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Jamestown
The first permanent colony was established by the Virginia Company and was named Jamestown after the English king of that time, James I. They were looking for resources in Virginia that they could make money from. The colonists didn't know how to survive, and 82 of 120 colonist died of disease or starvation in the first year. The group leader, John Smith, started trading with Cheif Powhatan of the Powhatan tribe. He got corn from the them and this helped the colonist survive. -
Pilgrims and Puritans
The Pilgrims and the Puritans came to America to escape religeous persecution. The pilgrims settled in Plymouth during the winter and had trouble surviving in the cold weather. The Wampanoag Indians helped the colonists and the Pilgrims thanked them by hosting the first Thanksgiving. The Puritans believed that the chuch of England needed to be purified but not all people shared their veiws so they came to America and settled in Boston. Both groups made their own rules and governed themselves. -
All 13 Colonies Established
All of the thirteen original colonies have been established. Here is a list of all the colonies and the dates they were established.
Virginia: 1607, Massachusetts Bay Colony: 1630, Maryland: 1634, Connecticut: 1636, Rhode Island: 1636, New York: 1664,
New Jersey: 1664, New Hampshire: 1679, Pennslyvania: 1682, Delaware: 1704, North Carolina: 1729, South Carolina: 1729,
Georgia: 1733. -
The French and Indian War
The French and Indian war started when colonists started to move west towards the Native American's land. The natives did not want the colonists on their land. The French also said the land was theirs becuase a French explorer claimed it for France. So the war began and many of the indians sided with the French hoping they could win their land back. This war was important because its outcome fueled the American Revolution. -
No Taxation Without Representation (Stamp Act)
The cost of the French and Indian war was high so the British Parliment taxed the colonists on all printed items. Newspapers and legal documents were taxed! This angered the colonists because they had no representation in Parliment. The British thought that because Britan helped fight in the war, colonists should pay the tax. A group called the Sons of Liberty protested the Stamp Act. They tarred and feathered tax collecters. The British had no way to collect the tax so they repealed it. -
The Townshend Acts
After the British repealed the Stamp Act, they still needed to money to pay debts, so they imposed tariffs on certain imported goods like tea, wool, paper, lead, glass, and paints. The colonists boycotted these goods to protest the tariffs. Britain responded by sending warships to Boston hoping to scare the people into paying the taxes. This tactic failed and the British repealed all tariffs except for the one on tea. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston massacre was not really a massacre. The colonists surrounded British soldiers and dared them to fire their guns. The frightened British soldiers fired into the crowd and killed 5 people. The soldiers went on trial and John Adams defended the soldiers. John Adams was against the taxes but he thought everyone should have a fair trial. The soldiers were not found guilty. The photo on the left was done by Paul Revere, but that is not how the Boston Massacre happened. -
The Tea Act
The East India Company was a British tea business, and they were having trouble making money. The British wanted to help the East India Company so they passed a new law that stated that the colonists could only buy tea from the East India Company. This angered the colonists they didn't want to be told who they could or couldn't buy tea from. -
The Boston Teaparty
The Tea Act made the colonists very angry, so a group of colonists called the Sons of Liberty, (the same people who tarred and feathered tax collecters), snuck aboard East India Company ships and threw a total of 342 chests of tea in to the harbor. This is called the Boston Tea Party. -
The Intolerable Acts
The British were furious at the colonists for destroying the tea so they restricted the colonists even more. They sent more British troops to Boston, they forced the colonists to care for the soldiers, and they closed down the British Harbor until the coloists payed for the destroyed tea. The colonists were even more angered and the tension in Boston grew. -
The First Continental Congress
Leaders from all 13 colonies started talking about holding a conference meeting between all of the colonies. So in 1774, 12 colonial leaders came together in Philadelphia. The meeting was called the first continental congress. Some people there included George Washington, Patric Henry, John Adams, and Samuel Adams. During this meeting they decided that they would not trade with Britan until the Intolerable Acts were repealed, and that every colony would create militias, (volunteer armies). -
Paul Revere's Warning
The militias were storing weapons in Concord. The British were sent to destroy these weapons so the colonies couldn't fight back. But the British were also trying to capture Samuel Adams and John Hancock who were in Lexington at the time. The British tried to keep their plan secret, they ordered that no one could leave Boston. But Paul Revere found out and rode through the two towns and yelled, "The British are Coming." This gave the local militias enough time to prepare. -
The Shot Heard Around the World
The day after Paul Revere's warning the British marched in to Lexington and surrounded the local minute men, (mlitia). Someone fired a shot, no one knows who, and it was called the shot heard around the world because it was the first shot of the American Revolution. Then fighting started and the British won the first battle. They then marched on to Concord where the weapons were. -
Battle at Concord
After the battle at Lexington, the British marched to Concord looking for weapons but the colonists had moved them so the British could not find them. Instead the found an army of 400 patriots. The British were out numbered so they retreated. They marched back to Boston, but the patriots shot at them from the sides as they marched, and over 200 British soldiers were killed. -
The Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress decided that all of the thirteen colonies would contribute soldiers together to create the Continental army wich would be lead by George Washington. Washington fought in the French and Indian war so he was an experinced soldier and leader. -
Fort Ticonderoga
The Green Mountain Boys were a group of soldiers lead by Ethan Allen. They surprised British soldiers and captured the fort. Fort Ticonderoga had many cannons and General Washington put these to good use. He sent patriot colonel named Henry Knox to bring the cannons over 300 miles to Boston. They had to get the cannons over ice and snow but they made it. Washington set the cannons up all over Boston and the British left seeing all the cannons pointed at them. -
Battle at Bunker Hill
By this time, there were many British ships and soldiers in Boston, so the patriots built a fort on top of Breed's Hill so they could fire down on the British. They built the fort during the night and it was done by morning. The patriots did not have much ammunition so they waited for the British to come really close before they fired. After three assults, the British won but they lost 1,000 men. The patriots only lost 400 men. The fighting was on Breeds Hill, Bunker Hill was just a hill nearby. -
The Olive Branch Petition
The second contitnental congress also wrote to King George III to try to make peace before war really broke out so they sent him a letter called the Olive Branch Petition. He didn't even read the letter! He just ignored it and said that what the patriots were doing was against the law. -
The Declaration of Independence
This important document was written by Thomas Jefferson, he was known as a good writer. He was nervous because he was only 33 at the time. The document describes why the colonists wanted to be independant from Britan. The preamble states that many things have happened leading to the colonies wanting independence. The next parts of the document states that all men are created equal. The last part states that the colonies would die defending their rights. -
Battle of Trenton
German mercenaries or Hessians were occupying Trenton, New Jersey so Washington led his troops to attack. They rowed across the Delaware river in silence and surprised the Hessians at 3:00 in the morning. They took back control of Trenton and took 1,000 Hessians prisoner. -
The Battle of Saratoga
The british thought that if they traveled down the Hudson River that they could split America in to two. John Burgoyne, a British general, lead these troops down the river but they were met by 15,000 Continental soldiers and two battles took place that were called the Battle of Saratoga. The British lost and Burgoyne surendured 6,000 troops to the Continental Army. This battle was an important win for America becuase it convinced the French to help fight the British. -
THE REVOLUTION ENDS!
George Washington heard that the British were marching to Yorktown, so he came up with a plan to surround the British. The French blocked escape by sea while Washington's troops surrounded the British on land. The Continental Army showered the British with cannon fire and because the British had nowhere to go they surrendered and America won the Revolution! -
The Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris recognized the official end of the war and America was now an independent nation. A representative of King George III and Benjamin Franklin were some of the signers. The revolution was finally over.
