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Founding of Jamestown
Jamestown was the first British settlement in North America. Despite worries about their Spanish neighbors and conflict with the indigenous people, Jamestown led the way for other British settlers to make their home in what is now the United States. -
The Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact was the first attempt at British settlers governing themselves. It was a document, signed by all of the men aboard the Mayflower, agreeing to follow a certain set of rules until the area where they landed was approved by the King. -
The French and Indian War (1754-1763)
The French and Indian war was originally caused by French expanding into British territory, causing conflict before war was officially declared. During the war, British forces took over land that was previously French and Spanish. A peace treaty was signed in 1763, and because of war expenses, Britain had gone deeply in debt. Since the Colonies benefited the most from the war, their taxes were increased massively, which upset many Colonists. -
The Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was an act passed by the British requiring certain goods to have official government stamps, which you had to buy. This was to help pay off debt from the French and Indian war. Many colonists felt that they were being taxed unfairly, but since they had no official government representation, the only way they could fight back was with mobs and protests. The stamp act was ultimately repealed in 1766. Despite the repeal, many colonists were not satisfied. -
The Boston Massacre
Anti-British sentiments were growing among colonists. A few colonists started a fight with a single British soldier, which ended up turning into a riot, ending in multiple deaths. Colonial media at the time, such as Paul Revere's carving depicted the Soldiers as the instigators or as cruel and monstrous. This fueled the colonists rage towards the British. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea party was a reaction to Britain's attempts to tax the colonists higher for tea. Since many colonists were already upset at previous attempts to tax essential and common items, they planned a protest. When a British East India company tea ship pulled into the Boston Harbor one night, colonists dressed as native Americans jumped on board and began destroying and tossing overboard hundreds of cases of tea. The British fought back by putting into place the Intolerable acts. -
The Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable acts were a set of four acts put in place by the British to stop the rebellion in Boston. The four acts closed the Boston Harbor until the property that had been damaged during the Boston Tea Party was repaid, took down the local government and instead put a British appointed leader, British officers couldn't be prosecuted in Massachusetts, and colonists had to let British soldiers stay in their homes if asked. Colonists, even outside of Boston grew more resentful. -
First Continental Congress
The first Continental Congress was a gathering of politically important people from every colony except for Georgia. At the first Continental Congress, they met to form a more unified resistance against the British forces, specifically because of the Intolerable acts -
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death
In a convention in Virginia, Patrick Henry was trying to move the people's interest into taking a more combative stance towards the British. While there is no whole version of his transcript, give me liberty or give me death became a driving force for many colonials to join the revolution. -
Paul Revere
Paul Revere was a silversmith in Boston. He began getting politically active around the time of the Boston Massacre. In 1775, he was alerted that the British were on their way to arrest two leaders of the revolution, John Hancock and Samuel Adams. He reached Hancock and Adams in time that the revolutionaries were able to avoid arrest and continue to take part in the revolution. -
Second Continental Congress
The second Continental Congress this time included all 13 colonies, and first met shortly after the start of the revolutionary war. During the second Continental Congress, they formalized the patriots into a real military, appointing George Washington as the General. This helped the revolution solidify into a more organized movement -
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker hill took place on Breed's hill in Charlestown. While this battle was a loss for the colonials, it was a close enough battle that it motivated many colonial soldiers in their fighting. -
Common Sense
Common sense was a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine. It held arguments for American independence, and changed the ways many colonists identified themselves, which increased how many people were willing to fight. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston. This document was a formal way to announce the intentions of the colonies to form their own country, outside of British rule. The Declaration of Independence solidified the goal for many colonials. -
Washington Crosses the Delaware River
George Washington decides to sneak up on troops celebrating Christmas. While not all of his troops made it through the river, he managed a pretty clean victory, but did not have enough troops to stay where he was. Even though he had to leave, his victory helped inspire colonial troops. -
First Flag is Chosen
The first flag is officially chosen by the congress, giving many new Americans a sense of national identity. -
France and US form alliance
French and American representatives meet to sign a treaty, which gave the colonial troops the support of the French. France started sending supplies to the colonial forces, and the French navy took on many British ships, allowing the colonies to focus their troops more. -
The Articles of Confederation were Ratified
The Articles of Confederation were the first attempt at an independent government by the United state. They were sent out by Congress in 1777, although it wasn't until 1781 that all states had agreed. The Articles did have their problems though, such as not being able to regulate trade or currency, since states held more power individually than the federal government. -
Treaty of Paris
After British defeat, the United States and the British were having trouble with reaching a peace agreement. Eventually, the British gave up and agreed to see the United States as an independent nation. -
Shay's Rebellion
Shay's Rebellion was a group of farmers, a lot of them previously soldiers, who were unable to sell their crops and were being taxed highly, and eventually went bankrupt because of this. While ultimately the rebels lost, they did lead many government leaders to reconsider the Articles of Confederation. -
The Constitutional Convention
The Articles of Confederation weren't working, and it was causing a lot of trouble within the Union. Delegates from every state but Rhode Island met up to try and fix the current government. Most people voted to start from scratch, and leave behind the Articles of Confederation. After a couple of months, 38 of 41 delegates voted to send the Constitution to states for ratification. -
Delaware Ratifies the Constitution
Delaware become the first state in the Union to ratify the Constitution. The Constitution would still not go into effect until all thirteen states had ratified it. -
Washington is Elected President
Washington was elected first President of the United States, despite two states not having ratified the constitution yet. -
Rhode Island Ratifies the Constitution
Rhode Island officially ratifies the Constitution, meaning it is implemented fully across the United States. -
Bill of Rights is Ratified
The Bill of Rights was amended onto the Constitution, giving the people more solidified rights in the law. -
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