The Declaration of Independence is one of the most significant documents in U.S. history, and its drafting was influenced by a series of events that fueled growing discontent among the American colonies. The root cause of this discontent was the financial burden caused by the French and Indian War (1754–1763), which left Great Britain with a massive war debt. To address this debt, King George III and the British Parliament imposed a series of taxes on the colonies.
In 1764, the Sugar Act was passed, taxing sugar, coffee, and cloth, followed by the Stamp Act in 1765, which required colonists to pay for a British stamp on all official documents. These taxes, imposed without colonial representation in Parliament, angered the colonists, who believed that only their own elected representatives had the right to tax them. In protest, many colonists boycotted British goods, leading to the repeal of the Stamp Act in 1766. However, the British government continued to impose new taxes, such as the Townshend Acts in 1767, which taxed goods like lead, glass, paper, paint, and tea.
The Townshend Acts intensified the resentment of the colonists, who viewed the taxes as unjust. In response, protests erupted, and British soldiers were sent to protect tax officials. The presence of British troops further fueled tensions, and in 1770, the situation escalated when British soldiers killed five colonists during an altercation in what became known as the Boston Massacre. This event deepened the colonists’ distrust of British rule.
In 1773, the British government passed the Tea Act, which granted the British East India Company the exclusive right to sell tea to the colonies at a lower price. However, the tax on tea, which the colonists had not consented to, led to widespread protests. In December 1773, a group of colonists, disguised as Native Americans, boarded British ships in Boston Harbor and dumped the tea into the water in an act of defiance known as the Boston Tea Party.
In retaliation, the British Parliament enacted the Intolerable Acts (also called the Coercive Acts) in 1774. These laws were designed to punish the colonies, especially Massachusetts, by closing the port of Boston, restricting local government, and placing the colony under tighter British control. These punitive measures only further united the colonies against British rule and set the stage for the eventual drafting of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, marking the beginning of the American Revolution.
Directions: Choose the best answer to each of the following questions.
Questions 1 and 2 are based on the following graph
1. According to the graph, in which year was the value of goods imported from Britain greatest?
A. 1700
B. 1775
C. 1776
D. 1740
2. Between which years did the value of colonial imports from Britain increase the most?
A. 1720–1740
B. 1740–1760
C. 1760–1775
D. 1775–1776
1. According to the graph, in which year was the value of goods imported from Britain greatest?
✅ Likely Answer: B. 1775
Explanation:
Imports from Britain to the American colonies generally peaked right before the American Revolution in 1775. After 1775, with the outbreak of war and rising tensions, imports dropped sharply, especially by 1776 when the colonies declared independence.
2. Between which years did the value of colonial imports from Britain increase the most?
✅ Likely Answer: C. 1760–1775
Explanation:
The largest increase in imports typically occurred in the 15 years before the Revolution, during a time of economic growth in the colonies and increasing dependence on British manufactured goods. After this point, boycotts and conflict began reducing trade.