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French and Indian War
Tension between France and Britain errupted over undispuited land. Finally broke out into a war. -
Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Paris ended the French and Indian War -
Proclamation of 1763
established a Proclamation Line along the
Appalachians, which the colonists were not allowed to cross -
Sugar Act and colonists response
s. It halved the duty on
foreign-made molasses in the hopes that colonists would pay
a lower tax rather than risk arrest by smuggling. It placed
duties on certain imports that had not been taxed before.
Most important, it provided that colonists accused of violating
the act would be tried in a vice-admiralty court rather
than a colonial court. -
Stamp Act
This act
imposed a tax on documents and printed items such as wills, newspapers, and playing
cards -
Declaratory Act
Asserted Parliament’s full right “to bind the colonies and
people of America in all cases whatsoever.” -
Sons of Liberty is formed & Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams led the Sons of Liberty in boycotting against the British -
Townshend Acts & colonists response
The Townshend Acts taxed goods that were imported into the colony from
Britain, such as lead, glass, paint, and paper. The Acts also imposed a tax on tea, the
most popular drink in the colonies -
Boston Massacre
N 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, including Crispus Attucks, were killed
or mortally wounded -
Tea Act
The act
granted the company the right to sell tea to the colonies free of the taxes that
colonial tea sellers had to pay. This action would have cut colonial merchants out
of the tea trade by enabling the East India Company to sell its tea directly to consumers
for less -
Boston Tea Party
A large group of Boston rebels
disguised themselves as Native Americans and proceeded to take action against
three British tea ships anchored in the harbor. , The “Indians” dumped 18,000 pounds of the East India
Company’s tea into the waters of Boston harbor. -
Intolerable Acts
An infuriated King George III pressed Parliament to
act. In 1774, Parliament responded by passing a series of measures that colonists
called the Intolerable Acts. One law shut down Boston harbor. Another, the
Quartering Act, authorized British commanders to house soldiers in vacant private
homes and other buildings. -
First Continental Congress meets
In response to Britain’s actions, the committees of correspondence assembled
the First Continental Congress. In September 1774, 56 delegates met in
Philadelphia and drew up a declaration of colonial rights. They defended the
colonies’ right to run their own affairs and stated that, if the British used force
against the colonies, the colonies should fight back. -
Minutemen
Civilian soldiers who
pledged to be ready to fight against the British on a minute’s notice -
Midnight Riders: Revere, Dawes, Prescott
Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel
Prescott rode out to spread word that 700 British troops were headed for Concord.
The darkened countryside rang with church bells and gunshots—prearranged signals,
sent from town to town, that the British were coming. -
Battle of Lexington
The British commander ordered the minutemen to lay down
their arms and leave, and the colonists began to move out without laying down
their muskets. Then someone fired, and the British soldiers sent a volley of shots
into the departing militia. Eight minutemen were killed and ten more were
wounded, but only one British soldier was injured. -
Battle of Concord
The British marched on to Concord, where they found an empty arsenal.
After a brief skirmish with minutemen, the British soldiers lined up to march back
to Boston, but the march quickly became a slaughter. Between 3,000 and 4,000
minutemen had assembled by now, and they fired on the marching troops from
behind stone walls and trees. British soldiers fell by the dozen -
Second Continental Congress
Colonial leaders called the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia to debate their next move. The loyalties that divided colonists sparked endless debates at the Second Continental Congress. Some delegates called for independence, while others argued for reconciliation with Great Britain. -
Continental Army
Congress agreed to recognize the colonial militia as the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
Cooped up in Boston, British general Thomas Gage decided to strike at militiamen on Breed’s Hill, north of the city and near Bunker Hill. On June 17, 1775, Gage sent 2,400 British soldiers up the hill. The colonists held their fire until the last minute and then began to mow down the advancing redcoats before finally retreating. By the time the smoke cleared, the colonists had lost 450 men, while the British had suffered over 1,000 casualties. -
Olive Branch Petition
On July 8, Congress sent the king the so-called Olive Branch Petition, urging a return to “the former harmony” between Britain and the colonies.King George flatly rejected the petition. Furthermore, he issued a procla- mation stating that the colonies were in rebellion and urged Parliament to order a naval blockade to isolate a line of ships meant for the American coast. -
John Locke's Social Contract
Locke maintained that people have natural rights to life, liberty, and property. Furthermore, he contended, every society is based on a social contract—an agreement in which the people consent to choose and obey a government so long as it safeguards their natural rights. If the gov- ernment violates that social contract by taking away or interfering with those rights, people have the right to resist and even overthrow the government. -
Publication of Common Sense
A widely read 50-page pamphlet where Paine attacked King George and the monarchy. -
Declaration of Independence
Virginia lawyer Thomas Jefferson was chosen to prepare the final draft. Drawing on Locke’s ideas of natural rights, Jefferson’s document declared the rights of “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” to be “unalienable” rights— ones that can never be taken away. Jefferson then asserted that a government’s legitimate power can only come from the consent of the governed, and that when a government denies their unalienable rights, the people have the right to “alter or abolish” that gov. -
Loyalists and Patriots
Loyalists were those who opposed independence and remained loyal to the British king—included judges and governors, as well as people of more modest means. Patriots were the supporters of independence—drew their numbers from peo- ple who saw political and economic opportunity in an independent America. -
Washington's surprise Christmas attack
On Christmas night, Washington led 2,400 men across the Delaware river and marched into Trenton, New Jersey for a surpprise attack against the Hessians -
British victories in the South
In spetember 1777, the Hessians captured Philadelphia.They regrouped leading them to their sucess. -
Redcoats push Washington's army across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania
On Christmas 1776, Washington was desperate for a win so he led 2,400 men across the Delaware river in a surprise attack against the Hessians; but in September 1777, the British regrouped and and captures the American capital at Philaelphia. -
Saratoga
Burgyone wanted to meet with another British troop to isolate the New England colonies, but he didn't expect the British troop to be occupied in Philadelphia. The outcome was that he was surrounded by the patriots and was forced to surrender. -
French American Alliance
French and American troops allied together to take down British troops -
Friedrich von Stueben and Marquis de Lafayette
In 1778, Friedrich von Stueben, a Prussian captain, drilled the mediocre Continental Army into a super force
In 1779, Marquis de Lafayette was a French military leader who lobbied French reinforcemtns -
Valley Forge
Washington and his Continental Army—desperately low on food and supplies—fought to stay alive at winter camp in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. More than 2,000 soldiers died, yet the survivors didn’t desert. -
British surrender at Yorktown
General Cornwallis set camp in Yorktown-a peninsula-and when the French defeated the British naval fleet, they had the bay covered and then French and American troops surrounded them on land and bombarded them -
Treaty of Paris
Delegates signed the Treaty of Paris which confirmed the U.S. independence and set boundaries of the new nation.
