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French and Indian War Pt. 1
The French built Fort Duquesne in the region despite Virginia government's plan to give the land to wealthy planters. In response, the Virginia governor sent military to evict the French. This started the French and Indian War. The first battle of the war, the French delivered a cruching defeat to the out-numbered Virginians and their Leader, George Washington. -
French and Indian War Pt.2
A year later after his defeat, Washington headed into battle, but this time aide to the British General Edward Braddock. Other colonists began to question the British army, which suffered defeat after defeat. -
Battle of Concord
The British marched on to Concord, where they found an empty arsenal. After a brief skirmish with minutemen, the British soldiers lined up to march back to Boston, but the march quickly became a slaughter. Between 3,000 and 4,000 minutemen had assembled by now. British soldiers fell by the dozen. The remaining British soldiers made their way back to Boston that night. Colonists had become enemies of Britain and now held Boston and its encampment of British troops under siege. -
Treaty of Paris
The war officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. The treaty permitted Spain to keep possession of its land west of the Mississippi and the city of New Orleans, which it had gained from France. -
Writ of Assistance
Royal governor of Massachusetts authorized a general search warrant that allowed British customs officials to search any colonial ship or builing they believed to be holding smuggled goods. -
Proclamation of 1763
Established a Proclamation Line along the Appalachian, which the colonists were not allowed to cross. The colonists were eager to expand westward from the increasingly crowded Atlantic seaboard, ignored the proclamation and contiued to stream onto the Native American lands. -
Sugar Act & colonists response
The Sugar Ast did three things. It equally divided the duty on freign-made molasses in hopes that colonists would pay a lower tax. It placed duties on certain imports that had not been taxed before. It also provided that colonists accused of violating the act would be tried in a vice-admiralty court rather than a colonial court. Merchants complained that the Sugar Act would reduce their profits. Merchants and traders further claimed that Parliament had no right to tax the colonists -
Stamp Act & Colonists Response
This act imposed a tax on documents and printed items such as wills, newspapers, and playing cards. A stamp would be placed on the itens to prove that the tax had been paid. It was the first tax that affected colonists directly because it was levied on goods and services. -
Sons of Liberty is Formed & Samuel Adams
The Sons of Liberty is a secret resistance group organized by Boston shopkeepers, artisans, and laborers. Samuel Adams is one of the founders of the Sons of Liberty, the colonists again boycotted British goods. -
Declaratory Act
Parliament passed the Declaratory Act, which asserted Parliament's full right "to blind the colonies and people of America in all cases whatsoever". -
Townshend Acts & Colonists Response
This Act taxed goods that were imported into the colony from Britain, such as lead, glass, paint, paper, and also tea. The city soon erupted in blood clashes and later in a daring tax protest, all of which pushed the colonist and Britain closer to war. -
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 government violates that social contract by taking away or interfering with those rights, people have the right to resist and even overthrow the government. -
Boston Massacre
A mod gathered in front of the Boston Customs House and taunted the British soldiers standing guard there. Shots were fired and five colonists were killed or mortally wounded -
Tea Act
The act granted the company the right to sell tea to the colonies free of the taxes that colonial tea seller had to pay. This action would have cut colonial merchants out of the tea trade enabling the East India Company to sell its tea directly to consumers for less. This started a protest dramatically. -
Boston Tea Party
A large group of Boston rebels disguised themselves as Native Americans and proceeded to take action against three British tea ships anchored in the harbor. The "Indians" dumped 18,000 pounds of the East India Company's tea into the waters of Boston harbor. -
First Continental Congress Meets
56 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
One law shut down Boston harbor. Another, the Quartering Act, authorized British commanders to house soldiers in vacant private homes and other buildings. In addition to these measures, General Thomas Gage, commander-in-chief of British forces in North America, was appointed the new governor of Massachusetts. To keep the 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 -
Midnight Rider
Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott rode out to spread word that 700 British troops were headed for Concord. -
Battle of Lexington
"Redcoats” reached Lexington, Massachusetts. As they neared the town, they saw 70 minutemen drawn up in lines on the village green. Someone fired, and the British soldiers sent a volley of shots into the departing militia. Eight minutemen were killed and ten more were wounded, but only one British soldier was injured. The Battle of Lexington, the first battle of the Revolutionary War, lasted only 15 minutes. -
Second Continental Congress
Colonial leaders called the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia to debate their next move. The loyalties that divided colonists sparked endless debates at the Second Continental Congress. Some delegates called for independence, while others argued for reconciliation with Great Britain. -
Continental Army
The Congress agreed to recognize the colonial militia as the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
British general Thomas Gage decided to strike at militiamen on Breed’s Hill, north of the city and near Bunker Hill. Gage sent 2,400 British soldiers up the hill. 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 deadliest battle of the war. -
Olive Branch Petition
Congress sent the king the so-called Olive Branch Petition, urging a return to “the former harmony” between Britain and the colonies. King George flatly rejected the petition. Furthermore, he issued a proclamation stating that the colonies were in rebellion and urged Parliament to order a naval blockade to isolate a line of ships meant for the American coast. -
Publication of Common Sense
Just as important were the ideas of Thomas Paine. In a widely read 50-page pamphlet titled Common Sense, Paine attacked King George and the monarchy. Common Sense sold nearly 500,000 copies in 1776 and was widely applauded. In 1776, George Washington wrote, “I find Common Sense is working a powerful change in the minds of many men.” -
Declaration of Independence
The Congress appointed a committee to prepare a formal Declaration of Independence. Virginia lawyer Thomas Jefferson was chosen to prepare the final draft. Drawing on Locke’s ideas of natural rights, Jefferson’s document declared the rights of “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” to be “unalienable” rights ones that can never be taken away. -
Loyalists and Patriots
Loyalists were those who opposed independence and remained loyal to the British king included judges and governors, as well
as people of more modest means .Patriots were the supporters of independence drew their numbers from people who saw political and economic opportunity in an independent America. -
Redcoats Push Washington's Army Across The Delaware River into Pennsylvania
Although the Continental Army attempted to defend New York in late August, the untrained and poorly equipped colonial troops soon retreated. By late fall, the British had pushed Washington’s army across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania. -
Washington's Christmas Night Surprise Attack
Desperate for an early victory, Washington risked everything on one bold stroke set for Christmas night, 1776. In the face of a fierce storm, he led 2,400 men in small rowboats across the ice-choked Delaware River. They then marched to their objective—Trenton, New Jersey—and defeated a garrison of Hessians in a surprise attack. -
Saratoga
As Burgoyne traveled through forested wilderness, militiamen
and soldiers from the Continental Army gathered from all over New York and New England. While he was fighting off the colonial troops, Burgoyne didn’t realize that his fellow British officers were preoccupied with holding Philadelphia and weren’t coming to meet him. American troops finally surrounded Burgoyne at Saratoga, where he surrendered. -
French-American Alliance
The French signed an alliance with the Americans in February 1778 and openly joined them in their fight. -
Friedrich von Steuben and Marquis de Lafayette
Friedrich von Steuben, a Prussian captain and talented drillmaster, helped to train the Continental Army. Marquis de Lafayette also arrived to offer their help. Lafayette lobbied France for French reinforcements in 1779, and led a command in Virginia in the last years of the war. With the help of such European military leaders, the raw Continental Army became an effective fighting force. -
British Victories in the South
After their devastating defeat at Saratoga, the British began to shift 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. Clinton then left for New York, while Cornwallis continued to conquer land throughout the South. -
Valley Forge
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 didn’t desert. Their endurance and suffering filled Washington’s letters to the Congress and his friends -
British Surrender at Yorktown
About 17,000 French and American troops surrounded the British on the Yorktown peninsula and began bombarding them day and night. Less than a month later, on October 19, 1781, Cornwallis finally
surrendered. -
Treaty of Paris
The delegates signed the Treaty of Paris, which confirmed U.S. independence and set the boundaries of the new nation. The United States now stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River and from Canada to the Florida border.