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The French and Indian War
As the French empire in North America expanded, it collided with the growing British empire. In the late 17th and first half of 18th centuries, Great Britain and France had fought three wars. All three wars started in Europe and spread to their overseas colonies. In 1754 the French-British conflict reignited after six relatively peaceful years. -
Writ of Assistance
The Writ of Assistance is a warrant to search any colonial ship if the British officials believe there are smuggled goods on board. It also allowed the British officials to enter and search colonial homes for smuggled goods as well. Grenville's choices had angered many merchants in the colonies. -
Treaty of Paris
Angered by French victories, Britain's King George II selected new leaders to run his government. One of the new leaders was William Pitt, who was a energetic, self-confident politician who led the British and colonial troops to victory. But in 1759 the war took a decisive turn on the plains of Abraham just outside of Quebec. During the night, the British had performed a surprise attack on the French. The war had officially ended when the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1763. -
Proclamation of 1763
The proclamation of 1763 established a proclamation line along the Appalachians which the colonists were not allowed to cross. The reason for this line was to avoid further costly conflicts with the Native Americans and the British government. -
Sugar Act
In 1764 George Grenville prompted parliament to enact a law known as the Sugar Act. The Sugar Act had done three things. It placed duties on certain imports that had not been taxed before, it halved the duty on foreign-made molasses in the hopes that colonists would a lower tax rather than risk being arrested. But most importantly, the Sugar Act provided the colonists accused of violating the act would be tried in a vice-admiralty court instead of a colonial court. -
The Sons of Liberty
There was a resistance group that had been organized by shopkeepers and laborers called the Sons of Liberty. Their one mission was to protest the law. -
Stamp Act
The parliament passed the Stamp Act in 1765. The Stamp Act is an imposed tax on printed items and documents. They would place a Stamp on the items so others could tell the tax had been paid. It was the first tax that affected the colonists directly but in 1765 the colonists chose to defy the law. -
Declaratory Act
The parliament passed the Declaratory Act the same day that the Stamp Act was repealed. The Declaratory Act gives the parliament full rights to bind the colonies and people of America. -
The Townshend Act
The Townshend Act was named after Charles Townshend the leading government minister and was passed in 1767. The act imposed a tax on tea, which was the most popular beverage in the colonies. It also taxed the different goods that were imported into the colony from Britain. -
John Locke's Social Contract
The Social Contract is an agreement in which the people consent to choose and obey a government so long as its safeguards their natural rights. John Locke had contended that every society is based on a social contract. People have the right to resist or overthrow the government if they violate the rights or taking away the Social Contract. -
Boston Massacre
The colonists and the British were hostiles and the city had erupted in bloody classes which led the colonists and Britain closer to war. A mob had gathered in front of the Boston Customs House and the British soldiers were taunted. Once shots were fired and five colonists were killed or mortally wounded. Among those five, Crispus Attucks was there. It was then labeled the Boston Massacre by the colonial leaders. -
The Boston Tea Party
Britain gave the East India Company special concessions in the colonial tea business and had shut the colonial tea merchants out. In result of that action, the Colonists in Boston rebel and dumped 18000 pounds of the tea from the East India Company into the Boston harbor. -
Tea Act
Lord Frederick North had persuaded the parliament to repeal everything in the Townshend Act except the Tea Act. North had also realized the Townshend Acts were costing more to enforce than they would ever bring in. -
Intolerable Acts
The Parliament had passed many measures that colonists had called the Intolerable Acts after an Infuriated King George III had pressured the Parliament to do so. The Intolerable Acts had many laws, one law called the Quartering Act authorized British Commanders to house soldiers in private homes that are vacant and other available structures. Another law was to shut down the Boston Harbor. -
The First Continental Congress meets
The committees of correspondence assembled the First Continental Congress after the British forces in North America appointed the new governor of Massachusetts. The group of 56 delegates defended the colonies rights to run their own affairs and had stated that if the British used force against the colonies then they should fight back. -
Minutemen
Minutemen are civilian soldiers who had pledged to always be ready at any minute when the fight against the British had come. They also stockpiled gunpowder and firearms quietly. -
Second Continental Congress
The Colonial leaders in Philadelphia were debating their next move. These Colonial leaders are called the Second Continental Congress. While some delegates had argued for reconciliation, others wanted independence. -
The Continental Army
The congress chose George Washington as the commander of the Continental Army. Despite the delegates wanting different things, the congress had changed the colonial militia to the Continental Army. -
Midnight Riders
The Midnight Riders were Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott who rode out and spread the word that 700 British troops were on their way to Concord. -
Battle Of Lexington
The King's troops had reached Lexington Massachusetts. They had spotted 70 minutemen as they neared the town but the British commander ordered the Minutemen to lower their firearms and walk away. As they were leaving, someone fired their weapon and the British soldiers had returned fire at the leaving militia. This was the first battle of the Revolutionary War which only lasted 15 minutes. -
The Battle of Concord
The British had marched five miles past Lexington and made it to Concord. Once they got there they found an empty arsenal. There were between 300 to 4000 minutemen assembled and as the British were lined up to march back to Boston, the Minutemen had opened fire on the troops and the troops fell by the dozen. The remaining British soldiers made their way back to Boston but the colonists had become enemies of Britain and had help Boston as its encampment of British troops under siege. -
The Battle of Bunker Hill
General Thomas Gage had sent 2,400 British soldiers up Bunker Hill. The redcoats who were advancing were taking down after the colonists held their fire until the very last minute. The remaining redcoats were retreating and using the smoke to hide. But once the smoke cleared, the colonists had lost 450 men while the british lost more than 1,000 men. This battle would e the deadliest of the whole war. -
The Olive Branch Petition
Though the colonies were hoping for peace, they were ready for war by July. Congress sent the king the Olive Branch Petition which urged the return to the former peace between Britain and the colonies. But most of the delegates had blamed the kings ministers for the bloodshed because they felt a great loyalty to George III. -
The Loyalists and the Patriots
The Americans had found themselves on different sides. Some were on the Loyalists side while others were on the Patriots side. The loyalists were consisted of those who opposed independence and remained loyal to the British King. The Patriots were the supporters of independence and who drew numbers from people who saw political and economic opportunity in an independent America. -
Publication of Common Sense
This 50 page pamphlet that Thomas Paine attacked King George and the monarchy with. Thomas Paine was an immigrant had felt that the responsibility for the British Tyranny must lay with "The Royal Brute of Britain". -
Declaration of Independence
Richard Henry Lee had said "These United Colonies are, and of a right ought to be, free and independent states". The congress had chosen a committee to prepare a formal Declaration of Independence. The wavering continental congress had urged each colony to finally form their own government. -
Washington’s Christmas night surprise attack
Washington had set the plan for Christmas night and led 2400 men across the Delaware River in small rowboats. They defeated a garrison of Hessians during a surprise attack that they walked to Trenton New Jersey after the river. -
Valley Forge
More than 2000 soldiers died when the Continental Army as well as Washington were very low on food and other necessities and fought to stay alive through that winter. -
Saratoga
General John Burgoyne was fighting off colonial troops as he was leading an army down a route of lakes from Canada to Albany where British troops met him from New York City. But what Burgoyne didn't know was that his fellow British officers were not coming to meet him because they had gotten stuck in Philadelphia so when the American troops surrounded him, he had no choice but to give up. -
French-American Alliance
The French signed an alliance with the Americans as a result of the Saratoga victory which made the French believe the Americans could win the war. The French then openly joined them in their fight. -
Friedrich von Steuben and Marquis de Lafayette
Friedrich von Steuben was a Prussian captain who helped train the Continental Army as well as being a talented drillmaster. Marquis de Lafayette was a military leader who arrived to help as well as others. Lafayette lobbied France for reinforcements in 1779 as well as led command in Virginia for the last years of the war. -
British victories in the South
The British had changed their operations to the south after their defeat at Saratoga. They had easily taken Savanah, Georgia at the end of 1778. Generals Henry Clinton and Charles Cornwallis had captured Charles Town, South Carolina in May 1780. After that capture, they split ways and Clinton left to New York while Cornwallis had continued to conquer throughout the South. -
British surrender at Yorktown
Cornwallis led his army of 7500 onto the peninsula between James and York Rivers and planned to fortify Yorktown after camping there. Cornwallis wanted to take Virginia and move north to join Clintons forces but the armies of lafayette and Washington had learned about Cornwallis's actions and moved down towards Yorktown. In late september somewhere close to 17000 French and American troops had surrounded the British on the Yorktown Peninsula. After being bombarded, Cornwallis surrendered.
