-
French and Indian War
After six years of ceasefire, France and Britain had broken their time of peace and fell into the cycle of war once again and in the year 1754, the French and Indian War began. French colonists had better relations with the Indians since their goal was to trade, along the way they had created military bonds with them. The French had winning streaks in the beginning, but a suprise attack from the British in 1759 defeated them. The British infected the Natives with smallpox and defeated them, too. -
Writ of Assistance
In the year 1761, the royal governor of Massachusetts authorized the writs of assistance. These were general search warrants which allowed the government to enter the homes of colonists they believed were smuggling goods or holding them in their homes. This angered the merchants because the British customs officials were entering their homes regardless of having evidence or not. -
Treaty of Paris
Marking the end of the war, the Treaty of Paris stated that Britain would gain land, including Canada and the east side of the Mississippi River. Spain, which was allied with France, lost Florida to the British. France only had territory in Haiti and a few other smaller islands. Britain gave Spain the land they conquered from France, which included the western area of the Mississippi River and New Orleans. -
Proclamation of 1763
The British government was hoping to end conflict with the settlers and the Native Americans. They prohibited the colonists from entering areas west of the Appalachian Mountains. The Proclamation of 1763 had stated to not pass, but colonists were not willing to listen. They were eager to gain land and entered the American Indian lands, ignoring the proclamation set by the British government. -
Sugar Acts & Colonists Response
The French & Indian war had sucked out almost all of Britain's budget out. They decided to crack down on the colonists, hoping to get money out of them. The Sugar Act halved the duty of foreign-made molasses, the colonials complained it reduced their profits, Parliament didn't react and instead continued to tax the colonists. It did not do as much damage as they thought on them. It did, however, effect the merchants and traders more. -
Stamp Act & Colonists Response
In March 1765, the Stamp Act was passed by Parliament which added a tax on certain documents such as newspapers, playing cards, or wills. Stamps would be placed on items to show that the tax was paid. The colonists, who were not happy with this, formed a resistance group called the Sons of Liberty. Merchants of New York, Boston, and Philadelphia argued that since the colonists were not represented in Parliament, they had no right to oppose the taxes. In 1766, the Stamp Acts were repealed. -
Sons of Liberty is Formed By Samuel Adams
Anger had formed from the Stamp Acts and the Townshend Acts. Samuel Adams, the leader, made up the group along with Joseph Warren, Paul Revere, Benedict Arnold, Benjamin Edes, John Hancock, Patrick Henry, John Lamb, William Mackay, Alexander McDougall, James Otis, Benjamin Rush, Isaac Sears, Haym Solomon, James Swan, Charles Thomson, Thomas Young, Marinus Willett, and Oliver Wolcott. They boycotted British goods that were taxed by Parliament. -
Declaratory Act
The Declaratory Act was passed the same day the Stamp Act was repealed. This asserted Parliament's full right "to bind the colonies and people of America in all cases whatsoever." -
Townshend Acts & Colonists Response/Why They Were Repealed
The Townshend Acts were passed by Parliament in 1767, stating goods imported into the colony from Britain would be taxed (items such as lead, glass, paint, and paper, & tea). The Sons of Liberty had boycotted and tensions rose between the colonists and Britain. They argued with their famous slogan "no taxation without representation." Lord Frederick North noticed that the Townshend Acts were costing more than making and persuaded Parliament to repeal the Townshend Acts except for taxes on tea. -
Boston Massacre
Due to anger from the Townshend Acts, colonists formed mobs and gathered in front of the Boston Customs House. They taunted British soldiers who were standing guard. Shots were fired from the British and five colonists were shot- either killed or mortally wounded. Leaders from the colonial side dubbed this the Boston Massacre. The colonists then published a dramatic engraving showing the violence. -
Tea Act
Lord North had a plan to sell tea from the British East India Company for a cheaper price and without tax from other tes. He hoped the colonists would accept his idea and buy his cheaper tea, but this idea would cut out colonial tea merchants from selling tea. Instead, the colonists had dramatically protested. -
Boston Tea Party
Angry from the actions of Lord North, colonists in Boston rebelled by dumping 18,000 pounds of cheap tea from the British East India Company into Boston harbor at night. They were dressed up as Native Americans and threw tea from three British tea ships. -
Intolerable Acts- All 3 Parts
1- One law from the Intolerable Acts shut down the Boston harbor. 2- Quartering Act authorized British commanders to house soldiers in vacant private homes and other buildings. 3- General Thomas Gage, who at the time was commander-in-chief of British forces in North America, was made the new governor of Massachusetts. To keep peace, he placed Boston under martial law from military forces. -
First Continental Congress Meets
In response to the Intolerable Acts, the committees of correspondence assembled the First Continental Congress. They consisted of 56 delegates from all the colonies- except for Georgia- who met in Philadelphia and came up with a declaration of colonial rights. They had ideas such as the colonies being allowed to run their own affairs and stated that the colonies should fight back if the British used force against them. -
Minutemen
After the first Continental Congress met, colonists in many eastern New England towns stepped up military preparations. Minutemen- civilian soldiers who pledged to be ready to fight against the British on a minute's notice- quietly stocked firearms and gunpowder. General Thomas Gage learned about them and in 1775 he ordered troops to seize their weapons. Unbeknownst to the redcoats, colonists in Boston were watching them march to Concord, Massachusetts. -
Midnight Riders- Revere, Dawes, Prescott
The colonists who were watching General Gage's men start to march to Concord were known as the Night Riders. Their goal was to spread news of event happening throughout the colonies. Revere, Dawes, and Prescott were the Night Riders who went off to warn the minutemen of the 700 redcoats who were coming over to seize their weapons. -
Battle of Lexington
The Battle of Lexington- the first battle in the American Revolution- only lasted 15 minutes. As the redcoats got closer to Lexington, they saw 70 minutemen who were armed and drawn up into lines. The British told them to lay down their weapons and leave. The colonists did what they said, but someone fired a shot and the British responded by sending a round at the minutemen who were leaving. In the end, eight minutemen were killed, ten wounded. On the British side, only one redcoat was wounded. -
Battle of Concord
The British started making their way towards Concord, but the Night Riders had already warned the minutemen of the redcoats by then. The arsenal that they were hiding was taken out of storage. As the redcoats started to head back, they were soon fighting 3-4,000 minutemen. British forces were going down quickly. They fled back to Boston with humility and a new enemy. -
Second Continental Congress
In May of 1775, colonial leaders had formed the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia to debate what to do about the British. Divided views caused unrest, some wanted independence while others wanted peace. In conclusion to the meeting, they agreed to recognize the colonial militia as the Continental Army with George Washington as their commander. -
Continental Army
The Continental Army was recognized after the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia with George Washington as their commander. -
Battle of Bunker HIll
General Gage decided to strike at the minutemen on Breed's Hill, near Bunker Hill. 2,4000 redcoats were sent up the hill. Colonists didn't shoot until the redcoats were close enough. When they were, the British forces were brought down gradually before the colonists retreated. The British lost over 1,000 while the colonists only lost 450. -
Olive Branch Petition
In July, the Second Continental Congress were still hoping for peace in the time of war. Most of their delegates felt remorse for fighting against the king's men. On the 8th, they sent George III the Olive Branch Petition, waning deeply to form peace between them. The king had refused their petition and instead said that the colonists were rebelling and blocked off their ships with a naval blockade. -
John Locke's Social Contract
John Locke had the idea that people have natural rights to life, liberty, and property. He also believed that each society has its own social contract, which is an agreement in which the people consent to obey a government as long as it maintains the natural rights of its people. If the government does not stand by these laws, then the people have the right to overthrow their government. -
Publication of Common Sense
"Common Sense"- a 50-page pamphlet written by Thomas Paine- in which Paine attacked King George and the monarchy. Paine was a recent immigrant at the time and believed that the responsibility for British tyranny was within "the royal brute of Britain." He had gotten these ideas as a result of the battles of Lexington and Concord. He wanted America to gain freedom from Britain for a better society. His pamphlet sold nearly 500,000 copies in 1776 and was widely accepted, even by George Washington. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was written together with Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, John Adams, and Robert Livingston. The Declaration had ideas from Locke's ideas of natural rights, Jefferson's ideas of rights of "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness", which were considered the most important ideas for the document. Jefferson added that the government can only have power when it stands by the natural rights of the governed. It was adopted on July 4, 1776. -
Loyalists and Patriots
Loyalists were people who opposed independence and remained loyal to the British crown. This was mostly judges, governors, etc. Patriots were the opposite, and supported the idea of independence instead. They were mainly made up of people who saw opportunities in America. Not everyone had a stance in which they presumed to be- many were neutral and didn't wish to choose a side. -
Redcoats Push Washington's Army Across The Delaware River Into Pennsylvania
The British attempted to seize NYC as part of their plan to stop the rebellion. They sailed in the New York Harbor in 1776 with about 32,000 soldiers. Their army was made up of German mercenaries known as Hessians because they mainly came from the German region of Hesse. The US forces were untrained and poorly equipped and soon retreated. Washington's army was pushed across the river into Pennsylvania. -
Washington's Christmas Night Surprise Attack
On Christmas night, Washington took a gamble and sailed across the Delaware River with 2,400 men during a storm. They got to their objective, Trenton, New Jersey, and defeated the British forces there. The British soon regrouped and captured the capital at Philadelphia. -
Saratoga
General Burgoyne had planned to lead his army down a route of lakes from Canada to Albany. He was to meet up with his troops coming from NYC, but he didn't know they were busy fending off colonial troops in Philadelphia. When Burgoyne got there, he was forced to surrender because he was surrounded by American troops. -
French-American Alliance
The French had been secretly supporting the Americans in their battle with the British, but not openly. After the surrender of General Burgoyne, the French had agreed to sign an alliance with America and openly supported them in the war. -
Valley Forge
Washington's Army were desperately low on food and supplies while the French had signed the alliance with America. They fought to stay alive at a winter camp in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. More than 2,000 died but those that survived didn't leave. -
Friedrich von Steuben and Marquis de Lafayette
Friedrich von Steuben was a Prussian captain and talented drill master who helped train American troops in February 1778. Marquis de Lafayette also arrived to help. He lobbied France for reinforcements in 1779 and helped command troops in Virginia. -
British Victories In The South
After their defeat in Saratoga, British forces began to move south. In 1778, the obtained Savanna, Georgia. Generals Clinton and Cornwallis captured Charles Town, S. Carolina in 1780. Clinton moved north, Cornwallis stayed south. In 1781, colonists continued battling Cornwallis, he moved the fight to Virginia. His army of 7,500 moved between the James and York Rivers, they camped at Yorktown. He planned to fortify Yorktown, take Virginia, and meet up with Clinton in the north. -
British Surrender At Yorktown
After learning about Clinton's plans, Washington and Lafayette moved south towards Yorktown. French naval forces defeated a British fleet and blocked the Chesapeake Bay. By late September, about 17,000 French/American troops surrounded Yorktown and began attacking the British consecutively. Less than a month later, the British general Cornwallis had surrendered and the American/French forces had beaten the British. -
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. The Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783, confirming American independence and set the new boundaries of the US. The United States stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River and from Canada to the Florida border.
