The Road to Independence was the time when colonies got their lives together. Colonists wanted freedom from England for many reasons. The British laid down an abundant amount of acts and laws such as the Stamp Act of 1765, and the Boston Tea Party in 1773. These events led up to the 1st Continental Congress and eventually led up to America declaring independence from its mother country, Great Britain.The Stamp Act was one of the main reasons why colonists were justified in breaking from Britain. Americans were taxed on all paper products such as marriage certificates, diplomas, land transactions, and even newspapers.
These paper products were stamped, and an abundant amount of people were affected. This lead to the idea of Parliamentary Sovereignty, which meant that the British could pass acts as they saw best-fit, even though they had no knowledge of the affairs in our colonies at the time. The Stamp Act led to many forms of protest as well, such as the Stamp Act Congress. The Stamp Act Congress decided to do a colonial-wide boycott, in hopes that it would strain England’s economy, and hopefully even repeal the Stamp Act. Another form of protest was Patrick Henry’s anti-Stamp Act speech. During his speech, he gave reasons for not following this act.
Eventually, the Virginia Resolves was passed, it encouraged colonists to fight against the Stamp Act. The Sons of Liberty, lead by Sam Adams, burned building that collected tax and tax collectors were often killed. Eventually, with the help of Benjamin Franklin, the Stamp Act was repealed. The Boston Tea Party occurred on December 16, 1773.
Colonists dressed up as Native Americans and raided vessels docked in the Boston harbor. In disguise, the Colonists threw tea overboard. Due to this protest, King George III passed the Intolerable Acts. The Royal Navy blockaded the Boston Harbor, causing no colonial goods to be shipped until the tax was paid. Wrongdoings of people would be tried in England, rather than staying in the Colonies. Another major event that took place was the 1st Continental Congress. It was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1774.
Colonists sent 55 delegates from every colony, besides Georgia, addressed acts that occurred. George Washington, Sam Adams, Patrick Henry, and John Adams prepared citizens for war. This was a major step, even though the people of the colonies were trying to avoid it. Other topics that were discussed during the 1st Continental Congress were the limit of parliament, and most importantly, they discussed how to define American Rights.There were many events that happened in history that make a mark in the world still to this day. Protests still occur in our country, like the “Unite the Right” Rally that happened in August of 2017, and the Women’s March that happened in January of 2017. In other words, colonists and many other Americans fought for what they thought was right at the time, and that continues to influence many of our people, the Americans, and the entire world to this day.