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French & Indian War
In 1754, the
French built Fort Duquesne in the region despite the fact that the Virginia government
had already granted 200,000 acres of land in the Ohio country to a
group of wealthy planters. In response, the Virginia governor sent militia, a group
of ordinary citizens who performed military duties, to evict the French. -
Writ of Assistance
During the French and Indian War, the British had cracked
down on colonial smuggling to ensure that merchants were
not doing business in any French-held territories. In 1761,
the royal governor of Massachusetts authorized the use of the
writs 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. Because
many merchants worked out of their residences, the writs
enabled British officials to -
Proclamation of 1763
To avoid further costly conflicts with Native Americans, the British government
prohibited colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains. The
Proclamation of 1763 established a Proclamation Line along the
Appalachians, which the colonists were not allowed to cross. -
Treaty of Paris
The war officially ended in 1763 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. Great
Britain claimed Canada and virtually all of North America east of the Mississippi
River. Britain also took Florida from Spain, which had allied itself with France.
The treaty permitted Spain to keep possession of its lands west of the Mississippi
and the city of New Orleans, which it had gained from France in 1762. -
Sugar Act & Colonists Response
The Sugar Act did three things. 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.
Most important, it provided that colonists accused of violating
the act would be tried in a vice-admiralty court rather
than a colonial court.
Colonial merchants complained that the Sugar Act
would reduce their profits. -
Stamp Act & Colonists Response
In March 1765 Parliament passed the Stamp Act. This act
imposed a tax on documents and printed items such as wills, newspapers, and playing
cards. A stamp would be placed on the items to prove that the tax had been
paid. It was the first tax that affected colonists directly because it was levied on
goods and services.In May of 1765, the colonists united to defy the law. Boston shopkeepers, artisans,
and laborers organized a secret resistance group called the Sons of Liberty to
protest the law. -
Sons of Liberty Formed & Samuel Adams
Boston shopkeepers, artisans,
and laborers organized a secret resistance group called the Sons of Liberty to
protest the law. Led by men such as Samuel Adams, one of
the founders of the Sons of Liberty, the colonists again boycotted British goods -
Declaratory Act
But on the same day that it repealed the Stamp Act, Parliament passed the
Declaratory Act, which asserted Parliament’s full right “to bind the colonies and
people of America in all cases whatsoever.” -
Townshend Acts & Colonists Response
Then, in 1767, Parliament passed the
Townshend Acts, named after Charles Townshend, the leading government minister.
The Townshend Acts taxed goods that were imported into the colony from
Britain, such as lead, glass, paint, and paper. The Acts also imposed a tax on tea, the
most popular drink in the colonies. Led by men such as Samuel Adams, one of
the founders of the Sons of Liberty, the colonists again boycotted British goods. -
John Lockes Social Contract
One of the key enlightenment thinkers was English philosopher John Locke. Locke maintained that people have natural rights to life, liberty, and property. Furthermore, 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. -
Boston Massacre
N On March 5, 1770, a mob gathered in front
of the Boston Customs House and taunted the British soldiers standing guard
there. Shots were fired and five colonists, including Crispus Attucks, were killed
or mortally wounded. Colonial leaders quickly labeled the confrontation the
Boston Massacre -
Tea Act
In 1773, Lord North devised the Tea Act in
order to save the nearly bankrupt British East India Company. The act
granted the company the right to sell tea to the colonies free of the taxes that
colonial tea sellers had to pay. This action would have cut colonial merchants out
of the tea trade by enabling the East India Company to sell its tea directly to consumers
for less. North hoped the American colonists would simply buy the cheaper
tea; instead, they protested dramatically -
Boston Tea Party
On the moonlit evening of December 16, 1773, 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. In this incident, later known as the
Boston Tea Party, the “Indians” dumped 18,000 pounds of the East India
Company’s tea into the waters of Boston harbor. -
Intolerable Acts
An infuriated King George III pressed Parliament to
act. In 1774, Parliament responded by passing a series of measures that colonists
called the 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. To keep the peace, he plac -
First Continental Congress Meets
In response to Britain’s actions, the committees of correspondence assembled
the First Continental Congress. In September 1774, 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
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
stockpiled firearms and gunpowder. General Thomas Gage soon learned about
these activities. In the spring of 1775, he ordered troops to march from Boston to
nearby Concord, Massachusetts, and to seize illegal weapons. -
Loyalists and Patriots
Loyalists- those who opposed independence and remained loyal to the British king- included judges and governors, as well as people of more modest means.
Patriots- the supporters of independence- drew their numbers from people who saw political and economic opportunity in an independent America. -
Midnight Riders
Colonists in Boston were watching,
and on the night of April 18, 1775, Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel
Prescott rode out to spread word that 700 British troops were headed for Concord.
The darkened countryside rang with church bells and gunshots—prearranged signals,
sent from town to town, that the British were coming. -
Battle of Lexington
The king’s troops, known as “redcoats” because of their uniforms, reached
Lexington, Massachusetts, five miles short of Concord, on the cold, windy dawn
of April 19. As they neared the town, they saw 70 minutemen drawn up in lines
on the village green. The British commander ordered the minutemen to lay down
their arms and leave, and the colonists began to move out without laying down
their muskets. Then someone fired, and the British soldiers sent a volley of shots
into the departing militia. Ei -
Battle of Concord
The British marched on to Concord, where they found an empty arsenal.
After a brief skirmish with minutemen, the British soldiers lined up to march back
to Boston, but the march quickly became a slaughter. Between 3,000 and 4,000
minutemen had assembled by now, and they fired on the marching troops from
behind stone walls and trees. British soldiers fell by the dozen. Bloodied and
humiliated, the remaining British soldiers made their way back to Boston that
night. Colonists had become enemies of -
Continental Army
Despite such differences, the
Congress agreed to recognize the colonial militia as the Continental Army and
appointed George Washington as its commander. -
Second Continental Congress
In May of 1775, colonial leaders
called the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia to debate their next
move. The loyalties that divided colonists sparked endless debates at the Second
Continental Congress. Some delegates called for independence, while others
argued for reconciliation with Great Britain. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
Cooped up in Boston, British general Thomas
Gage decided to strike at militiamen on Breed’s Hill, north of the city and near
Bunker Hill. On June 17, 1775, Gage sent 2,400 British soldiers up the hill. The
colonists held their fire until the last minute and then began to mow down the
advancing redcoats before finally retreating. By the time the smoke cleared, the
colonists had lost 450 men, while the British had suffered over 1,000 casualties.
The misnamed Battle of Bunker Hill would prove to be -
Olive Branch Petition
By July, the Second Continental Congress was readying the colonies for war
though still hoping for peace. Most of the delegates, like most colonists, felt
deep loyalty to George III and blamed the bloodshed on the king’s ministers.
On July 8, Congress sent the king the so-called Olive Branch Petition, urging a
return to “the former harmony” between Britain and the colonies.
King George flatly rejected the petition. Furthermore, he issued a proclamation
stating that the colonies were in rebellion -
Publication of Common Sense
Just as important were the ideas of Thomas Paine. In a widely read 50-page pamphlet titled Common Sense, Paine attacked King George and the monarchy. Paine, a recent immigrant, argued that responsibility for British tyranny lay with "the royal brute of Britain." Paine explained his own revolt against the king had begun with Lexington and Concord. -
Declaration of Independence
On June 7, Virginia Delegate Richard Henry Lee moved that "these United Colonies are, and of a right ought to be, free and independent states." While talks on this fateful motion were underway, the Congress appointed a committee to prepare a formal Declaration of Independence. Virgina lawyer Thomas Jefferson was chosen to prepare the final draft. Jeffersons document declared the rights of "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness" to be "unalienable rights- ones that can never be taken away.
