-
End of the French and Indian War
After being expelled from Canada and having all of its allies either defeated or made peace with Prussia, France had been defeated. The "Seven Years War" finally ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris by Spain, Great Britian, and France. The French lost large amounts of territorial claims, whereas Spain gained Louisiana. Great Britain recieved what France had lost, along with the state of Florida. -
Proclamation of 1763
Most native tribes became unhappy with British rule since becoming allies with the French. A group of warriors attacked the British and colonists, killing hundreds. The British then infected a group of natives with smallpox. Then, a group of whites killed nearly 20 innocent natives. King George III then issued the Proclamation in order to prevent future incidents similar to this. The Proclamation banned settlement east of the Appalachian Mountains. -
Quartering Act of 1765
Being in a large amount of debt from the war led Great Britain to show its authority over the colonies. The Quartering Act required colonists to provide drink, food, quarters, and transportation to British soldiers. This act was passed by Parliament as a way to save money. -
Stamp Act Congress
British Parliament passed the Stamp Act on Feb. 17 and was then approved by the House on March 8th. Since the act did not take effect until Nov. 1, American colonists had time to form a congress in protest of the act. Until Oct. 25, the congress met in New York City. They formed a Declaration that declared colonists had the same rights as the British and no taxation without representation. -
Stamp Act of 1765
In response to previous conflicts between the colonists and natives, Great Britain left nearly ten thousand soldiers in North America. This was not for the colonists' benefit, but rather to protect the natives from the colonists. The Stamp Act was adopted to fund all of the remaining soldiers in America, not to fund Great Britain's debt. -
Boston Massacre
Insulting nicknames were traded back and forth amon the British soldiers and Boston folks. Along with the slang terms came fist fighting and snoball fights. British soldiers quickly became fed up with the Boson people. A confrontation between a British soldier and a Boston man began the actual fight. British reinforcement was called in, soon after shots were fired. Five Boston men were killed, landing the soldiers in jail and charged with murder. -
Tea Act of 1773
East India Company was the primary factor in Britian's economy. Since the company was in need of a bail out, something had to be done. The company recieved a grant from Britain that allowed them to ship directly to the colonies, establishing a monopoly. Taxes on tea were planned to improve Britain's economy indirectly by saving the East India Company. -
Boston Tea Party
With tensions rising from the excessive taxes from Britain, colonists fought back. The Tea Act forced colonists to pay a tax for imported tea. Samuel Adams and a group of Sons of Liberty disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians. They boarded the three ships that contained over 45 tons of tea. The group spent nearly three hours dumping the tea chests into the Boston Harbour. -
Coercive Acts
Parliament quickly became tired of the resistance by Americans. Showing authority over the once again became Britain's solution. Four Acts were passed. The Boston Port Bill, the Massachusetts Government Act, the Administration of Justice Act, and the Quartering Act. The Quartering Act practically renewed the existing act. -
First Continental Congress
After previous attempts of a continental congress, one finally became a success. All of the colonies, except Georgia, sent delegates to Carpenters Hall in Philadelphia. A group of 55 delegates attended the meeting. The Congress primarily aimed towards showing the strength of America by the unity of a congress to Britain. The delegates met until the 26th of October. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
With Boston's harbour shut down, King George III increased military presence in the city. Colonists were quickly informed of the oncoming British forces. The fighting began in Lexington when a shot was fired, several others followed. Redcoats then went to Concord where they searched for arms to seize. Thousands of minutemen forced the British to retreat. Reinforcement at Charlestown Neck allowed for safety of the Bristish upon arrival. -
Second Continental Congress
Once Congress met again, the war was already in effect. Therefore, the first priority was to establish a Continental Army. George Washington was appointed the Commander of the army. Congress then created the Olive Branch Petition, but was refused by King George III. All ports were open to any foreign ships, except Britain's due to Congress. The Second Congress primarily seeked alliance and peace among America and its former rivals. Congress met until March 1, 1781. -
New York Campaign
Washington knew that he could not withstand a seige from the British. yet, he still ordered five regiments to New York. His intentions were to defend New York from faling to the British. British forces bombed the militia's camps, which divided the Continental Army into two. One part was captured, while the other half retreated. The delay in attack of the second part of the Army allowed them to reach safety. Colonial snipers stayed behind to take out British officers, which broke rules of war. -
Battle of Princeton
After leaving some troops on the south side of the creek, Washington led the majority of the troops to Princeton. A night attack was a success, along with the Americans retreating before British reinforcement arrived. The Continental Army was led to highlands in New Jersey to set up for the winter, whereas the British abandoned New Jersey and retired in New York. -
Battle of Saratoga
The British had planned for three seperate columns to destroy Continental forces in New England. The columns were set to meet in Albany, New York. Two of the columns came from the north, in Canada and the last came from the south. British forces seemed to be victorious until a counterattack occured, which forced the British general to surrender on October 7th. -
Southern Campaign
The British discovered a new strategy that seemed promising. They put their focus on the thought that the loyalists were the majority of America's population and primarily in the south. British defeats such as the ones in Savannah, Charleston, and Camden came to an end. They had underestimated the problems they would encounter and the loyalist sentiment. The plan also caused many loyalists to take sides with the Patriots. -
Battle of Yorktown
The French had finally joined the patriots in war against the British. Just as the French were heading to the Chesapeake Bay, Washington saw this as an ideal time to attack Cornwallis who was stationed in Yorktown. Washington ordered 5,000 troops to block the British from escaping by land. The French were ordered to block them from escaping by sea. After weeks of fighting, Cornwallis was forced to surrender. -
Articles of Confederation
After years of fighting for independence, the form of confederation was in progress. The Continental Congress had men draft four articles. The fourth one, written by John Dickinson was the only article that was adopted by Congress. Although it formed a weak central government, it did prevent individual states from formng their own foreign diplomacy. -
Constitutional Convention
Dealing with the faults in the Articles of Confederation, the Constitutional Convention came to the rescue. The Convention created a model of government that was divided into three seperate branches. These branches inclused the Executive, Jusdicial, and the Legislative. A series of checks and balances kept the branches from becoming more powerful than the others. The Convention also created a House of Representatives and the Senate. -
Ratification of the Constitution
Thanks to the Constitutional Convention, a new Constitution had been created. The Constitution was signed by all but three of the delegates. However, until nine of the thirteen states ratified the Constitution, it could not become binding. Five states quickly ratified, while the others opposed it. Opposition occured because of the lack of reservation of undelegated powers and basic political rights. After compromising, four other states ratified. This allowed the Constitution to take effect.
