- Colonists organized protests, demonstrations, and boycotts of British goods.
- The Sons of Liberty, a group of radical colonists, used intimidation and violence against stamp collectors and British officials.
- Merchants refused to import British goods, leading to economic pressure on British merchants and manufacturers.
- Colonial assemblies passed resolutions condemning the Stamp Act and denying its legality.
- The Stamp Act Congress, a meeting of delegates from nine colonies, drafted a petition to the king and Parliament protesting the act.
2. The Townshend Acts of 1767:
- Colonists again organized protests, demonstrations, and boycotts of British goods.
- The Daughters of Liberty, a group of women, joined the protest by promoting spinning bees and wearing homespun clothing.
- The non-importation agreements led to a decline in British exports to the colonies and economic pressure on British merchants and manufacturers.
- Colonial assemblies passed resolutions condemning the Townshend Acts and denying their legality.
- The Massachusetts Circular Letter, drafted by Samuel Adams, called for united colonial resistance to British policies and was widely circulated among the colonies.
3. The Boston Massacre of 1770:
- British troops fired on a group of colonists in Boston, killing five, in response to tensions between the soldiers and the colonists.
- The incident further inflamed colonial anger and led to increased calls for resistance.
4. The Boston Tea Party of 1773:
- Colonists, disguised as Mohawk Indians, boarded British ships in Boston Harbor and dumped 342 chests of tea into the water in protest of the Tea Act.
- The incident was a direct challenge to British authority and led to the passage of the Coercive Acts, also known as the Intolerable Acts, by Parliament.
5. The Quebec Act of 1774:
- The act extended the boundaries of the Province of Quebec and granted religious freedom to Catholics, angering many colonists who saw it as a threat to their Protestant faith and as a sign of British favoritism toward French Canadians.
6. The First Continental Congress of 1774:
- Delegates from twelve colonies met in Philadelphia to discuss the growing crisis with Britain and to coordinate colonial resistance.
- The Congress passed the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, which outlined colonial grievances against British policies.
- The Congress also agreed to boycott British goods and to form militias for self-defense.