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French and Indian War
During the late 17th and the first half of the 18th centuries, France and Great Britian had fought three inconclusive wars. As the French empire in North America expanded, it collided with the growing British empire. After six relatively peaceful years, the French-British conflict reignited, known as the French and Indian war. -
Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 established a Proclamation Line along the Appalachians, which the colonists were not allowed to cross. This was created to avoid further costly conflicts with Native Americans. However, the colonits, eager to expand westward, ignored the proclamation and continued to stream onto Native American lands. -
Sugar Act
The Sugar Act did three things. It halved the duty on foreign-made molasses in the hopes that colonists would pay a lower tax. It placed duties on certain imports that had not been taxed before. It also provided that colonists accused of violating the act would be tried in a vice-admiralty court rather than a colonial court. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act imposed a tax on documents and printed items such as wills, newpapers, and playing cards. It was the first tax that affected colonists directly because it was levied on goods and services. -
Sons of Liberty is formed
In May of 1765, the colonitsts united to defy the Stamp Act. Boston shopkeepers, artisans, and laborers organized a secret resistance group called the Sons of Liberty to protest the law. -
Townshend Act
The Townshend Act taxed goods that were imported into the colony from Britian, such as lead, glass, paint, and paper. -
Tea Act
The Tea Act is part of the Townshend Act that taxed tea. This was the cause of the Boston Tea Party. -
Boston Massacre
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 were killed or wounded. -
Boston Tea Party
On December 6, 1773, a large group of Boston rebels disguised themselves as Native Americans and proceeded to take action againt three British tea ships. The Boston rebels dumped 18,000 pounds of the East India Company's tea in the waters of Boston harbor. -
Intolerable Acts
In response to the Boston Tea Party, Parliament passed a series of measures that colonists called the Intolerable Acts. One law shuting down the harbor. Another, the Quartering Act, authorizing British commanders to house soldiers in vacant homes and buildings. The final act, General Thomas Gage was appointed the new governor of Massachusetts. -
First Continental Congress meets
In response to Britain's actions, 56 delegates met in Philadelphia and drew up a declaration of colonial rights. -
Second Continental Congress
Colonial leaders met again to debate their next move. The Congress agreed to recognize the colonial militia as the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
On June 17,1775, Gage sent 2,400 British soliders up the hill. The colonists had lost 450 men, while the British had suffered over 1,000 casualties making the Battle of Bunker Hill the deadlist battle of the war. -
Olive Branch Petition
On July 8, Congress sent the king the OIive Branch Petition, urging a return to 'the former harmony' between Britian and the colonies. King George rejected the petition. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
In spring of 1775, General Thomas Gage ordered troops to march from Boston to nearby Concord, Massachusetts, and to seize illegal weapons. -
Publication of Common Sense
Thomas Paine wrote a 50-page pamphlet titled Common Sense that attacked King George and the monarchy. Paine declared that independence would allow America to trade more freely, give colonists the chance to create a better society, with equad social and economic opportunities. -
Declaration of Independence
Drawing Locke's ideas of natural rights, Jefferson's document declared rights of "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness", to be 'unalienable' right- ones that can never be taken away. Jefferson also wrote if the government denies their rights, the people have the right to 'alter or abolish' that government. -
Early British victories
The British salied into New York harbor in summer of 1776 with a force of about 32,000 soldiers. They included thousands Hermen mercenaries, or hired soldiers. Desperate for an early victory, Washinton then led 2,400 men in small rowboats across the Delaware River and defeated the Hessians in a surprise attack. But, the British regrouped and then captured the American capital in Philadelphia. -
Early Contienental Army victories
Desperate for an early victory, Washinton then led 2,400 men in small rowboats across the Delaware River and defeated the Hessians in a surprise attack. But, the British regrouped and then captured the American capital in Philadelphia. -
Saratoga
American troops surrendered Burgoyne at Saratoga. The Saratoga victory blostered France's belief that the Americans could win the war. The French then signed an alliance with the Americans in February 1778. -
Valley Forge
Washingoton and his Continental Army were desprately low on food and supplies found to stay alive at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. More than 2,000 soldiers died. -
Friedrich von Steuben and Marquis de Lafayette
In 1778, Friedrich von Steuben, a Prussian captian and talented drill-master, helped train the Continental Army. In 1779, Marquis de Lafayette also arrived to help. With the help of such Europen military leaders, the Continental Army became an effective fighting force. -
British victories in the South
At the end of 1778, a British expedition easily took Savannah, Georgia. In May 1780, the British captured Charles Town, South Carolina, and then left for New York. -
British surrender at Yorktown
By late September about 17,000 French and American troops surrounded the British on the Yorktown pennisula and began bombarding. On October 19, 1781, Cornwallis finally surrendered. -
Treaty of Paris
In September 1783, the delegates sugned the Treaty of Paris, which confirmed U.S. independence and set the boundaries of the new nation.
