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Sugar Act
This British law charged duties on sugar imported by the colonies. an several other products were also taxed. -
Stamp Act
This British law required certain printed materials including newspapers in America be on paper produced in Britian and stamped with a revenue stamp. -
Quartering Act (1765).
This act forced the colonist to provide food and shelter for British soldiers when needed. -
Townshend Acts
A series of acts passed By Brittan beginning in 1767 that taxed the colonies. -
Boston Massacre
An angry mob of colonist confronts British soldiers in Boston. Five colonists are killed. -
Boston Tea Party
In response to the Tea Act patriots dressed as American Indians dump British tea into Boston Harbor. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
On the evening of April 18, 1775, the British governor of Massachusetts sent several hundred British troops to seize the colonists’ military stores at Concord. The British intentions were soon discovered by the Patriot colonists who decided to prevent the British from carrying out their plan. Local militiamen gathered at Lexington to intercept the British troops. -
THE CAPTURE OF FORT TICONDEROGA
Located on Lake Champlain in northeastern New York, Fort Ticonderoga served as a key point of access to both Canada and the Hudson River Valley during the French and Indian War. On May 10, 1775, Benedict Arnold of Massachusetts joined Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys of Vermont in a dawn attack on the fort, surprising and capturing the sleeping British garrison. Although it was a small-scale conflict. -
THE DANGERS OF SPYING
In mid-September 1776, the American officer Nathan Hale was hanged without trial in New York City. British authorities had caught Hale when he was on his way back to his regiment after having penetrated the British lines to gather information. Hale’s death illustrated the grave dangers inherent in spying for the rebels during the Revolutionary War, especially in the British stronghold of New York. Meanwhile, Benjamin Tallmadge, a young cavalry officer from Setauket. -
Adoption of the Declaration of Independence
On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence which formally proclaimed the 13 colonies as independent. The war, however, continued as Britain was not willing to give up its North American colonies. The original Declaration of Independence - mainly drafted by the future US President Thomas Jefferson - is today permanently exhibited in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom in the National Archives building in Washington, D.C. -
Battles of Saratoga
The Battles of Saratoga that were fought on the same grounds on September 19 and October 7, 1777, marked the turning point of the American Revolution and encouraged France to openly support the Americans against Britain. In the First Battle of Saratoga (also known as the Battle of Freeman’s Farm), the American troops prevented the British to break through their lines and join with their troops at Albany. -
Surrender of Yorktown
After successful land and sea campaign of joint American and French armies in Virginia in 1781, the British found themselves trapped on the Yorktown peninsula. The British commander Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis realized that he did not have a slightest chance against the Franco-American army and tried to escape. But his attempt failed. On October 19, 1781, Lord Cornwallis accepted the terms of surrender. -
The Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris of 1783, negotiated between the United States and Great Britain, ended the revolutionary war and recognized American independence. The Continental Congress named a five-member commission to negotiate a treaty–John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, and Henry Laurens. Laurens, however, was captured by a British warship and held in the Tower of London until the end of the war, and Jefferson did not leave the United States in time to take negoiation.
