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George Washington
George Washington is born in Virginia. He became a very significant leader in American history. George was the leader of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War (1775%u20131783) and served as the first President of the United States of America (1789%u20131797). -
England Declares War
England declares war on Spain. As a result, in America, hostilities break out between Florida Spaniards and Georgia and South Carolina colonists. -
The Iron Act
The Iron Act was passed by the English Parliament, limiting the growth of the iron industry in the American colonies to protect the English Iron industry. -
New King In England
George III becomes the new English King. George III's long reign was marked by a series of military conflicts involving his kingdoms, much of the rest of Europe, and places further away in Africa, the Americas and Asia. In the later half of his life, George III suffered from recurrent and, eventually, permanent mental illness. After George III's death, the Prince Regent succeeded his father as George IV. -
French and Indian War
The French and Indian, also known as the Seven Year War, was caused by a dispute between French, British, American colonists, and Indians over the Ohio River Valley Land. The Indians and the French were on one side against the American colonists. It resulted in The Treaty of Paris, which was signed February 10, 1763. This made France give England all French territory east of the Mississippi River, except New Orleans. The Spanish gave up east and west Florida to the English in return for Cuba. -
Sugar Act
The Sugar Act, also known as the American Revenue Act or the American Duties Act, was passed by the British Parliament to offset the war debt brought by the French and Indian War and to help pay the expenses for running the colonies and new territories. This act increases the need for imported sugar and other items such as textiles, coffee, wines and dye. It forbids the import of foreign rum and French wines, and it arrived in the colonies at a time of economic depression; this started protest. -
Currency Act
The Currency Act prohibits the colonists from issuing any legal tender paper money. This act threatens to destabilize the entire colonial economy of both the industrial North and agricultural South, thus uniting the colonists against it. This Act offset the economy of the colonies and was widely opposed. It hurt trade by removing the circulating medium and dissatisfied the Colonies, and eventually led to the American Revolution. Some believed this to be the primary cause of the War. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was the fourth stamp act to be passed by the Parliament of Great Britain and required all legal documents, permits, commercial contracts, newspapers, wills, pamphlets, and playing cards in the American colonies to carry a tax stamp. It would be used to offset the high costs of the British military organization in America. These taxes would paid directly to England. Colonial resistance to the act led to its repeal on March 18, 1766. -
Townshend Act
The Townshend Acts were a series of acts passed by Britain. The acts are named for Charles Townshend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who proposed the idea. The purpose was to raise revenue in the colonies to pay for governors and judges, create a more effective means of enforcing compliance with trade regulations, to punish the province of New York for failing to comply with the 1765 Quartering Act, and to establish the idea that the British Parliament had the right to tax the colonies. -
Philadelphia Joins Boycott
In March, merchants in Philadelphia join the boycott of British trade goods. -
The Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre all started when several Brittish troops were sent to the colonies to enforce the Townshend Act. Many colonists opposed this act, and Boston was the center of the opposition.The event began in the morning of March 5 on King Street when a wigmaker's apprentice shouted out to a soldier. It then became a street fight between a patriot mob and some British soldiers. The mob threw stones, snowballs and sticks at the soldiers while the soldiers fired their muskets, killing 5 people -
Boston Tea Act
When the Indemnity Act expired in 1772, Parliament passes a new act which reduced the refund to three-fifths of the 25% duty, which effectively left a 10% duty on tea imported into Britain. On the morning of December 6, British ships came loaded with tea. The Americans wanted to send it back, because accepting it would be the same as accepting the British to tax them. Dresses at Mohawk Indians, they boarded three ships and dumped 342 chests of tea worth 10,000 pounds. -
Continetal Congress
The very first Continental Congress was from September 5 to October 26, 1774. They met in Carpenter's Hall in Philedalphia and consisted of 56 delegates from twelve of the Thirteen Colonies. They convened in response to the Coercive Acts passed by the British Parliament in 1774, the delegates organized an economic boycott of Great Britain in protest and petitioned the king for a redress of grievances and also established the course of the congress- principles common to all of the colonies. -
Battle Of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The battles marked the outbreak of open armed conflict between Great Britain and its thirteen colonies. About 700 British Army regulars, under Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith, were given secret orders to capture and destroy military supplies that were reportedly stored by the Massachusetts militia at Concord. British army regrouped after being outnumbered and started the seige of Boston. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill began on on Breed's Hill, as part of the Siege of Boston during the American Revolutionary War. The colonies responded to the seige of Boston by building built lightly fortified lines across most of the Charlestown Peninsula. The British attacked the next day and captured the positions on the third attack, becase colonists ran out of ammunition. The Colonial forces retreated over Bunker Hill and suffered their most significant losses, leading to Brittish victory. -
The Declaration Of Independence
By the time the Declaration of Independence was created in July 1776, the Thirteen Colonies and Great Britain had been at war for more than a year. Feuds and frustrations built between the colonies and the mother country for years. Finally, the colonies gain their independence, and on July 4th, 56 delegates get together in Independence Hall in Philadelphia to sign the American Document-John Hancock's being the largest. This day is most significant day in America's quest for independence. -
Battle of Brandywine
The Battle of Brandywine was fought in the area surrounding Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. The battle left Philadelphia, the revolutionary capital, undefended. The British snuk up on the Americans on a foggy morning, and after and intense battle. The defeated Americans were forced to retreat to Chester. The British captured the city on September 26, beginning an occupation that would last until June, 1778. -
The Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation was the constitution of the revolutionary wartime alliance of the thirteen colonies of the United States of America. The federalists felt that the articles were missing an effective government. Another criticism of the Articles was that they did not strike the right balance between large and small states in the legislative decision making process. The Articles were then replaced by the United States Constitution on June 21, 1788. -
Treaty of Peace
The peace treaty with Britain, known as the Treaty of Paris, gave the U.S. all land east of the Mississippi River and south of the Great Lakes, though not including Florida. The Native American nations actually living in this region were not a party to this treaty and did not recognize it until they were defeated militarily by the United States.Issues regarding boundaries and debts were not resolved until the Jay Treaty of 1795. -
Aftermath of American Revolution
After the American Revolution, there was much debt. The national debt fell into three categories. The first was the $11 million owed to foreigners. The second and third, roughly $24 million each, were debts owed by the national and state governments to Americans who had sold food, horses, and supplies to the revolutionary forces. Everyone received face value for wartime certificates, so that the national honor would be sustained and the national credit established.
