">This act started a series of protests in the colonies (Stamp Act).

__**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16pt;">Townshend Acts **__

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> In 1767, Parliament passed Townshend Acts which was another tax on items. The tax was put on glass, lead, paint, tea, and paper.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> Then in 1770, the Townshend Acts were brought down due to all of the boycotts the colonies were having on British goods. The only tax left from the Townshend Acts were the taxes on tea (Documents).

__<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16pt;">**Tea Act** __ media type="custom" key="14229978" align="center"

<span style="background-color: #f1f1ea; color: #666666; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">“The Sons of Liberty and the Boston Tea Party.” 2012. //<span style="background-color: #f1f1ea; color: #666666; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; vertical-align: baseline;">The History Channel website //<span style="background-color: #f1f1ea; color: #666666; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">. Apr 13 2012, 11:33 http://www.history.com/videos/the-sons-of-liberty-and-the-boston-tea-party. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; vertical-align: baseline;"> In 1773, Parliament passed yet another law called the Tea Act. They brought down the tax on imported British tea which lead many people to boycott tea (Documents). The Tea Act served another <span style="color: #121917; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14pt;">purpose as well; it offered a bailout to the East India Company, which was an important part of Britain’s economy. The act accomplished this bailout by providing a monopoly on tea importation in the colonies (Tea Act).

<span style="color: #121917; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16pt; vertical-align: baseline;">**__Common Sense__** <span style="color: #121917; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14pt;"> A pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1776 that convinced colonists that further association with the English King was unwanted and not necessary. //<span style="color: #121917; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14pt;">Common sense //<span style="color: #121917; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14pt;"> was based on the ideas of the Enlightenment and natural rights. This pamphlet sold more than 120,000 copies, making it very influential (Thomas Paine).


 * > <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 80%;">Thomas Paine's pamphlet Common Sense, published in January 1776, helped to inspire the American Revolution.(Credit: Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.) ||

__<span style="color: #121917; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16pt; vertical-align: baseline;">**Declaration of Independence** __ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">

<span style="color: #121917; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> Written in 1776, the Declaration of Independence is one of <span style="color: #121917; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline;">the most important and influential documents in American history. It explained the reason that the colonies were declaring independence from Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence was written by a committee, consisting of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston, chosen by the Second Continental Congress (Declaration).

media type="custom" key="14228602" align="center"

<span style="background-color: #f1f1ea; color: #666666; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">“U.S. declares independence.” 2012. //<span style="background-color: #f1f1ea; color: #666666; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; vertical-align: baseline;">The History Channel website //<span style="background-color: #f1f1ea; color: #666666; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">. Apr 13 2012, 11:34 http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/us-declares-independence.


 * > <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11px;">"Archivist Announces Results of The People's Vote." //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">Prologue //. Spring 2004: 52-55. //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">SIRS Government Reporter. // Web. 21 Mar 2012. ||

Work Cited

"American Revolution - Causes of the American Revolution." //Military History - Warfare through the Ages - Battles and Conflicts - Weapons of War - Military Leaders in History//. Web. 1 Apr. 2012. <http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/americanrevolution/a/amrevcauses.htm>.

"Currency Act (1764)." //American History//. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 1 Apr. 2012.

"Declaration of Independence (1776)." //American History//. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 1 Apr. 2012.

Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, 1774-1789 - America During the Age of Revolution, 1764-1775 - (American Memory from the Library of Congress)."//American Memory from the Library of Congress - Home Page//. Web. 1 Apr. 2012. <http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/continental/timeline.html>.

"Quartering Act (1765)." //American History//. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 1 Apr. 2012.

"Stamp Act (1765)." //American History//. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 1 Apr. 2012.

"Sugar Act (1764)." //American History//. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 1 Apr. 2012.

"Tea Act (1773)." //American History//. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 1 Apr. 2012.

"Thomas Paine: //Common Sense// (1776)." //American History//. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 1 Apr. 2012.

Caitlin McGill Brooke Schnucker