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French and Indian War
Ohio river an area of great contention between Britain and France. French built Fort Duquesne in the region, infuriating the British. This causes war between Britain and France. The French won the first battle against the Virginian militia force under the leadership of young George Washington. King George later selects new leaders in the government. Britain begins to win battles, and soon they win the war and the Treaty of Paris is signed. G.B claims entirety of Canada and parts of N.A -
Writ of Assistance
This writ of assistance would allow customs officers to search with a warrant into anywhere they deemed smugglers would be or be hiding such contraband and other items. -
Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Paris, signed by Britain and France allowed Britain to take Frances colonies in North America (Canada and other small territories) they also took Spanish Florida -
Proclamation of 1763
The British government prohibits colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains. The Proclamation creates a line where the colonists may not cross -
Sugar Act & Colonial Response
Britain spent too much on the war and was in debt. King George the III selected George Grenville to serve as P.M . Tensions rose between Britain and the colonies. The Sugar Act halved duty on Foreign molasses that colonials would pay a lower tax than risk smuggling. It would put smugglers into a vice admiralty court rather than a Colonial court. Colonists protested the act and said it would reduce profits. They lacked representation in government as well. -
Writ of Assistance
search warrant issued by superior colonial courts to help the British government in enforcing trade and navigation laws. Such warrants authorized customhouse officers. Essentially gave them free reign to search as they please -
Stamp Act & Colonial Response
Parliament passed the Stamp Act, this imposed a tax on documents and printed items. A stamp was placed on items to prove that the tax was paid. In May of 1765 the colonists defied the law, Boston shopkeeps and artisans organized a rebellious group called the Sons of Liberty. Later in October there was a boycott of British goods in colonies in March 1765 the act was repealed -
Declaratory Act
Declaration by the British Parliament that accompanied the repeal of the Stamp Act. It stated that the British Parliament’s taxing authority was the same in America as in Great Britain. Parliament helped the colonists by repealing the distasteful Stamp Act, but it actually hardened its principle in the Declaratory Act by asserting its complete authority to make laws binding on the American colonies. It binded the laws to the colonies "whatsoever" -
Townshend Acts & Response
Britain taxes certain colonial imports and stations troops at major colonial ports to protect customs officers. Colonists protest taxations w/o representation. Organization of boycotts begin -
Sons of Liberty & Sam Adams
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 Britain and the colonies. Led by men like Samuel Adams, one of the founding leaders of the Sons of Liberty, the colonists again boycotted British goods. -
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 including Crispus Attucks, were killed or mortally wounded. Colonial leaders quickly labeled the confrontation the Boston Massacre. -
Tea Act
Added a hefty tax to tea in the colonies, the colonists despised this act fervently -
First Continental Congress Meet
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 -
Intolerable Acts - All 3
Britain was fed up with colonial descent, King George III tightens control over Massachusetts by closing Boston Harbor and quartering troops in the entirety of the colonies -
Minutemen
A band of militiamen formed out of non-professional soldiers, blacksmiths and shop keepers. They banded together as a sort of colonial defense force in the case of British tyranny -
Midnight Riders : Reveres, Dawes, And Prescott
Many Colonists in Boston were watching as troops headed out of Boston for the militia arms warehouses. On the night of April 18, 1775, Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott rode out to spread word that 700 British troops were headed for Concord -
Battle of Lexington
As British forces marched they saw 70 minutemen drawn up in lines
on the village green. 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. Only one British soldier was injured. The Battle of Lexington, the first battle of the Revolutionary War was a failure. -
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, a victory for the Colonial minutemen -
2nd Continental Congress
Some delegates called for independence, while others
argued for reconciliation with Great Britain. The congressional delegates vote on the minutemen, making them the 1st Continental Army under the command of General George Washington -
Continental Army
Continental army lead by general George Washington, they were the official army of the colonies. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
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 proclamation
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 Lockes Social Contact
One of the key Enlightenment thinkers was John Locke. Locke maintained that people have rights to life, liberty, and property. He also , every society is based on a social contract—a contract in which the people consent to choose and obey a government so long as it safeguards their natural rights -
Publication of Common Sense
Thomas Paine the author of Common Sense. In a widely read 50-page pamphlet titled Common Sense, Paine attacked King George and the monarchy. Paine, a recent immigrant, argued that responsibility for British tyranny lay with “the royal brute of Britain.” Paine explained that his own revolt against the king had begun
with Lexington and Concord -
Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson wrote the following :
Rights of “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” to be “unalienable” rights ones that can never be taken away.
The people have the right to “alter or abolish” that government -
Loyalists and Patriots
Some in the colonies were loyal to his majesty King George III, they were loyalists and fought on the side of the British, the others were patriots, those whom rebelled against the Crown and Britain, they fought in the Continental Army against Britain -
Redcoats Push Washingtons Army Across Delaware Into Penn.
The Continental Army failed to defend New York in late August, the untrained and poorly equipped colonial troops soon retreated. By fall, the British had pushed Washington’s army across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania. -
Washingtons Christmas Night Attack
In the face of a fierce storm, Washington led 2,400 men in small rowboats across the icey Delaware River. They then marched to their objective—Trenton, New Jersey and defeated a garrison of Hessians (German mercenaries from Hesse Province of Germany) in a surprise attack. It took place Christmas night of 1776 on the other side of the Delaware river, the element of surprise was also a key part of his victory
