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French and Indian War
Conflict reignited after 6 yrs when the French built Fort Duquesne in the Ohia River valley despite Virginia government had already granted the land to wealthy planters. 1st battle: French defeat outnumbered Virginians and Washington. 1 yr later Washington and British general Edward troops go back. French soldiers and Native Americans ambush them. British soldiers run off. New leader William Pitt: victories->Iroquois helps. sep 1759 British surprise attack french at quebec->1763 treaty of paris -
Proclamation of 1763
The Native Americans became afraid that the colonist would drive away their game so they captured British forts which led to conflict. Not wanting anymore conflict, the governament established the Proclamation of 1763. It meant colonists were forbidden to cross the Appalachian Mountains. -
Sugar Act
since the American customs sevice was losing money, Grenville concluded that colonists were smuggling goods w/o paying. It did three things: halved the duty on
foreign-made molasses so that colonists would pay
a lower tax rather than risk arrest by smuggling, placed
duties on certain imports that had not been taxed before and it provided that colonists accused of violating
the act would be tried in a vice-admiralty court than a colonial court. merchants complained it reduced their profits -
Stamp Act
It imposed taxes on documents&printed items. If a person paid tax for it a stamp would be placed.It was the first tax that affected colonists directly because it was imposed on goods. Prev taxes had been indirect, involving duties on imports. the colonists made a secret resistance group: SOL to protest. colonial assemblies declared that Parliament lacked the power to impose taxes on colonies cuz the colonists werent represented in Parliament. oct ppl boycotted british goods->march 1766 P repeal -
Sons of Liberty is Formed
Parliament passed the Townshend Acts, named after Charles Townshend, the leading government minister. it taxed goods that were imported into the colony from Britain, such as lead, glass, paint, and paper. The Acts also imposed a tax on tea. Led by men such as Samuel Adams, one of the founders of the SOL, the colonists again boycotted British goods. -
Tea Act
It was one of the T Acts. North persuaded Parliament to repeal the T Acts, except for the tax on tea.1773, Lord North devised the Tea Act to save the nearly bankrupt British East India Company. The act granted the company the right to sell tea to colonies free of the taxes. This action would've cut colonial merchants out of the tea trade by enabling the East India Company to sell its tea directly to consumers for less. North hoped the colonists would simply buy the cheaper tea; they protested -
Townshend Acts
They were named after Charles Townshend, the minishter. It taxed popular goods that were imported from Britain, such as lead, glass, paint, paper and tea. Britain taxes
certain colonial imports and stations troops at major colonial ports to protect customs officers. Colonists protest “taxation without representation” & organize a new boycott of imported goods. Lord Frederick North realized tht the T. Acts were costing more to enforce than they would ever bring in. -
Boston Massacre
a mob 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. -
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. 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. -
Intolerable Acts
King George III->Parliament responded to the Boston Tea Party by passing the 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. -
First Continental Congress meets
In September 1774, 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. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
Paul Revere, William Dawes, & Samuel
Prescott warned towns that British troops were headed for Concord. The battle at Lexington was a failure. At Concord, the Redcoats were shot at and killed by minutemen as they marched back. -
Second Continental Congress
Colonial leaders met in Philadelphia to argue for independence or reconcilation. They appointed George Washington as its commander. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
British general decided to strike minutemen on Breed's Hill. It's the deadliest battle of the war and Britain lost. -
Olive Branch Petition
it urged 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
Thomas Paine stated that independence would give American colonists to trade more freely and the change to create a better society-one free from tyranny, with equal social economic opportunities for all. -
Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson was chosen to prepare the final draft. He used John Locke's ideas of natural rights. "all men are created equal" “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” to be “unalienable” rights . On July 2, 1776, the delegates voted unanimously that the American colonies were free -
Early British Victories
Loyalists-ppl who oppose independence and remained loyal to the British King
Patriots-supporters of independence
Britain wanted to capture New York City and they pushed Washington's army across the Delaware River into Pennslyvania because they were untrained and poorly equiped. He then led his men across the River then defeated Hessians in a surprise attack. The British then regrouped and captured the American capital at Philadelphia in Sep 1777. -
Saratoga
General John Gurgoyne planned to lead an army down a route from Canada to Albany to meet British troops to join forces to isolate New England. He fought Continental Armys on the way to meet them, but since they were preoccupied holding Philadelphia, they couldn't meet him so when Burgoyne was surounded at Saratoga, he surrendered. -
Early Continental Army Victories
General John Gurgoyne planned to lead an army down a route from Canada to Albany to meet British troops to join forces to isolate New England. He fought Continental Armys on the way to meet them, but since they were preoccupied holding Philadelphia, they couldn't meet him so when Burgoyne was surounded at Saratoga, he surrendered. They had the French's help and signed an alliance with the Americans in Feb 1778. While, George Washington was enduring with his troops in Valley Forge, Pennslyvania. -
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. -
Friedrich von Steuben and Marquis de Lafayette
Friedrich von Steuben, a Prussian captain and talented drillmaster, helped to train the Continental Army. Other foreign military leaders, such as the Marquis de Lafayette persuaded France for French reinforcements in 1779, and led a command in Virginia in the last years of the war. -
British Victories in the South
British under Generals Henry Clinton and Charles Cornwallis captured Charles Town, S Carolina, Clinton left for New York, while Cornwallis cont to conquer land in the South. early 1781 the colonists cont to battle Cornwallis—hindering his efforts to take the Carolinas. Cornwallis then
chose to move the fight to Virginia. He led his army onto the peninsula and camped at Yorktown. Cornwallis planned to fortify Yorktown, take Virginia, and then move north to join Clinton's forces -
British Surrender at Yorktown
armies of Lafayette and Washington moved south toward
Yorktown. Meanwhile, a French naval force defeated a British fleet and then blocked the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay, thereby obstructing British sea routes to the bay. By late September, 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
Peace talks began in Paris in 1782. The American negotiating team included John Adams, John Jay of New York, and Benjamin Franklin. In September 1783, 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.
