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The End of the French and Indian War
The French and Indian War ended in February 1763 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. The Treaty of Paris forced France to lose all claims of Canada and Louisiana (The French and Indian War Ends). The British were given Canada and Spain controlled Louisiana. This led to the colonies strengthen by eliminating their enemies in the New World. -
Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 eliminated the western expansion from colonists in the New World. The Proclamation stated that all lands west of the head of rivers that flowed into the Atlantic Ocean were off limits to the colonists (Proclamation of 1763). This forced colonists that had already established land in the west to abandon their property. This was one of the first new law from the King that frustrated the colonists. -
The Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was passed by Parliament on March 22, 1765. This forced colonists to pay a tax on every single piece of printed paper (A summary of the 1765 Stamp Act). The taxes from the Stamp Act were supposed to help pay for defending the American Frontier. The cost of the tax itself is not what angered the colonists, but just the principle of the colonists being taxed to make money for the King. The colonists saw this as a way for the King to raise money without a chance for them to have a -
The Quatering Act of 1765
The Quartering Act of 1765 forced colonists to house soldiers in the colonies. Most of the soldiers lived in barracks the colonists built, but when the barracks filled up the soldiers had to stay anywhere there was room (Parliament passes the Quartering Act). Most of these soldiers were criminals that were forced to join the British Military. That is most of the reason that the colonists were angry at the Quartering Act. -
The Stamp Act Congress
The Stamp Act Congress was the first time the colonies had officially met together in one place. Nine of the thirteen colonies met in New York in October 1765 (Stamp Act Congress). The main issue in the Congress was no taxation without representation. This brought up the Stamp Act Resolves which the Congress told parliament they respected their right to make laws, but taxation without representation was an issue. This led to the Stamp Act and Sugar Act being repelled. -
The Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a street fight between a patriot group and British Soldiers on March 5, 1770 (The Boston Massacre). Several Colonists were killed which led to an uprising in the colonies. The British fired shots into a mob, killing three, after having things thrown at them. The soldiers were put on trial by the town and John Adams defended them having the soldiers released. This was one of the main events that led to the American Revolution. -
The Tea Act
The Tea Act was passed on May 10, 1773. This tax was designed to save the East India Company. The act lowered the amount of tax the East India Company had to pay to Britain (Parliament Passes the Tea Act). This actually made the tea cheaper for the colonists. The colonists still had a problem with the Tea Act because it is just another tax the King forced onto the colonists. -
The Boston Tea Party
On the night of December 16, 1773 the Sons of Liberty disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians and boarded three ships in the Boston Harbor. The Sons of Liberty dumped 92,000 pounds of tea into the harbor (Tea Act). This was in response to the Tea Act that the King imposed on the colonists. The Tea Act was the final straw for the colonies. -
The Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts of 1774 were passed to punish the colonies for the Boston Tea Party (Intolerable Acts of 1774). The Acts closed the ports of Boston and also shut down the constitution in Massachusetts. This enraged the colonists because it was just laws to punish the colonists. The King forced these laws onto the colonists -
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress met in Carpenter Hall in Philadelphia. All of the colonies were in attendance except Georgia (First Continental Congress). They met to discuss the grievances in the colonies. They wanted to show the King and Parliament that they had rights and wanted them to follow them. Peyton Randolph was elected as President of the Congress. -
The Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were fought on April 19, 1775. A militia army met the redcoats at Lexington and fired one volley and retreated (Battles of Lexington and Concord). They met up with another army of minuteman and met the redcoats in Lexington. They used good fighting tactics such as firing from behind trees to drive the British back. This was a big victory for the colonists because they were not expected to compete with the British Army. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia in May of 1775. They were still not all seeking independence from Britain. They Congress elected to make a Continental Army with George Washington as the leader. They also allowed for the printing of money to pay for the supplies (Second Continental Congress). Richard Henry Lee Introduced a resolution for independence on June 7, 1776. Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. -
Batlle of Long Island
After the British evacuated Boston, he moved his troops to New York where he suspected the British were moving. He guessed right, but left one road open that British came through and surprised them. The British attempted to surround him forcing Washington to retreat. This gave the British control of New York (Battle of Long Island). -
Battle of Princeton
Washington was trying to evade the Army of Lord Cornwallis after the Battle of Trenton. Cornwallis had to try and guess which way Washington was going, but guessed wrong and Washington slipped away from his main army. Washington ran into his rear patrol at Princeton where he killed 275 redcoats. This was one of the biggest victories for the colonies. -
Battle of Saratoga
The Battle of Saratoga is considered as the turning point in the American Revolution. General Gates used smart tactics to wait out the British forces and attack at the right parts on the line at the right time. He was able to take the right side of the line and then surround the British. This forced Burgyone to surrender to Gates (Saratoga National Park). This led to a big moral boost to the colonies. -
The Southern Campaign
The Southern Campaign was the British attempt to take over the South (The Southern Campaign of the American Revolution). Lord Cornwallis was able to defeat Gates at The Battle of Camden. Nathaniel Greene and Daniel Morgan take over the southern armies and use the terrain to win small battles. Greene defeats Cornwallis by retreating his Militia into a bigger army to attack the British at the Battle of Cowpens. He then retreats and regroups at the Dan River. He meets Cornwallis again at Guilf -
The Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation were the first form of government in the United States (Articles of Confederation). This form of government had a very small central power and gave the states a lot of power. The Articles had some victories such as advancing to western lands, but had many more failures. The Articles cause a war over the Chesapeake Bay between Virginia and Maryland. The Federal Government could not stop the war because they had no power in the Articles of Confederation. Shay’s R -
Battle of Yorktown
The Battle of Yorktown was the final battle of the American Revolution. Cornwallis moved to the coast in Yorktown. General Rochambeau suggested to Washington they could surround Cornwallis in Yorktown with the help of the French Navy. The Continental and French Army cut off all supplies to Yorktown and forced Cornwallis to surrender. This surrender ended the Revolution. -
Constitutional Congress
There were three main issues in the Constitutional Convention, representation in congress, slavery, and an executive branch (The Continental Congress). They combined the Virginia Plan and New Jersey Plan, Great Compromise, making two houses of congress, one by population and another represented equally. The three-fifths compromise allowed states to count 3 of 5 slaves in their population. Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise allowed slave trade to be legal for 20 years. The executive branch w -
Ratification of the Constitution
To ratify the new constitution they need 9 of 13 colonies to agree to ratify. Virginia and New York did not agree to ratify. The anti-federalist said the Constitution gave too much power to the federal government. When the Bill of Rights was added the anti-federalist decided to agree. This led to the ratification of the Constitution.
