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Georgia Colony
The colony of Georgia, located directly in between the English colony of South Carolina, and the Spanish colony of Florida, was the subject of frequent military invasions by both sides until the Yamassee War (1715-1716) left the area devoid of people. -
Benjamin Franklin discovers elelctricty
Ben Franklin believed electricity could be harnessed from lightning. In 1752, he devised an experiment to test his theory. Although details of the experiment remain sketchy to this day, Franklin originally wanted to test his theory atop a spire that was to be built on a Philadelphia church. As he thought about it in detail, he realized that his theory could be better tested by using a mobile kite, rather than a stationary spire. Franklin prepared the kite by tying a handkerchief to two crossed s -
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War, also known as the Seven Years War, began in the Spring on 1754. The dispute arose over the presence of British and French settlers in the Ohio River Valley (in and around present day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), but resulted in battles that were fought far from there. Both the French and English wanted exclusive rights to the area because of its economic potential and plethora of fur-bearing wildlife. Despite attempts in Europe to solve the territory battle diplomaticall -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was passed by the British Parliament on March 22, 1765. The new tax was imposed on all American colonists and required them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used. Ship's papers, legal documents, licenses, newspapers, other publications, and even playing cards were taxed -
The Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was an incident that led to the deaths of five civilians at the hands of British troops on March 5, 1770, the legal aftermath of which helped spark the rebellion in some of the British American colonies, which culminated in the American Revolution. A tense situation because of a heavy British military presence in Boston boiled over to incite brawls between soldiers and civilians and eventually led to troops discharging their muskets after being attacked by a rioting crowd. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a direct action by colonists in Boston, a town in the British colony of Massachusetts, against the British government. On December 16, 1773, after officials in Boston refused to return three shiploads of taxed tea to Britain, a group of colonists boarded the ships and destroyed the tea by throwing it into Boston Harbor. The incident remains an iconic event of American history, and has often been referenced in other political protests. -
The First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from twelve of the thirteen North American colonies that met on September 5, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, early in the American Revolution. Called in response to the passage of the Coercive Acts (also known as Intolerable Acts by the Colonial Americans) by the British Parliament, the Congress was attended by 56 members appointed by the legislatures of twelve of the Thirteen Colonies, the exception being the -
The Battles of Lexington and Concord
The battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War.[8] They were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy (present-day Arlington), and Cambridge, near Boston. The battles marked the outbreak of open armed conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and its thirteen colonies in the mainland of British North America. -
Declaration of Independence
The United States Declaration of Independence is a statement adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain were now independent states, and thus no longer a part of the British Empire. Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration is a formal explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain, more than a year after the outbreak of the American Revolut -
Battle of Guilford Courthouse
The American and British armys meat on a field about half a mile from the courthouse. When the British charged at the Americans, they fought back for a while before retreating. The British won the battle. -
Yorktown
The Siege of Yorktown or Battle of Yorktown in 1781 was a decisive victory by combined assault of American forces led by General George Washington and French forces led by General Comte de Rochambeau over a British Army commanded by General Lord Cornwallis. It proved to be the last major land battle of the American Revolutionary War, as the surrender of Cornwallis’s army (the second major surrender of the war, the other being Burgoyne's surrender at the Battle of Saratoga) prompted the British g -
Bill of Rights
On September 25, 1789, the First Congress of the United States therefore proposed to the state legislatures 12 amendments to the Constitution that met arguments most frequently advanced against it. The first two proposed amendments, which concerned the number of constituents for each Representative and the compensation of Congressmen, were not ratified. Articles 3 to 12, however, ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures, constitute the first 10 amendments of the Constitution, known -
Alien and Sedition Acts
In 1798 Congress was close to declaring war on France. As a result, John Adams and congress passed several laws collectively known as the Alien and Sedition Acts. The acts were designed by the Federalists to strengthen the power of the Federal Government and to squash any political opposition, especially from Thomas Jefferson and the Republicans. The acts were ultimately so unpopular that they certainly contributed to Adams' defeat in the 1800 presidential election.
