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French and Indian War
The colonists saw little need for the costly presence of British troops on North American soil, since the French had been defeated and their power broken in the French and Indian War. -
Albany Plan
Franklin proposed the creation of an annual congress of delegates from each of the 13 colonies. The body would have the power to raise military and naval forces, make war and peace with Native Americans, regulate trade with them, tax, and collect customs duties. -
Stamp Act
Stamp Act required tax stamps on all legal documents and printed items within the colonies such as magazines and newspapers. -
Boston Massacre
British soldiers fired upon a crowd in Boston, killing five civilians. -
Tea Act
Americans could only receive tea from the East India Company. This act monopolized the tea industry and allowed for Britain to continue with harsh taxations; thus, the American slogan "no taxation without representation" was born. -
Boston Tea Party
Enraged by the Tea Act, Bostonians dressed as Native Americans and boarded three of the East India Company's ships in the Boston Harbor and dumped the ships' cargo into the sea. -
First Continental Congress
Delegates from all thirteen colonies met in Philadelphia to discuss responses to increased British oppression and formally declared that colonists should have the same rights as Englishmen. They agreed to form the Continental Association, which called for the suspension of trade with Britain. -
Battle of Lexington and Concord
The battle that sparked the Revolutionary War. -
Second Continental Congress
The British government continued to refuse to compromise, let alone reverse its colonial policies. It reacted to the Declaration of Rights as it had two other expressions of colonial discontent. -
Declaration of Independence
Proclaimed the existence of the new nation
