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French and Indian War
(No specific date given) After six years of peace, French and British colonists began arriving among the shores of America. French colonists were interested in trading with Native Americans, while British were interested in colonizing the place. The first battle of the war, the French crushed the British. A year later, the British went to engage, but were ambushed and fled. -
Stamp Act
The stamp act was something that imposed taxes on all documents such as printed items. These include wills, newspapers, and playing cards. It was the first tax that had directly affected the colonists. -
Townshend Acts
(No exact date given from book) The Townshend act taxed goods that were imoprted into the colony from Britain. Most of those goods were lead, glass, paint, and paper. On top of those taxes, a tax on the colonies favorite drink, tea, was put into place. -
Boston Massacre
On this day, a mob of colonies gathered in front of the British Customs House and taunted British soldiers. Soon after, the British opened fire and give colonists were killed or wounded. -
Tea Act
(No specific date given) Lord North allowed Tea to be sold to the colonies tax free, but made the colonists pay tax on it once it arrived. This outraged the colonists and led to the Boston Tea Party. -
The Boston Tea Party
On this night, a big group of Boston Rebels disguised themselves as Native Americans and dumped over 18,000 pounds of tea into the Boston Harbor. -
The Intolerable Acts
(No specific date given) Due to the Tea Party, King George was extremely upset. The Intolerable Acts shut down the Boston Harbor to the public, and allowed British Commanders to house soldiers in private residences. On top of that, General Thomas Gage was appointed Governor of Massachusetts. -
First Continental Congress
(No specific date given) 56 delegates met in Philidelphia in response to the Britains actions. There, they defended the colonies' right to run and continue their own affairs and said that if the British used force against the colonies, then the colonists would defend themselves. -
Lexington and Concord
On this night, Paul revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott rode through towns to spread the word that 700 British troops were headed for Concord. The British troops arrived 5 miles short of Concord and encountered 70 minutemen. Shots were fired and the British continued to Concord. They encountered between 3,000-4,000 minutemen and were slaughtered in a moments notice. -
Second Continental Congress
At this meeting, colonial leaders got together to plan their next move. Some wanted to fall under the British again, while others wanted to declare independence. In the end, a Continental Army was formed, and George Washington was appointed the leader. -
Common Sense
A 50 page pamphlet called Common Sense, directly attacked King George and the Monarchy. The pamphlet declared that independence would allow America to trade freely, and that it would givee the colonists the chance to create a better society. It sold nearly 500,000 copies in April of 1776.
