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Aug 8, 1500
Navigation Acts
The Navigation Acts were laws created by England to regulate colonial trade by restricting trade between the colonies and countries other than England. Initially they were not heavliy enforce because England was so far away England couldn't monitor everything. It was not until after the French and Indian War that the Navigation Acts became strongly enforced. -
Jamestown, VA
Jamestown was the first perminant English colony to be settled in the New World. When the colonists settled in the colonies they brought with them two ideas from the Enlightenment. The first is the idea of self-government (the people govern themselves). The second was limited govenrment (the government does not have absolute power but was restricted by certain laws and procedures. These ideas originated from the Enlightenment and John Locke. -
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Sautary Neglect
A time period where England did not enforce the Navigation Acts allowing the colonies to become independent. They formed their own economies and representative government. -
Virgina House of Burgesses
The Virginia House of Burgesses was located in Jamestown, Virginia. It was a gathering of elected representatives. There were 2 elected citizens from each of the 11 districts in Virginia who met to write laws. This is the first elected legislature in America setting a example for the future.This is also a step toward a representative government recognizing the citizens as a source of authority and giving them the opportunity to have a say in and control their own government. -
Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact is a written agreement written by the new settlers who landed at Plymouth, Massachusettes. It followed the ideas of self-governemnt where the colonists themselves governed themselves. It stated that the purpose of the new government in America would be to create “just and equal laws…for the general good of the colony”. It is also an example of a democractic government and representive government. -
New England Town Meetings
The meetings were another step toward representative government and were the basic form of government in New England. -
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French and Indian War
War fought between the French/Indians and the colonies/England. The colonies/England won resulting the the size of the colonies tripling, England being in debt, and the end of salutary neglect. -
Proclamation of 1763
At the end of the French and Indian War, England made a law stating that the colonists were not allowed to settle in the land west of the Appalachain Mountains. England kept this land for the Native Americans. It was to keep colonists in areas that were easier to control. -
End of Salutary Neglect
Salutary neglect was an English policy in which England did not strictly enforce the Navigation Acts allowing the colonies to develop indepently both econmically and politically. During this time the colonies created their own economies and self-govenrment. After the French and Indian War was over Engand was in debt and needed money. This is when Salutary Neglect ended. England began to tax and control the colonies colonies. The colonies then rebelled because they didn't want to be controlled. -
French and Indian War Ends
The Treaty of Paris was signed by England and France ending the French and Indian War. As a result of the war, the English were in a lot of debt and began to enforce the Navigation Acts and force the colonists to pay taxes. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act required colonists to buy and put stamps on paper products including letters, newspapers, pamphlets, cards and books. England made this law because they were in debt from the French and Indian war and therefore needed money. The colonists protested the Stamp Act. They declared that England cannot tax the colonists without their consent. This is where the phrase "no taxation without representation" comes from. -
Boston Massacre
The colonists in Boston were unhappy about the various taxes and other laws that the British had placed on them. They felt it was unfair. The Boston Massacre was the result of this argument. During the Boston Massacre the colonists formed a mob and confronted the British soldiers. The British soldiers fired into the crowd killing 5 colonists. Many colonists felt this was a battle for liberty against the British. -
Tea Act
The Tea Act was not a tax. It was created to sell English tea at a low price helping the British East India Company - essentially helping Britian make money by selling tea at a low price. It gave the British a monopoly on tea. The direct sale of tea, would probably have forced local tea merchants to close thei business. The Tea Act was the final spark to the revolutionary movement in Boston. -
Boston Tea Party
An incidnet in the Boston harbor, where American patriots - dressed as Native Americans - boarded English ships and threw chests of tea overboard. The patriots were protesting the Tea Act and the taxes that Americans were forced to pay without their consent. As a result England passed the Intolerable Acts which angered the colonists even more. Essentially this event combined with others convinced many colonists to fight for independence. -
Intolerable Acts
In reaction to the Boston Tea Party the British passed the Intolerable Acts. These were a variety of laws that included closing the Boston Harbor until the tea was paid for by the colonists. They also included a law stating that if a person breaks a law they would have to go to trial before a judge in England. The Intolerable Acts angered the colonists even more and caused them to become more united. -
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia. At this meeting the representatives from the colonies did not advocate independance from England but instead wanted to have a voice in Parliment. The representatives also agreed to meet again if the problems were not solved. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord, fought on April 19, 1775, kicked off the American Revolutionary War (1775-83). Tensions had been building for many years between residents of the 13 American colonies and the British authorities, particularly in Massachusetts. Paul Revere and other riders sounded the alarm that the British were coming. A confrontation between the British and the colonists on the Lexington town green an they started fighting. The British hastily retreated. -
Second Continental Congress
During the Second Continental Congress resentatives from each of the 13 colonies met in Philadelphia, PA to discuss the Revolutionary War. It also acted as the temporary government of the 13 colony-states, issuing and borrowing money, establishing a postal service, and creating a navy. On July 2, 1776, the Congress “unanimously” resolved that “these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states.” -
Thomas Paine's Common Sense
Common Sense was a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine during the American Revolution. Common Sense presented the American colonists with an argument for independence from British rule at a time when the question of independence was still undecided. Some of his arguments for independance were that colonies could get dragged into Englands conflicts, the distance was to great between England and the colonies to govern properly, and England did not consider the best interests for the colonies. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776 and announced the separation of 13 colonies from England. It stated that “these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be Free and Independent States.” The document is a list of greivences (complaints) explaining why the colonies had chosen to seperate from England. One of the major greivences was that the colonists were taxed without their consent. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783 and ended the American Revolution. It was signed by representatives from all countries who were involved in the war. It recognized the independence of the United States with the boundaries of the Atlantic Ocean in the East and the Mississippi River in the West.
