-
1764
parliament passed the Sugar Act, taxing sugar and coffee. -
1765,
parliament passed the Stamp Act which taxed any paper product: newspapers, playing cards, etc. -
1770,
British soldiers in Boston opened fire on a crowd that was pelting them with snow balls (and rocks). 5 people died, an event the colonists called the Boston Massacre -
1773
some colonists hurled a cargo of British tea into the harbor to protest a tax on tea. The incident became known as the Boston Tea Party. -
1775
tensions between the colonist and British finally erupted into war at The Battle of Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts. This war became known as the American Revolution. The Continental Congress met again to form an army and named George Washington as it commander. -
1776
the Second Continental Congress met and voted to declare independence from Britain. Thomas Jefferson was the main author of the Declaration of Independence.