-
Period: to
French & Indian War
This war started because the French and colonist both claimed the Ohio River Valley. The colonist wanted to go further out but had the get through the French before they could go further. The colonist won the war and kicked the French out of the Americas -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris ended the French and Indian War. -
Proclamation of 1763
This document was made at the end of the French and Indian War to have the French leave the colonies. The document also told the colonist that all the land west of the Appalachian Mountains belonged to the natives. -
Sugar Act
The sugar act was a tax put on the colonies for sugar and molasses. This law was created by parliament and George Grenville to have the colonies help pay back the war debt they caused Britain. The colonist didn't like the fact that they had to pay taxes on sugar so they began to smuggle sugar from other places to here.
Information -
Stamp Act Congress
This was a meeting to talk about the stamp act by the colonists. there was a representative from each colony that went. They met in NYC. The purpose was to talk and see how everyone was taking the Stamp Act. The results of the meeting led to the Stamp Act never being put in place. -
Quartering Act
The Quartering Act was a law put in place to make colonist house and feed British soldiers. -
Stamp Act
The stamp act was a tax put on any paper document that needed to have a gov't stamp. Grenville put this tax in place as the first direct tax to the colonist. The colonist didn't like being taxed and Samuel Adams formed the Sons of Liberty. The Sons of Liberty began to harass stamp officials and would burn wooden effigies of them. The Stamp Act Congress was formed so that the colonist could talk about the tax. This tax was never really set in place because the colonist had complained about it. -
Declaratory Act
The Declaratory Act was an act saying that Britain has the right to impose any law on the colonist they want. -
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts were put in place by Charles Townshend. These laws put a tax on British goods such as tea, lead, paint, etc. They also brought in writs of assistance. Writs of Assistance were search warrants that allowed an officer to search a property without notice. The tax money was used to pay British colonial officials. The colonists did not like that act because it forced them to buy British tea and materials. info -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a moment when the colonist began to turn further from Britain and actually began to fight back. It started when a group of people were standing outside a British customhouse trying to get in and get rid of the official. the guard at the door blocked the way and called soldiers to come over and help. The soldiers arrived and they were holding them back. one of them shot and killed a man named Crispus Attucks. This led to a few more shots being fired and 5 people killed. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was the Sons of Liberty's reaction to the tea act. The British had placed some laws called the Townshend Acts and the colonist didn't like them so Britain repealed them all except the tax on tea and they said they would enforce the anti-smuggling laws. The Sons of Liberty got together one day and dressed up like Mohawk indians, they boarded a British ship full of tea and threw all of it overboard. The British responded to this with the Intolerable Acts. -
Quebec Act
The Quebec Act was passed by parliament to replace the temporary gov't with a permanent one. It gave French Canadians religious freedom. -
Intolerable Acts
These laws were passed to punish the Northern Colonies for the Boston Tea Party. These laws consisted of closing down the Boston port and town meetings were banned. The colonists didn't like these laws and formed the First Continental Congress. -
First Continental Congress
The states that were in the congress were Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, North Carolina, South Carolina, Rhode Island, Virginia, Delaware, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Maryland. The founding fathers that were there were John Jay, John Adams, Patrick Henry, and George Washington. They met in Philadelphia for it in the Fall. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss the Coercive Acts. The result of this was them allowing people to form militias and to meet in the spring. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
This battle took place in Boston. This was the first major battle of the revolution. During this battle the British stormed the hill 3 times only to have to retreat. They finally made it up the hill and ended up winning the battle but this gave colonist confidence that they could win the war. -
Lexington & Concord
This was the first official battle of the revolutionary war and it was started because the British thought that the colonist were hiding weapons in Concord. The minutemen fought the battle while Paul Revere went town to town warning the people. The colonists received 49 deaths and 39 wounded. The British received 73 deaths and 174 wounded. This amounted to the first American win of the Rev. war.
info -
Second Continental Congress
This was a meeting in the spring of all of the colonies. The founding fathers that attended this time were Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Jay, and John Adams. They once again met in Philadelphia to talk about declaring their independence from Britain. They wrote the Olive Branch Petition and the Declaration of Independence while meeting. They also helped form the continental army.
info -
Common Sense
This was a pamphlet wrote by Thomas Paine that told the americans that they should split away from Britain. The author said that it is all but common sense for us to separate from Britain. -
Declaration of Independence
This document was written by Thomas Jefferson. It stated that we were separating from England and that we are not gonna take there taxing and other laws anymore. Jefferson wrote it on July 2, congress approved it on the 4 and it wasn't signed until August 2. This document consisted of a preamble, statement of beliefs, list of complaints, appeals to british brethren, and the conclusion. The response to this was mixed as some wanted to separate but others didn't.
