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First permanent British colony established at Jamestown, Virginia
By creating a settlement far from London, English colonists had to make day-to-day decisions without the king's input. The Jamestown settlement contributed to the American Revolution because colonists had poor relations with Native communities; colonists expected England to protect them from Native Americans--and expected England to pay for it. The colonists embraced the principle of social contract; they accepted limits on their freedom in exchange for government protection. -
Landing of the Mayflower at Plymouth, Massachusetts
English colonists who arrived off the New England coast in 1620 created the Mayflower Compact, which established rules for the community to use while they waited to set up a permanent government. The agreement gave colonists a taste for self-government. It was also an early democratic experiment because all male passengers signed on to the compact. -
Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
When some colonists split from the Massachusetts Bay Company to create a separate colony in Connecticut, they needed a new government. The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut were arguably the first written constitution in the English colonies. The Orders protected several civil liberties, including freedom of religion. -
The Laws and Liberties
The document, produced for Massachusetts' colonial government, became the first written record of laws used and enforced in the English colonies. The Laws and Liberties created a tradition for the United States about what rights (especially which civil liberties) should be protected; several were eventually added to the Bill of Rights.-Odalis -
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The Seven Years' War
The French and Indian War began in 1754 and ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763. The war gave Great Britain enormous territorial gains in North America. However, disputes over frontier policy and wars expenses led to colonial discontent, and ultimately to the American Revolution. Colonists were influenced by the idea of...
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Stamp Act Congress
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Quartering Act
One of the Intolerable Acts required colonists to house and feed British soldiers in barracks or in homes, inns, livery stables, ale houses, victualling houses and the houses of sellers of wine. It contributed to the American Revolution because the colonies had no representation but they were being taxed to pay for the army even though they were at peace. A philosophy of government that influenced colonists’ thoughts were that they believed in “no taxation without representation.”-Lilyanne -
The Stamp Act
The British Parliament taxed all paper documents in the colonies. Legal documents and printed materials had to have a tax stamp on them. The British Empire in debt from the Seven Years' War, so they went to the colonies for money. Colonial resistance grew over time and angry colonists who said the act was unconstitutional used violence to intimidate stamp collectors. Parliament eventually repealed the Stamp Act in March 1766, when it passed the Declaratory Acts.- Zoe -
Boston Massacre
Patriots taunt British guards, throwing snowballs, stones and other objects at the them. A riot began and protesters began to attack but the guards fired into the crowd killing 3 right away and wounding 8 where 2 of those 8 died later.-Colten -
Tea Act
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Boston Tea Party
American colonists were angry about the Tea Act because it tricked them into paying taxes without representation, meaning colonists had to pay a government they had no control in. So they dumped 342 chests of imported English tea at Griffin's Wharf. The British government decided to punish Massachusetts with the Coercive Acts and put America and Great Britain on a path toward war. Colonists were influenced by popular sovereignty since “taxation without representation” goes against it. -Emil -
Intolerable Acts
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First Continental Congress
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Declaration of Independence
Written by Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston. The Declaration of Independence explained the rights colonists had. It was a paper with the rules of what they could do and what right they had as colonists. This was really important at the time because it gave Americans a tool that Britain had to follow. A philosophy that explains the Declaration of Independence would be liberty because it gave people liberty and rights. -Lupita
