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French and Indian War
A conflict between France and England in the Ohio River Valley. The French were partners in trade with the Native Americans, so the two allied. The Native Americans and the French opposed the colonists and the British. -
Stamp Act and colonists' response
The Stamp Act was the first act to directly affect the colonists, by taxing documents and printed items such as wills, newspapers, and playing cards. The colonists united to defy the law, and boycotted British goods until the act was repealed. Shopkeepers, artisans, and laborers organized a secret resistance group called the Sons of Liberty to protest the law. -
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Writ of Assistance
The writs of assistance were general search warrants that allowed British customs officials to search an colonial establishment that they believed to be holding smuggled goods. Many merchants worked from their residences, so the writs enabled the British officials to search their homes whether there was evidence of smuggling, or not. -
Treaty of Paris
The signing of the Treaty of Paris ended the French and Indian war. Great Britain claimed most of North America that was east of the Mississippi River, as well as Canada. Additionally, Britain took Florida from Spain (which had allied itself with France.) Spain was allowed to keep its lands west of the Mississippi River, as well as the city of New Orleans (which it had gained from france in 1762.) France ended up with some small islands and colonies near Newfoundland and the West Indies. -
Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 established a line (called a Proclamation Line) along the Appalachian Mountain Range. The colonists were not allowed to cross this line. However, the colonists were eager to expand westward (and the east coast was getting crowded), so they ignored the proclamation and basically invaded Native American lands. -
Sugar Act & colonists' response
The Sugar Act did three things. It lowered the tax on foreign molasses (in the hopes that colonists would rather pay a lower tax than get arrested). It also placed taxes on certain imports that had not had a tax previously. Additionally, it stated that colonists accused of violating the act would be tried in a vice-admirality court, and not a colonial court. (This means that each case would be determined by a single judge, and not a colonist jury.) -
John Locke's Social Contract
Locke reasoned that every society was 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. If the government violates that social contract by taking away or interfering with those rights, people have the right to resist and even overthrow the government. -
Sons of Liberty form; Samuel Adams
Lead by men such as Samuel Adams, one of the founders of the Sons of Liberty, the colonists boycotted British goods (again). -
Townshend Acts & colonist response
The Townshend Acts taxed goods that were imported into the colonies from Britian. These would be items such as lead, glass, paint, and paper. The Acts also imposed a tax on the most popular drink in the colonies: tea. This lead to a second boycotting of British goods by the colonists.
All of the Townshend taxes EXCEPT FOR THE TEA TAX were repealed in March of 1770. -
Boston Massacre
A large and angry crowd gathered at the Boston Customs House to harrass the British soldiers stationed there. One of the people in the crowd was Crispus Attucks. More soldiers soon arrived, and the mob began hurling stones and snowballs at them. Attucks then stepped forward. His actions ignited the troops. The soldiers ignored orders not to shoot civilians, and fired into the crowd. Five people were killed; several wounded. Attucks was the first to die. -
Tea Act
The Tea Act granted the British East India Company the right to sell tea to the colonies free of the taxes that tea sellers had to pay. This meant that the BEIC could sell their tea for much cheaper than the colonial merchants could. Out of this came the dramatic protest of the Boston Tea Party. -
Boston Tea Party
A large group of Boston rebels disguised themselves as Native Americans and took action against three British tea ships that were anchored in the harbor. The "Indians" dumped 18,000 pounds of the East India Company's tea into the waters of Boston Harbor. -
Minutemen
Minutemen were civilian soldiers who pledged to be ready to fight against the British on a minute's notice. They quietly stockpiled firearms and gunpowder. When General Thomas Gage learned about these activities in the spring of 1775, he ordered troops to march from Boston to Concord and seize illegal weapons. -
Intolerable Acts
3 parts:
1. The Boston harbor was shut down.
2. The Quartering Act: authorized British commanders to house soldiers in vacant private homes and other buildings.
3. General Thomas Gage, commander-in-chief of British forces in North America, was appointed the new foverner of Massachusetts. To keep the peace, he placed Boston under martial law. -
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, then the colonies should fight back. -
Midnight Riders
Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott rode out to spread word that 700 British troops were headed for Concord. -
Battle of Lexington
A conflict between around 70 minutemen and the British soldiers. Eight minutemen were killed and ten more were wounded, but only one British soldier was injured. The Battle of Lexington was the first battle of the Revolutionary War, and it lasted 15 minutes. -
Battle of Concord
British troops marched on from Lexington to Concord, where they found an empty arsenal. The soldiers lined up to march back to Boston, but by now, between 3,000 and 4,000 minutemen had assembled, and they fired on the marching troops. Colonists had become enemies of Britain. -
Second Continental Congress
Colonial leaders called the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia to debate their next move. Some delegates called for independence, while others argued for reconciliation with Great Britain. The Congress agreed to recognize the colonial militia as the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander. -
Continental Army
Formed after the Second Continental Congress, and was led by General George Washington. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
At the Battle of Bunker Hill, the colonists were defeated by the British. Despite this, the colonists inflicted severe damage upon the British. This caused the battle to serve as a morale boost for the colonists. -
Olive Branch Petition
a letter to King George III from members of the Second Continental Congress. This was the last attempt at peace with Great Britain. -
Publication of Common Sense
Common Sense was written by Thomas Paine. It was a 50-page pamphlet where Paine attacked King George and the monarchy -
Loyalists and Patriots
Loyalists: those who opposed independence and remained loyal to the British king, mostly made up of judges and governors
Patriots: supporters of independence who drew their numbers from people who saw a political and economic opportunity in independent America -
Declaratory Act
The Declaratory Act asserted Parliament's full right to "bind the colonies and the people of America in all cases whatsoever." -
Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson was chosen to prepare the final draft of the Declaration of Independence. On July 4th, the Declaration was adopted, and the colonists declared their freedom to Britain. -
Redcoats push Washington's army across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania
took place in late August. Washington's army was pushed towards the Delaware, which they then crossed and arrived in Pennsylvania. This led to the Christmas night surprise attack, which was an American victory. -
Washington's Christmas night surprise attack
Washington led 2,400 men in small rowboats across the Delaware River. They then marched to Trenton, New Jersey, and defeated the British. The British soon regrouped, however, and in September of 1777, they captured the American capital at Philadelphia. -
Saratoga
American troops surrounded General John Burgoyne at Saratoga.
Burgoyne's plan: to lead an army down from Canada to Albany; he would meet British troops (arriving from NYC); the two troops would join forces
why it failed: The British troops from NYC were preoccupied with holding Philadelphia and didn't go to meet him
outcome: Burgoyne surrendered to the colonists -
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. -
French-American Alliance
the Saratoga victory bolstered France’s belief that the Americans could win the war. As a result, the French signed an alliance with the Americans in February of 1778 and openly joined them in their fight
