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French and Indian War
The French and Indian war was won by the British, but it cost a lot, so the British began placing taxes on the colonists. The colonists felt that this wasn't fair as they weren't consulted by the British and it violated their rights as English citizens -
No taxation without representation
Because the colonists were mad at the British, they came up with the slogan, "no taxation without representation," meaning that they shouldn't be allowed to be taxed without representation in Parliament. -
Boycotting
The colonists had begun to boycott and smuggle the British goods to avoid the taxes, and most notably, the colonists boarded a British tea ship and dumped a lot of tea off of the ship to show their displeasure with the taxes. -
Lexington & Concord
In 1775, the first shots were set off at the cities of Lexington and Concord, marking the beginning of the American Revolution. -
The 2nd Continental Congress
The 'Second Continental Congress' selected George Washington as the commander of the new continental army against the British, and he was one of the main reasons that the colonists gained independence. -
DOI
On July 4th, the Declaration of Independence was signed. The Declaration of Independence was essentially a break-up letter to Britain, listing grievances they had with King George III and England's Parliament, and declaring independence(duh). A transcription of the Declaration can be found here. -
Fun fact about the Declaration
Originally, the DOI only had John Hancock's signature(President of the Continental Congress) when it was sent to the 13 colonies. He made his signature so big that the king of England didn't need his glasses to read it. -
Saratoga
After winning Lexington&Concord, the Americans pretty much lost every battle until Saratoga, which brought the French into the war and on the side of the colonists. -
Yorktown
In Yorktown, the Continental Army along with the French forced the British to surrender and the war was over. The colonists were finally the United States of America -
Note
The DOI and the Constitution are NOT the same thing. The constitution was the wishes listed in the DOI in a governmental format. -
Constitution
the Continental Congress wrote the U.S. Constitution. 'We the people...' -
Letter from an American Farmer
St. John de Crevecoeur moved to America from France and wrote a book describing the new American society. He was impressed by a lot of things, including the mixing of people and the fact that there wasn't an actual class system and no kings -
Alexis de Tocqueville
Alexis de Tocqueville was sent to America by the French government t study the American prison system, and wrote 'Democracy in America' and wrote about how America was different from the European society it had come from. He decided that Americans had an 'overriding concern with money.' -
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The Civil War
Southern states believed that they had the right to say no to tariffs, and were also scared that the North would abolish slavery, which was something they needed for their economy to function(cotton picking). The first battle occurred in 1861 when the South attacked the North at Fort Sumter, and the war ended when the South surrendered at the Appomattox Courthouse in VA. -
Bill of Rights
The Continental Congress added 10 amendments in order to protect the American's individual liberties and freedoms. these first 10 amendments became known as the Bill of Rights. -
Civil War Picture
