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French and Indian War
Because of the growing population of British citizens in the US this further deepened the wound between Great Britain and France. As settlers began to move into the Ohio River Valley tensions also grew between the Indigenous tribes of the area, many of which had been already driven out before by the British. In alliance with France, the Indigenous people and the French engaged in a battle between the British. This war resulted in British victory and expanded the colonies greatly. -
Proclamation of 1763
After the French and Indian War, a proclamation was put into place, prohibiting settlement west of the Appalachian mountains. This was to prevent future conflict between the colonies and Indigenous groups. However, many colonists denied this proclamation, including a young George Washington, who had established land in the West. -
Sugar Act
The Sugar Act was one of the first acts of taxation against the American colonists. It put tax on imported goods that were brought into the colonies. It also threatened the profit people made from trade. Many colonists were angry that trade with the French colonies in the Caribbean was lost. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was the first attempt to raise the product through direct taxation. It caused that anything printed would be taxed on the colonists. This angered the colonists and mobs burned down tax collectors homes, tarred, and feathered them, and intimidated them. This was the first major split between the colonists and the British, as it affected everyone. -
Townshend Acts of 1767
The Townshend Acts added tax on oil, glass, led, and tea. The inconvenience of being taxed on several minor things lead to the boycott of these items. -
Boston Massacre
On a cold March night, mobs of colonists got into conflict with British soldiers in the streets of Boston. Almost every recount of this night is different, some mention the soldiers injuring random people and vise versa, but they all include the detail of 5 Bostonians being killed that night. One of the most recognizable artworks from this era depicts the conflict. There are multiple versions but the most recognizable would be the one published by Paul Revere. -
Tea Act of 1773
The East India Company was in a lot of financial debt, making the British promote the tea towards the colonists. This did not go over well as the tax became too much for a specific group of colonists, The Sons of Liberty. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was an act of political protest. Sons of Liberty dressed up like Mohawk Indians and threw 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor. There was so much tea that the local children had to get into the freezing December water to pack down the tea. No Taxation without Representation. -
Coercive (Intolerable) Acts
The Coercive Acts:
Closed off the port.
Quartered British Soldiers into colonists homes.
Put Boston under military law
British citizens committing crimes in the colonies would be tried in Britain. This caused the colonists to create the continental congress. A meeting with representatives from all colonies but Georgia. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The "Shot Heard Around the World". Colonists killed 73 Redcoats and wounded 174. The first big win for the colonists. This battle is considered the very beginning of the American Revolution. -
Battle at Bunker Hill
This battle was fought on Breeds Hill, a nearby hill. It was a victory for the British but it was risky. Colonists had the upper ground. 268 British soldiers and officers had been killed; another 828 were wounded. -
Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" is published.
This was a 50 page pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that helped influence the writing of the "Declaration of Independence". -
Declaration of Independence is Adopted
Thomas Jefferson drafts and publishes our first document declaring independence. This document is referenced several times over the course of history to promote the idea of equal rights. -
Washington crosses the Delaware River
Members of the continental army were about to be discharged because their service term was about to end. The war wasn't going anywhere so without another victory the men would just go back to doing their own business. On Christmas, Washington crossed the Delaware River and attacked the Hessian garrison. Taking at least 900 of them as prisoners of war. -
Burgoyne surrenders at Fort Saratoga
After the British troop lead by John Burgoyne captured Fort Ticonderoga he tried to take over Fort Saratoga but lost to the colonists who had prepared for this. -
Washington spends the winter at Valley Forge.
After the failures of the battles of Germantown and Brandywine Washington took his group of 11,000 soldiers 22 miles northwest of Philadelphia. He spent the winter there but unfortunately an outbreak of smallpox broke out. Washington brought in a doctor to expose the disease to open wounds cut into the soldiers to help them become immune to the disease. -
France Becomes Allies With the Colonists.
France had secretly helped the colonists by sending supplies to them way before they became public allies. The Treaty of Paris prompted the French to send fleets to fight against the British, not declaring war until June of 1778. -
Benedict Arnold Turns Against the Colonists
After a number of battles lead by Arnold, he realized he wasn't getting as much recognition as he should have. After John André was hanged for being a British spy, it was revealed that him and Arnold had been conspiring together a way for Arnold to abandon the colonists. Arnold soon went and fought for the British. -
Battle of Yorktown
The final battle fought during the American Revolution. A victory for the colonist as the British and German troops surrendered more than 7,000 men. A major point in the Revolution where the colonies were finally getting their freedom. -
Treaty of Paris Ends the War
Even though the battles in America had died out the battles between European allies and the British at sea were still going on. By the terms of the Treaty of Paris the British realized the freedom that the colonists had and gave their land east of the Mississippi River to the colonists. Now, the colonists were on their own and got their freedom.
