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The French and Indian War
The French empire collided w/ the growing British empire as it expanded in North America. In 1754, after 6 peaceful years, the French-British conflict reignited. The French built Fort Duquesne in the rich Ohio River valley west of PA and VA. Virginia's governor sent militia to evict the French, starting the 4th war between Great Britain and France for North America. George Washington led the British against the French and the led by Pitt, the British won. -
Proclamation of 1763
To avoid further conflicts with Native Americans, the British government prohibited colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains. The Proclamation of 1763 established a Proclamation Line along the Appalachians. The colonists were not allowed to cross this. However, eager to expand westward from the increasingly crowded Atlantic seaboard, the colonists ignored the proclamation and continued to stream onto Native American lands. -
Treaty of Paris
This treaty ended the French and Indian war. Great Britain claimed Canada and North America east of the Mississippi river. They also took Florida from Spain which had allied with France.The treaty permitted Spain to keep possession of its lands west of the Mississippi and the city of New Orleans, which it had gained from France in 1762. France retained control of only a few islands and small colonies near Newfoundland, in the West Indies, and elsewhere. -
Sugar Act and Colonists Response
This act halved the duty on foreign-made molasses in hopes that colonists would pay a lower tax rather than risk arrest by smuggling. Ones accused of violating the act would be tried in a vice-admiralty court rather than a colonial court. Each case is decided by a judge. Colonial merchants complained the Sugar Act would reduce their profits. Merchants and traders further claimed that Parliament had no right to tax the colonists because the colonists had not elected representatives to the body. -
Writ of Assistance
Written order issued by a court instructing a law enforcement official, such as a sheriff or a tax collector, to perform certain task(s). -
Stamp Act and Colonists Response
Tax on documents and printed items (wills, newspapers, and playing cards)
Stamp placed to prove tax had been paid
First tax that affected colonists directly since it was levied on goods and services
May 1765, colonists united to defy the law
Boston shopkeepers, artisans, laborers organized a secret resistance group, Sons of Liberty to protest
October 1765, merchants in NY, Boston, Philadelphia agreed to a boycott of British goods until Stamp Act was repealed
March 1766, Parliament repealed law -
Declaratory Act
Following the repeal of the Stamp Act, this act was passed. It asserted Parliament’s full right “to bind the colonies and people of America in all cases whatsoever" -
Sons of Liberty is Formed and Samuel Adams
Sons of Liberty: organization created in the 13 american colonies to protect rights of the colonists and fight taxation by the British government.
Samuel Adams was one of the founders and he led the boycott of British goods. -
Townshed Acts and colonists response
Named after Charles Townshend, the leading government minister. The Townshend Acts taxed goods that were imported into the colony from Britain, like lead, glass, paint, and paper. They also imposed a tax on tea (most popular drink in the colonies). The city soon erupted in bloody clashes and later in a tax protest, all of which pushed the colonists and Britain closer to war. These acts were repealed because the colonists didn't believe they should be taxed on every little thing. -
John Locke's Social Contract
An agreement in which the people consent to choose and obey a government so long as it safeguards their natural rights. If the gov- ernment violates that social contract by interfering with those rights, people have the right to resist and overthrow the government. -
Boston Massacre
March 5, 1770, a mob gathered in front of the Boston Customs House and taunted the British soldiers standing guard there. Shots were fired and five colonists, including Crispus Attucks, were killed or wounded. -
Tea Act
Lord North made the Tea Act in order to save the nearly bankrupt British East India Company. This granted the company the right to sell tea to the colonies free of the taxes that colonial tea sellers had to pay. This would have cut colonial merchants out of the tea trade by enabling the East India Company to sell its tea directly to con- sumers for less. North hoped the American colonists would simply buy the cheaper tea but instead, they protested dramatically. -
Boston Tea Party
On the evening of December 16, 1773, a large group of Boston rebels disguised themselves as Native Americans and took action against three British tea ships anchored in the harbor. In this incident, later known as the Boston Tea Party, the “Indians” dumped 18,000 pounds of the East India Company’s tea into the waters of Boston harbor. -
First Continental Congress Meets
In response to Britain’s actions, the committees of correspondence assembled the First Continental Congress. Delegates met in Philadelphia and drew up a declaration of colonial rights. They defended the colonies’ right to run their own affairs and stated that, if the British used force against the colonies, the colonies should fight back. -
Intolerable Acts- all 3
Infuriated King George III pressed Parliament to act. Parliament responded by passing a series of measures. One law shut down Boston harbor. The Quartering Act authorized British commanders to house soldiers in vacant private homes and other buildings. Also, General Thomas Gage, commander-in-chief of British forces in North America, was appointed the new governor of Massachusetts. To keep peace, he placed Boston under martial law, or rule imposed by military forces. -
Minutemen
Civilian soldiers who pledged to be ready to fight against the British on a minute’s notice—quietly stockpiled firearms and gunpowder. -
Second Continental Congress
Colonial leaders called the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia to debate their next move. The loyalties that divided colonists brought endless debates at the Second Continental Congress. Some delegates called for independence, while others argued for reconciliation with Great Britain. Despite such differences, the Congress agreed to recognize the colonial militia as the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander. -
Continental Army
Congress agreed to recognize the colonial militia as the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander. -
Midnight Riders: Revere, Dawes, Prescott
Night of April 18, 1775, Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott rode out to tell people that 700 British troops were going to Concord. The countryside rang with church bells and gunshots—prearranged signals were sent from town to town, that the British were coming. -
Battle of Concord
The British marched on to Concord and found an empty arsenal. After a brief skirmish with minutemen, they lined up to march back to Boston. It quickly became a slaughter. Between 3,000 & 4,000 minutemen assembled, and they fired on the troops from behind stone walls and trees. British soldiers fell by the dozen. The remaining British soldiers went back to Boston that night. Colonists had become enemies of Britain and now held Boston and its encampment of British troops under siege. -
Battle of Lexington
The "redcoats" reached Lexington, Massachusetts, five miles short of Concord, dawn of April 19. As they neared the town, they saw 70 minutemen drawn up in lines. The British commander ordered the minutemen to lay down their arms and leave but they moved out without laying down their muskets. Someone fired, and the British soldiers sent shots. 8 minutemen were killed and 10 were wounded, but only one British soldier was injured. The 1st battle of the Revolutionary War lasted 15 min. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
British general Thomas Gage decided to strike at militiamen on Breed’s Hill, north of the city, near Bunker Hill. Gage sent 2,400 British soldiers uphill. The colonists held their fire until the last minute and then began to mow down the advancing redcoats before finally retreating. By the time the smoke cleared, the colonists had lost 450 men, while the British had suffered over 1,000 casualties. The misnamed Battle of Bunker Hill would prove to be the deadliest battle of the war. -
Olive Branch Petition
Congress sent the king the Olive Branch Petition, urging a return to “the former harmony” between the colonies and Britain -
Publication of the Common Sense
Ideas of Thomas Paine. In this pamphlet, Paine attacked King George and the monarchy. Being a recent immigrant, Paine argued that responsibility for British tyranny lay with “the royal brute of Britain.” He explained that his own revolt against the king had begun
with Lexington and Concord. -
Declaration of Independence
Written by Thomas Jefferson’s document declared the rights of “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” to be “unalienable” rights. "All men are created equal". He asserted that when a government denies their unalienable rights, the people have the right to “alter or abolish” that government. The American colonies declared their independence from Britain. It declares the 13 original Colonies independent from British rule and gives reasons for the need for this declaration. -
Washington's Christmas Night Surprise Attack
Night of Dec 25–26,1776,during American Revolutionary War. 1st move in a surprise attack organized by Washington against the Hessian forces in Trenton,NJ,morning of Dec 26. He led column of Continental Army troops across Delaware River, surprised&defeated troops of Johann Rall quartered in Trenton. Crossed back to Pennsylvania with prisoners&military stores. Went back, defeated British under Lord Cornwallis@Trenton on Jan 2,1777,and his rear guard @Princeton on Jan 3 &Retreated to Morristown,NJ. -
Redcoats Push Washington's Army Across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania
Night of Dec 25–26,1776,during American Revolutionary War. 1st move in a surprise attack organized by Washington against the Hessian forces in Trenton,NJ,morning of Dec 26. He led column of Continental Army troops across Delaware River, surprised&defeated troops of Johann Rall quartered in Trenton. Crossed back to Pennsylvania with prisoners&military stores. Went back, defeated British under Lord Cornwallis@Trenton on Jan 2,1777,and his rear guard @Princeton on Jan 3 &Retreated to Morristown,NJ. -
Saratoga
General John Burgoyne planned to lead an army down a route of lakes from Canada to Albany, There, he would meet British troops as they arrived from NYC. The two would then join forces to isolate New England from the rest of the colonies. Burgoyne didn’t realize that his British officers were preoccupied with holding Philadelphia. American troops surrounded him at Saratoga, & he surrendered on October 17, 1777. This surrender turned out to be one of the most important events of the war. -
French-American Alliance
Though the French had secretly aided the Patriots since early 1776, the Saratoga victory bolstered France’s belief that the Americans could win the war. As a result, the French signed an alliance with the Americans in February 1778 and joined them in their fight. -
Valley Forge
While the alliance took place in Paris, Washington and his Continental Army (desperately low on food and supplies) fought to stay alive at winter camp in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. More than 2,000 soldiers died, yet the survivors stayed. Washington wrote about their suffering and endurance in his letters to the Congress as well as his friends. -
Friedrich Von Steuben and Marquis de Lafayette
February 1778, in the midst of winter at Valley Forge, American troops began a spectacular transformation. Friedrich von Steuben, a Prussian captain and talented drillmaster, helped train the Continental Army. Other foreign military leaders, such as the Marquis de Lafayette, also came to offer help. He lobbied France for French reinforcements in 1779, and led a command in Virginia in the last years of the war. With their help, the raw Continental Army became an effective fighting force. -
Loyalists and Patriots
Loyalists—opposed independence and remained loyal to the British king. Included judges and governors, people of more modest means. Many Loyalists thought the British were going to win and wanted to avoid punishment as rebels. Still others thought the Crown would protect their rights more effectively than the new colo- nial governments.
Patriots—supporters of independence, drew their numbers from people who saw political and economic opportunity in an independent America. -
British Victories in the South
After their defeat at Saratoga, the British shifted their operations to the South. At the end of 1778, a British expedition easily took Savannah, Georgia. In their greatest victory of the war, the British under Generals Henry Clinton and Charles Cornwallis captured Charles Town, South Carolina, in May 1780. After, Clinton left for New York, and Cornwallis continued to conquer land throughout the South. -
British Surrender in Yorktown
Cornwallis planned to fortify Yorktown, take Virginia, and move north to join Clinton’s forces. After learning this, armies of Lafayette & Washington moved south toward Yorktown. A French naval force defeated a British fleet & blocked the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay, blocking British sea routes to the bay. About 17,000 French and American troops surrounded the British on the Yorktown peninsula by late Sept. and began bombarding them day and night. Cornwallis surrendered on Oct 19, 1781. -
Treaty of Paris
Peace talks began in Paris in 1782. In the American negotiating team was John Adams, John Jay of NY, and Benjamin Franklin. The delegates signed the Treaty of Paris, in Sept. 1783 which set the boundaries of the new nation and confirmed U.S. independence. The United States now stretched from Canada to the Florida border and the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River.
