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Before American Revolution
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The Albany Congress
In June of 1754, representatives from seven colonies met with 150 Iroquois Chiefs in Albany, New York. The purposes of the Albany Congress were twofold; to try to secure the support and cooperation of the Iroquois in fighting the French, and to form a colonial alliance based on a design by Benjamin Franklin. But when the delegates returned to their colonies with the plan, not a single provincial legislature would ratify it. -
French and Indian War
The Seven Years’ War (called the French and Indian War in the colonies) lasted from 1756 to 1763, forming a chapter in the imperial struggle between Britain and France called the Second Hundred Years’ War. -
The sugar act
Parliament passed a modified version of the Sugar and Molasses Act(1733), which was about to expire. Under the Molasses Act colonial merchants had been required to pay a tax of six pence per gallon on the importation of foreign molasses. But because of corruption, they mostly evaded the taxes and undercut the intention of the tax that the English product would be cheaper than that from the French West Indies.This hurt the British West Indies market in molasses and sugar and the market for rum. -
The currency act
The act prohibited the issue of any new bills and the reissue of existing currency. Parliament favored a "hard currency" system based on the pound sterling, but was not inclined to regulate the colonial bills. Rather, they simply abolished them. The colonies protested vehemently against this. They suffered a trade deficit with Great Britain to begin with and argued that the shortage of hard capital would further exacerbate the situation. -
Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 was issued by the British at the end of the French and Indian War to appease Native Americans by checking the encroachment of European settlers on their lands.. In the centuries since the proclamation, it has become one of the cornerstones of Native American law in the United States and Canada. -
The Quartering Act of 1765
On March 24, 1765, Parliament passes the Quartering Act, outlining the locations and conditions in which British soldiers are to find room and board in the American colonies. -
Patrick Henry's "Liberty or Death!" speech 1766
”Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace
but there is no peace. The war is actually begun!
The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are
already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear,
or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take but as for me,
give me liberty or give me death! -
The Stamp Act
An act for granting and applying certain stamp duties, and other duties, in the British colonies and plantations in America, towards further defraying the expenses of defending, protecting, and securing the same; and for amending such parts of the several acts of parliament relating to the trade and revenues of the said colonies and plantations, as direct the manner of determining and recovering the penalties and forfeitures therein mentioned. -
The Townshend Revenue Act
Initially passed on June 29, 1767, the Townshend Act constituted an attempt by the British government to consolidate fiscal and political power over the American colonies by placing import taxes on many of the British products bought by Americans, including lead, paper, paint, glass and tea. -
The Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a street fight that occurred on March 5, 1770, between a "patriot" mob, throwing snowballs, stones, and sticks, and a squad of British soldiers. Several colonists were killed and this led to a campaign by speech-writers to rouse the ire of the citizenry. -
Battle of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord, fought on April 19,1775, kicked off the American Revolutionary War (1775-83).On the night of April 18,1775, hundreds of British troops marched from Boston to nearby Concord in order to seize an arms cache. Paul Revere and other riders sounded the alarm, and colonial militiamen began mobilizing to intercept the Redcoat column. A confrontation on the Lexington town green started off the fighting, and soon the British were hastily retreating under intense fire. -
Start of the American Revolution
In April 1775 British soldiers, called lobsterbacks because of their red coats, and minutemen—the colonists' militia—exchanged gunfire at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. Described as "the shot heard round the world," it signaled the start of the American Revolution and led to the creation of a new nation. -
Second Continental Congress meets
Congress men met in Philadelphia. This all started with the battle of Lexington and Concord to discuss their next steps. They elected George Washington as Commander in chief of the Continental Army. -
Capture of Fort Ticonderoga
. On May 10, 1775, Benedict Arnold joined Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys of Vermont in a dawn attack on the fort, surprising and capturing the sleeping British garrison. Although it was a small-scale conflict, the Battle of Fort Ticonderoga was the first American victory of the Revolutionary War, and would give the Continental Army much-needed artillery to be used in future battles. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
On June 17, 1775, early in the Revolutionary War (1775-83), the British defeated the Americans at the Battle of Bunker Hill in Massachusetts. Despite their loss, the inexperienced colonial forces inflicted significant casualties against the enemy, and the battle provided them with an important confidence boost during the Siege of Boston. -
Washington Named Commander in Chief
Washington was selected over other candidates such as John Hancock based on his previous military experience and the hope that a leader from Virginia could help unite the colonies. Washington left for Massachusetts within days of receiving his commission and assumed command of the Continental Army in Cambridge on July 3, 1775. After eight years of war, Washington resigned his commission as Commander in Chief on December 23, 1783. -
Battle of Quebec
General Richard Montgomery led a Group of patriots in an attack on Canada. He hoped to force the British to defend Canada. In December, Benedict Arnold and his militars joined Montgomery for an attack on Quebec. The British army was too strong and the Americains were forced to retreat back to Canada. General Montgomery was killed in the battle, and Benedict Arnold was wounded. -
British Withdraw from Boston
On March 17, 1776, British forces are forced to evacuate Boston following General George Washington’s successful placement of fortifications and cannons on Dorchester Heights, which overlooks the city from the south. During the evening of March 4, Major General John Thomas, under orders from Washington, secretly led a force of 800 soldiers and 1,200 workers to Dorchester Heights and began fortifying the area. -
Declaration of Independence Issued
The Declaration of Independence was written to show a new theory of government, reasons why they were separating from England, and a formal declaration of war. It gave the 13 colonies freedom from England's laws. -
Battle of Long Island
On August 27, 1776 the British Army successfully moved against the American Continental Army led by George Washington. The battlewas part of aBritish campaign to seize control of New York and thereby isolate New England from the rest of the colonies. Washington’s defeat could have led to the surrender of his entire force, but his ingenuity instead allowed him to escape and continue the fight. -
Battle of Trenton crossing the Delaware
General George Washington’s army crossed the icy Delaware on Christmas Day 1776 and, over the course of the next 10 days, won two crucial battles of the American Revolution. In the Battle of Trenton (December 26), Washington defeated a formidable garrison of Hessian mercenaries before withdrawing. -
British Occupy Philadelphia
The British had captured Philadelphia on September 26, 1777, following General George Washington’s defeats at the Battle of Brandywine and the Battle of the Clouds.While Howe and the British officer corps spent the winter enjoying the luxury of Philadelphia’s finest homes, the Continental Army froze and suffered appalling deprivation at Valley Forge.The British position in Philadelphia became untenable after France’s entrance into the war on the side of the Americans. -
Battle of Brandywine
On September 11, 1777, General Sir William Howe and General Charles Cornwallis launch a full-scale British attack on General George Washington and the Patriot outpost at Brandywine Creek near Chadds Ford. Although the Americans were able to slow the advancing British, they were soon faced with the possibility of being surrounded. Surprised and outnumbered by the 18,000 British troops to his 11,000 Continentals, Washington ordered his men to abandon their posts and retreat. -
Articles of Confederation Issued
The Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the United States, on November 15, 1777. The Articles created a loose confederation of sovereign states and a weak central government, leaving most of the power with the state governments. The need for a stronger Federal government soon became apparent and eventually led to the Constitutional Convention in 1787. The present United States Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation on March 4, 1789. -
Encampment at Valley Force
Valley Forge is the location of the 1777-1778 winter encampment of the Continental Army under General George Washington. Here the Continental Army, a collection of disparate colonial militias, emerged under Washington's leadership as a cohesive and disciplined fighting force. -
Battle of Monmouth Courthouse
The Battle of Monmouth was a military conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and its thirteen colonies in North America during the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). The year and date that the Battle of Monmouth took place on Sunday, June 28, 1778. The battlefield in which the British and American Forces fought during the Battle of Monmouth was located in Monmouth, New Jersey. The Battle of Monmouth was inconclusive but ended in a long-term victory for the American colonists. -
Fall of Savannah
In 1778, British policymakers and strategists decided to refocus their efforts on the southern colonies, where they believed the crown would enjoy the support of a large Loyalist population. As part of that effort, a British army under Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell captured the city of Savannah, Georgia on December 29, 1778. -
Siege of Charleston, SC
After a siege that began on April 2, 1780, Americans suffer their worst defeat of the revolution on May 12, 1780, with the unconditional surrender of Major General Benjamin Lincoln to British Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton and his army of 10,000 at Charleston, South Carolina. -
French and British Battle in Chesapeake Bay
Battle of the Chesapeake, also called Battle of the Virginia Capes, (September 5, 1781), in the American Revolution, French naval victory over a British fleet that took place outside Chesapeake Bay. The outcome of the battle was indispensable to the successful Franco-American Siege of Yorktown from August to October. -
Battle of Yorktown
When British General Lord Charles Cornwallis and his army surrendered to General George Washington’s American force and its French allies at the Battle of Yorktown on October 19, 1781, it was more than just military win. The outcome in Yorktown, Virginia marked the conclusion of the last major battle of the American Revolution and the start of a new nation's independence. -
Cornwallis Surrenders
On October 19, 1781, British General Charles Cornwallis surrendered his army of some 8,000 men to General George Washington at Yorktown, giving up any chance of winning the Revolutionary War. ... Hours after the surrender, the general's defeated troops marched out of Yorktown to the tune “The World Turned Upside Down.” -
End of the American Revolution
In October 1781, the war virtually came to an end when General Cornwallis was surrounded and forced to surrender the British position at Yorktown, Virginia. Two years later, in 1783, the Treaty of Paris made it official: America was independent.
