-
Sugar Act
This act put a tax on sugar and molasses. This was one of the tax acts that had angered the colonists. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act put taxes on all paper products. A stamp was required on all paper products to show that the colonist had payed the tax. -
Townshend Acts
Parliament strongly opposed the colonists' general behavior, therefore Charles Townshend created the Townshend Acts. The Townshend Acts included the Townshend Duty Act and the New York Restraining Act. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre occurred when Bostonians decided to try to drive the British soldier sent to Boston out of Boston. However it happened, five people were shot and all five died. One of those was Crispus Attuckus, an African American and Native American mix American. -
Tea Act
This put a tax on all tea purchases. The colonists' response was to stop buying tea. -
Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts were actually named the Coercive Acts. They were a number of acts passed in relative succession and included the Quartering Act, the Quebec Act, the Boston Port Act, and the Administration of Justice Act. -
First Continental Congress
This meeting was held after the closing of Boston harbor. It was held to simply discuss these British issues. -
Declaration of Rights
This declaration declared what rights as citizens the colonists should have. It explained to Britain the rights it denied to the colonists. -
Lexington and Concord
The Battle of Lexington and Concord was fought because the British noticed the colonists were stockpiling weapons near Boston and wanted to seize these weapons. The colonists found out the British were coming and met them at Boston to drive them off, and the colonists succeeded -
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on Breeds' Hill. It was a battle of a stand against oppression to the colonists in the end although the British had defeated the Continental Army. -
Olive Branch Petition
This document was one of the colonists' first attempts at peace. They submitted it to the British king, but the king refused to even read it. Instead, he punished the colonies. -
Boston Tea Party
The Sons of Liberty dump millions of dollars worth of tea off of a merchant ship. They sneak in the docked ship just before midnight. -
Common Sense
This was a pamphlet that told of Britain's injustices towards the colonies. This helped the patriots assess the British offenses and fed their anger towards British officials. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was a meeting of U.S. officials to decide how they should deal with the British offenses. The colonies reached the decision to start up a revolution on Britain in this meeting. -
Declaration of Independence
This Declaration was for the most part written by Thomas Jefferson, and was a document designed to tell Britain that the colonists no longer wanted to be associated with British law. It declared that America would no longer obey British law. -
Battle of New York
This battle was fought when General Washington decided to guard New York City, a strategically important city to the British, and later the British had come to try to claim New York City. Washington traced their movement and surrounded Manhattan Island. Unfortunately, Washington's army was too weak and the British defeated Washington's army. -
Battle of Brandywine Creek
This battle was a loss to the colonies mainly because of bad intelligence reports. Washington led the continental army, and Howe led the British. -
Battle of Saratoga
The Americans forced the surrender of General Burgoyne. This battle was a tremendous victory for the Continental Army and took place in New York. -
Valley Forge
This is the turning point of the war. The colonists are starving, deserting the military, freezing to death, and creating mutinies at Valley Forge because of such a lack of supplies. -
John Paul Jones captures the Serapis
This event showed the bravery and persistance of John Paul Jones. After an hour of battle, the British knocked out a major continental cannon. The British asked if he wanted to surrender, he said no, and after hours of combat, Britain surrenders.
