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Navigation Acts
The Navigation Acts were laws made by Britain to control trade in its colonies. They said that goods brought to the American colonies had to be shipped on British ships and go through British ports. This helped Britain make money from colonial trade and limited the colonies' trade with other countries. -
French-Indian War
The French and Indian War was a fight in North America between the British and French, along with their Native American allies. It was also known as the Seven Years' War. The main cause was control of land, especially the Ohio River Valley. The British wanted to expand their colonies, while the French wanted to protect their fur trade. The war ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act of 1765 was a law by Britain that made American colonists pay a tax on things like newspapers, legal papers, and even playing cards. The money was supposed to help pay for British soldiers in America, but the colonists didn’t like it, leading to protests and the phrase "no taxation without representation." -
Quartering Act
The Quartering Act of 1765 made American colonists give food and shelter to British soldiers living in the colonies. It was meant to help the British army, but many colonists thought it was unfair and an invasion of their space. -
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts was passed by Parliament to help pay for expenses involved in governing the American Colonies. It initiated taxes on glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea. The colonies decided to basically go on strike and not buy anymore British goods in response. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre happened on March 5, 1770, when British soldiers shot into a crowd of colonists in Boston, killing five people and wounding several more. It was rumored that the rowdy colonists actually started the fight by throwing a snowball but we don´t know how true that is. The incident was widely talked about and used to get more colonists upset with British rule. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party happened on December 16, 1773, when a group of colonists, dressed as Native Americans, went onto British ships in Boston Harbor and threw 342 chests of tea into the water. They were upset about the Tea Act, which let Britain tax tea in the colonies. This event made the colonists even angrier at the British. -
Intolerable Acts (aka Coercive Acts)
The Intolerable Acts, or Coercive Acts, were laws passed by Britain in 1774 to punish the American colonies, especially Massachusetts, for the Boston Tea Party. These laws shut down Boston's harbor, took away some of the colonies' ability to govern themselves, and let British officials be tried in Britain instead of the colonies. -
Battle of Lexington & Concord (aka “The Shot Heard Around the World”)
The Battle of Lexington and Concord, called "The Shot Heard Around the World," happened on April 19, 1775. It was the first battle of the American Revolution. British soldiers tried to take weapons from the colonists in Concord, but the colonists fought back in both Lexington and Concord. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was a meeting of colonial leaders that began in May 1775, after the fighting at Lexington and Concord. It was where the colonies decided to create the Continental Army, with George Washington in charge, and start getting ready to fight for independence. Later, in 1776, they approved the Declaration of Independence. -
Olive Branch Petition
The Olive Branch Petition was a letter the American colonists sent to King George III in 1775, asking for peace and hoping to avoid war. They wanted to fix things with Britain and have their rights respected. But the king rejected the petition and sent more troops. -
Common Sense
Common Sense was a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1776 that made the case for the colonies breaking away from Britain. It explained why the colonies should become independent and set up their own government. The pamphlet helped many colonists decide to support independence. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, was a document that announced the American colonies were breaking away from Britain. It explained why the colonies wanted to be free and listed the rights that everyone should have. The Declaration marked the beginning of the United States as an independent country. -
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation were the first set of rules for the United States, adopted in 1781. They created a weak national government and gave most of the power to the states. This made it hard to bring the country together and fix problems, so the Articles were replaced by the U.S. Constitution in 1789. -
Daniel Shays’ Rebellion
Daniel Shays' Rebellion was an uprising in 1786-1787 led by Daniel Shays, a former soldier, and other farmers in Massachusetts. They were upset about high taxes and debt that made it hard to keep their farms. The rebellion showed that the Articles of Confederation weren’t working and that the country needed a stronger government. -
Constitutional Convention (aka Philadelphia Convention)
The Constitutional Convention, or Philadelphia Convention, took place in 1787. Representatives from the states got together to fix the issues with the Articles of Confederation. Instead of just fixing them, they decided to create a completely new plan for the government, which became the U.S. Constitution.