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French and Indian War
"France and Britain feuded over the boundaries of their respective North American empires. The feud turned bloody in 1754 when a force of British colonists and Native American allies, led by young George Washington, killed a French diplomat. This incident led to a war, which would become known as the Seven Years’ War or the French and Indian War" (Colonial Society, 2019). "The Seven Years’ War ended with the peace treaties of Paris and Hubertusburg in 1763" (Colonial Society, 2019). -
Boston Massacre
"...March 5, 1770, a crowd gathered outside the Custom House and began hurling insults, snowballs, and perhaps more at the young sentry. When a small number of soldiers came to the sentry’s aid, the crowd grew increasingly hostile until the soldiers fired. After the smoke cleared, five Bostonians were dead, including one of the ringleaders, Crispus Attucks, a formerly enslaved man turned free dockworker. The soldiers were tried in Boston and won acquittal..." (The American Revolution, 2019). -
Boston Tea Party
"...men disguised as Mohawks made their way to the wharf. The Boston Gazette reported what happened next:
But, behold what followed! A number of brave & resolute men, determined to do all in their power to save their country from the ruin which their enemies had plotted, in less than four hours, emptied every chest of tea on board the three ships . . . amounting to 342 chests, into the sea ! ! without the least damage done to the ships or any other property" (The American Revolution, 2019). -
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American Revolutionary War
"The American Revolution freed colonists from British rule and offered the first blow in what historians have called 'the age of democratic revolutions'" (The American Revolution, 2019).
"At home, however, the Revolution created a new nation-state, the United States of America. By September 1783, independence had been won" (The American Revolution, 2019). -
Declaration of Independence
The document was drafted by Thomas Jefferson: "The majority of the document outlined a list of specific grievances that the colonists had with British attempts to reform imperial administration during the 1760s and 1770s" (The American Revolution, 2019). "The Congress approved the document on July 4, 1776. However, it was one thing to declare independence; it was quite another to win it on the battlefield" (The American Revolution, 2019). -
Continental Congress Ratifies the Articles of Confederation
"The Continental Congress ratified the Articles of Confederation in 1781. The articles allowed each state one vote in the Continental Congress. But the articles are perhaps most notable for what they did not allow. Congress was given no power to levy or collect taxes, regulate foreign or interstate commerce, or establish a federal judiciary. These shortcomings rendered the postwar Congress weak and largely ineffectual" (The American Revolution, 2019). -
Treaty of Paris
"The capture of another army left the British without a new strategy and without public support to continue the war. Peace negotiations took place in France, and the war came to an official end on September 3, 1783" (The American Revolution, 2019). So the Treaty of Paris ended the American Revolutionary War (The American Revolution, 2019). -
George Washington Becomes the First President of the United States
"In April 1789, for example, thousands gathered in New York to see George Washington take the presidential oath of office. That November, Washington called his fellow citizens to celebrate with a day of thanksgiving, particularly for “the peaceable and rational manner” in which the government had been established" (A New Nation, 2019). -
Eli Whitney's Cotton Gin
"...cotton gin—a machine developed by Eli Whitney in 1794 for deseeding cotton—more easily than any other strain" (The Cotton Revolution, 2019). "Eli Whitney’s mechanical cotton gin revolutionized cotton production and expanded and strengthened slavery throughout the South" (The Cotton Revolution, 2019).
Photo credit: “Cotton Gin (Cotton Separating Machine)," 2015
