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French & Indian War
The French and Indian War was the North American conflict in a larger imperial war between Great Britain and France. The war provided Great Britain enormous territorial gains in North America, but disputes over subsequent frontier policy and paying the war's expenses led to colonial discontent, and ultimately to the American Revolution. -
Townshed Acts
Charles Townshend sponsored the Townshend Acts. He believed that the Townshend Acts would assert British authority over the colonies as well as increase revenue.To help pay the expenses involved in governing the American colonies, Parliament passed the Townshend Acts, which initiated taxes on glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a confrontation in Boston on March 5, 1770. British sentries guarding the Boston Customs House shot into a crowd of civilians, killing three men and injuring eight, two of them mortally.The Boston Massacre helped galvanize Boston and the colonies against the mother country. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
The American patriots were defeated at the Battle of Bunker Hill, but they proved they could hold their own against the superior British Army.he Americans repulsed two British assaults, with significant British casualties; the British captured the redoubt on their third assault, after the defenders ran out of ammunition. The battle had demonstrated that inexperienced militia were able to stand up to regular army troops in battle. -
Declaration of Independence
The committee of five included Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman, with the actual writing delegated to JeffersonOn July 2, 1776, the Congress voted to declare independence from England. After two days of debate and some changes to the document, the Congress voted to accept the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The Declaration summarized the colonists' motivations for seeking independence. -
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Battle of Saratoga
The Battles of Saratoga marked the climax of the Saratoga campaign, giving a decisive victory to the Americans, significantly supported by the French.The battle was a turning point in the Revolutionary War as the American defeat of the superior British army furthered the hope for independence, and helped to secure the foreign support needed to win the war. -
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Valley Forge
Valley Forge is the location of the 1777-1778 winter encampment of the Continental Army led by General George Washington during the American Revolutionary War. Thr army camped at Valley Forge consisted of as many as 12,000 Continentals, as well as smaller numbers of African American and Native American soldiers.During the encampment, nearly 2,000 men died of disease. -
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Battle of Yorktown
General George Washington, commanding a force of 17,000 French and Continental troops, begins the war against British General Lord Charles Cornwallis and a contingent of 9,000 British troops at Yorktown, Virginia, in the most important battle of the Revolutionary War as it being the last. It was also the surrender of the British. Victory at Yorktown led directly to the peace negotiations that ended the war in 1783 and gave America its independence. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris of 1763 ended the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War between Great Britain and France, as well as their respective allies. In the terms of the treaty, France gave up all its territories in mainland North America, effectively ending any foreign military threat to the British colonies there. The key provisions of the Treaty of Paris guaranteed both nations access to the Mississippi River and defined the boundaries of the United States.