Parliament's Acts for America

Laws passed by Parliament to go into effect in America.  Some of these acts were to regulate markets, others were designed to raise revenue, while others were punitive in nature--designed to punish colonists for their behavior.

The Molasses Act

The Molasses Act was a law passed by the British Parliament to regulate trade and ensure the profitability of the British sugar colonies in America. The act imposed a tax of six pence per gallon on imports of molasses from non-British colonies.

1733-05-17

 

The Iron Act

The Iron Act  was intended to increase the importation of pig and bar iron from the American colonies and to prevent the colonies from manufacturing finished iron products. The Act prohibited the erection of new iron processing facilities in the colonies, where these raw materials had been identified.

1750-06-24

 

Parliament Vetoes Colonial Laws Prohibiting Convicts from Immigrating   

The British Parliament vetoed colonial laws that would have prohibited convicts from entering the colonies. This decision was met with resistance from the colonists, who argued that they should have the right to decide who was allowed to enter their communities.  The event prompts Benjamin Franklin to suggest that the Colonies send one rattlesnake to England for each convict England sends to the colonies.

1751

 

Royal Proclamation of 17--

Following the French and Indian War, this proclamation aimed to organize Great Britain's new North American empire and stabilize relations with Indigenous peoples by restricting colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains.

1763-10-07

 

The Sugar Act

This act was designed to boost revenue from the American colonies.  While it lowered the tax on molasses, it also increased enforcement against smuggling, making it harder for colonists to avoid paying.  The act also levied new taxes on other goods like sugar, coffee, and wine.  Britain aimed to extract more money from the colonists to offset the costs of the French and Indian War and the continued presence of British troops in the colonies.

1764-09-29

 

The Currency Act

This act prohibited the colonies from issuing their own paper currency as legal tender, requiring colonists to use scarce British currency or gold and silver coin. The act aimed to stabilize the colonial economy and control inflation, but it also created a shortage of currency in the colonies, hindering trade and causing economic hardship.

1764-09-01

 

The Stamp Act

This act required all legal and printed materials in the American colonies to carry a tax stamp. This meant that everything from newspapers and legal documents to playing cards and dice had to be printed on stamped paper produced in Britain and sold by government-appointed distributors. The purpose of this act was to help Britain pay for the cost of the French and Indian war, but it was met with fierce opposition from the colonists who argued that they were being taxed without representation in Parliament. 

1765-11-01

  

The Declaratory Act 

The same day the Stamp Act was repealed, Parliament passed the Declaratory Act asserting Parliament's right to legislate for the colonies "in all cases whatsoever." The act was largely ignored at the time, but it set the stage for future conflicts between Britain and the colonies over the issue of parliamentary authority and taxation.  

1766-03-18

 

The Quartering Act

The Quartering Act required the American colonies to provide housing and supplies for British troops stationed in the colonies. This meant that colonists could be forced to house soldiers in unoccupied homes, barns, or other buildings if adequate barracks were not available. The act was deeply unpopular with the colonists, who saw it as an intrusion on their privacy and a burden on their resources. This act was updated by another act of the same name years later.

1765-03-24

 

The Townshend Acts

The Townshend Acts were a series of laws passed that placed new taxes on goods imported into the American colonies, such as glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea.  The British government's goal was to raise revenue to help pay for the cost of administering the colonies. The colonists viewed these taxes as unjust, arguing that they were being taxed without representation in Parliament.

1767

  

The Tea Act

The Tea Act was designed to help the struggling British East India Company by removing the tax on tea imported to England and allowing the East India Company to sell directly to the colonies, thus removing the tax levied on the sale of the tea in London, also cutting middle-man merchants out of the tea trade with America, effectively removing all taxes on the tea, except for the small Townshend tea tax. Although this would dramatically reduce the price of tea in America, colonial radicals viewed this as trick to get the colonists to accept taxation without representation.

1773-05-10

  

The Boston Port Act

The third of the intolerable acts to take effect, the Boston Port Act closed the port of Boston to all trade until the colonists paid for the tea destroyed in the Boston Tea Party and for damages incurred.  It effectively crippled Boston's economy and aimed to force the city into submission. The act also stipulated that the port would remain closed until the King was satisfied that order had been restored.

1774-06-01

  

Massachusetts Government Act & Administration of Justice Act

These first two of the intolerable acts went into effect on the same day.  The Massachusetts Government Act revoked the colony's charter and gave the governor the authority to appoint members to the upper house of the legislature (previously elected).  It also restricted town meetings.  The Administration of Justice Act allowed British Officials accused of crimes to be tried in England.

1774-05-20

  

Quartering Act

The fourth of the intolerable acts to take effect, the Quartering Act revised a prior act of the same name. It expanded the power of British commanders to quarter troops in private homes if necessary, not just in barracks.  This renewed and strengthened the earlier act, further infringing on colonial privacy and exacerbating resentment.  It was particularly galling given that it was seen as a cost imposed on the colonists for the troops sent to enforce the other Intolerable Acts.

1774-06-02

  

Quebec Act

The Quebec Act established a new government for the Province of Quebec, the territory Britain acquired from France after the French and Indian War.  It extended Quebec's boundaries south to the Ohio River and west to the Mississippi River, impacting land claimed by other colonies.  The act also granted religious freedom to Catholics in Quebec and reinstated French civil law, while maintaining English criminal law.

1774-10-07