-
John Locke's Social Contract
He contended every society is based on a social contract... an agreement in which the people consent to choose and obey a government so long as it safeguards their natural rights. -
French and Indian War
The French-British conflict that reignited after six peaceful years, it was an imperial struggle between the two countries and their respective Native American allies. -
Writ of Assistance
A general search warrant that allowed British customs officials to search any colonial ship or building they believed to be holding smuggled goods. -
Treaty of Paris
The treaty that ended the French & Indian War. -
Proclamation of 1763
It established a Proclamation Line along the Appalachians, which the colonists were not allowed to cross. -
Sugar Act & Colonists Response
It halved the duty on foreign-made molasses in the hopes that colonists would pay a lower tax rather than risk arrest by smuggling. It placed duties on certain imports that had not been taxed before. And provided that colonists accused of violating the act would be tried in a vice-admiralty court rather than a colonial court. -
Stamp Act & Colonists' Response
Imposed a tax on documents and printed items such as wills, newspapers, and playing cards. A stamp would be placed on rhe items to prove that the tax had been paid. -
Sons of Liberty is formed & Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams was one of the founders of the Sons of Liberty, a group of colonists against boycotted British goods. -
Declaratory Act
This asserted Parliament's full right "to bind the colonies and people of America in all cases whatsoever." -
Townshend Acts & Colonists' Response
Britain taxes certain colonial imports and stations troops at major colonial ports to protect customs officers. Goods such as lead, glass, paint, paper, and tea. -
Boston Massacre
Colonial agitators label the conflict a massacre and publish a dramatic engraving depicting the violence. Taunted by an angry mob, British troops fire into the crowd, killing five colonists. -
Tea Act
Britain gives the East India Company special concessions in the colonial tea business and shuts out colonial tea merchants. -
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, they dumped 18,000 pounds of the East India Company's tea into Boston harbor. -
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 and in order to keep peace, he placed Boston under martial law, or rule imposed by military forces. -
First Continental Congress meets
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. -
Minutemen
They were civilian soldiers who pledged to be ready to fight against the British on a minute's notice. -
Second Continental Congress
Colonial leaders called the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia to debate their next move. The loyalties that divided colonists sparked endless debates, despite their disagreements, they agreed to recognize the colonial militia as the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander. -
Olive Branch Petition
Congress sent the king the petition, urging a return to "the former harmony" between Britain and the colonies. He declined and 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. -
Battle of Lexington
Resistance melted away at Lexington, and the British moved on to Concord. Most of the American military supplies had been hidden or destroyed before the British troops arrived. A British covering party at Concord’s North Bridge was finally confronted by 320 to 400 American patriots and forced to withdraw. The march back to Boston was a genuine ordeal for the British, with Americans continually firing on them from behind roadside houses, barns, trees, and stone walls. -
Battle of Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The battles were fought on April 19, 1775 in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy, and Cambridge. -
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the ex-British colonies that became the United States of America. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
On June 17, 1775, early in the Revolutionary War (1775-83), the British defeated the Americans at the Battle of Bunker Hill in Massachusetts. Despite their loss, the inexperienced colonial forces inflicted significant casualties against the enemy, and the battle provided them with an important confidence boost. -
Publication of Common Sense
50-page pamphlet where Paine attacked King George and the monarchy. -
Loyalists and Patriots
Loyalists were those who opposed independence and remained loyal to the British king. Patriots were supporters of independence and drew their numbers from people who saw political and economic opportunity in an independent America. -
Redcoats push Washington's army across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania
But on Christmas Eve, Washington's troops crossed the Delaware River from Pennsylvania into New Jersey, and defeated the British forces at Trenton and Princeton, and restored a sense of optimism. -
Betsy Ross Makes the Flag
Betsy Ross is credited with making the first American flag. Presenting the new flag to George Washington in 1776. -
Washington's Christmas night surprise attack
At about 11 p.m. on Christmas, Washington’s army commenced its crossing of the half-frozen river at three locations.The 2,400 soldiers led by Washington successfully braved the icy and freezing river and reached the New Jersey side of the Delaware just before dawn. The other two divisions, made up of some 3,000 men and crucial artillery, failed to reach the meeting point at the appointed time. news of Washington’s initiative raised the spirits of the American colonists -
Declaration of Independence
The final draft was written by Thomas Jefferson. He drew on Locke's ideas of natural rights, Jefferson's document declared the rights of "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" and "unalienable"rights". -
Saratoga
American troops surrounded Burgoyne and he surrendered. The surrender at Saratoga turned out to be one of the most important events of the war. The Saratoga victory bolstered France's belief that the Americans could win the war. -
French-American Alliance
After Saratoga, France was hopeful that America would win the war. Signed an alliance with the Americans in Feb. and openly joined them in their fight. -
Valley Forge
Washington and his Continental Army is desperately low on food and supplies, they fought to stay alive at winter camp in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. More than 2,000 soldiers died, yet the survivors didn't desert. Their endurance filled Washington's letters to the Congress and his friends. -
Molly Pitcher Assists
Molly Pitcher served as water carrier to Patriot troops during battles. After the death of husband in battle, she took his place firing the artillery gun. -
Friedrich von Steuben and Marquis de Lafayette
The year was 1779. Lafayatte lobbied France for French reinforcements in 1779, and led a command in Virginia in the last years of the war. With the help of such European military leaders, the raw Continental army became an effective fighting force. -
Spanish Allies with America
In 1779, Spain secretly joined the war as an ally of France and America, hoping to capture Gibraltar and British colonies in the Caribbean. -
British victories in the South
At the end of 1778, a British expedition easily took Savannah, Georgia. In their greatest victory of the war, the British under Generals Henry Clinton and Charles Cornwallis captured Charles Town, South Carolina, in May 1780. -
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 US independence and set boundaries of the new nation. The US stretched from Atlantic Ocean to Mississippi River and from Canada to the Florida border.
