-
End of the French and Indian War
The Treaty of Paris ended the French and Indian War. The
French received all land from the Mississippi River west, while the British received all land from the Mississippi River east. -
Sugar Act
Grenville lowered taxeson molasses, in hopes to stop smuggling. New laws violated colonists' rights. James Otis stated, "Colonists could not be taxed". -
The Stamp Act
This act declared that all American Colonists had to pay taxes on papers like legal documents, licenses, newspapers, and playing cards. This act made the colonists angry. -
The Townshend Acts
The Parliament in acted the Townshend Acts on imported goods such as tea, glass and paper. Colonists were mad about tax so the Daughters of Liberty encouraged people to boycott. -
The Boston Massacre
Colonists had sticks and stones they through at the soilders, making them nervous. They were told to hold their fire, but someone heard a Colonist say "Come on, you rascals, you bloody backs, you lobster scoundrels, fire, if you dare!" and fired. Then they fired and more troops fired. Three people were dead and two were injured. -
The Tea Act
The Tea Act was passed in 1773 which taxed tea for all of the colonists and gave it to Britan. -
The Boston Tea Party
In Boston, Massachusetts on December 16, 1773, the colonists were ready to rebel. They dumped over 300 chests of tea into the harbor in order to protest the tea act. This costed Britian a bunch of money they could've made from taxes the colonists had to pay. This made Britian very angry so the Parliment passed yet another act. -
Intolerable Acts
These acts were passed because the colonists dumped all of that tea and the water. So they made something intolerable for the colonists to deal with as "revenge". -
Battle of Lexington and Concord
This was the first battle of the American Revolution. It was fought April 19, 1775 in Lexington, Concord, Cambridge, Menotomy, and Lincoln. The troops of both the American and British side were told to hold their fire unless shot upon. Someone shot and they all started to shoot, leaving 49 were killed, 39 were wounded, and 5 missing on the Colonists side. For the British, 73 were killed, 174 were wounded and 26 ended up missing. -
The Battle of Bunker Hill
More people joined the militia after the Battle of Lexington and Concord. They eventually had 20k people in the militia. June 16, 1775 William Prescott set up posts about Bunker and Breed's Hill across for Boston Harbor. The redcoats assembled at Breed's Hill and the colonists opened fire which forced the British to retreat. They battled until the Americans ran out of gunpowder and had to withdrawal. The British had over 1,000 in total dead and wounded. -
Manumission
Manumission is a process in which a slave owner gives the slave their legal rights. -
Thomas Jefferson writes the Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson wrote most of the Declaration of Independence. It explained the purpose of the American Revolution and why the founding fathers were seeking independence. It also explains a couple of the new rules. -
Battles of Trent New Jersey
The Battles took place in Trenton, New Jersey. George Washington led the Continental Army against the Hessian auxiliaries in Trenton. Almost two-thirds Hessian's were captured. Washington then planned to lead the Continental Army over the Delaware River, but it was icy with severe weather, which is of course dangerous. 2,400 under his command were left as many died. -
Battle of Saratoga
General Burgoyne lead the British and General Gates lead the Northern Department of the Continental Army in these battles. The British attacked, but suffered great losses. Burgoyne tried to call for back up, but when he realized it would take a while and they were running short on supplies, he continued to fight. The Continental Army was getting more and more people and they ended up defeating the British. This was the turning point in war. -
State Constitutions
The Congress told each colony was to create their own state Constitution. The Constitutions developed Popular Sovereignty, limited Government, Civil Rights and Liberties along with the separation of Powers and Checks and Balances. Most states constitution included their own bill of rights. -
Howe captures Philadelphia
General William Howe captured Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 26th, 1777 and occupied it until the following spring. The British planned to capture New England, separating the colonies and weakening the Continental Army, and this was one of their actions to follow through with their plan. -
Articles of Confederation
This was the original Constitution, which turned out to be so bad they had to replace it. This gave the government very little power, so nothing was able to get done. -
Congress prohibits enslaved people imported to the US
This was a United States federal law that provided that no new slaves were permitted to be imported into the United States. -
Winter at Valley Forge
George Washington moved the Continental Army to Valley Forge during the winter.Washington’s army suffered great defeats at Brandywine, Paoli, and Germantown, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia has also been captured. They also were cold, hungry and sick because of the weather. They did not have a very good time here at all. Baron Friedrich von Steuben came to Valley Forge and trained the soldiers, getting them back up again. His system gave the soldiers the help that the they needed. -
Spain Declares war on Great Britain
Spain declared war on Britian as they were allied with the U.S and France. Spain provided the U.S with supplies. -
John Paul Jones & Serapis
The Battle of Serapis was fought September 23, 1779 in the North Sea off Flamborough Head, England. Richard Pearson ended up surrendering Serapis to John Paul Jones. The Americans had won. -
British forces capture Charles Town
This was a major British victory fought from March 29, 1780 - May 12, 1780. The goal was to catch Charleston in South Carolina to use it as a city base for operation in the southern colonies. -
Plans for first Federal Tax
Robert Morris wanted to have a 5% tax rate on items to help pay for all of the money the government owed. The Articles of Confederation gave the government limited power, so when they said no, the plan was out the window. -
British surrender at Yorktown
On October 19, 1781, British General Charles Cornwallis decided to surrender his army of 8,000 men at Yorktown to General George Washington. The British were running out of supplies so they had no choice but to surrender. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris was to formally say that the war was over. That North America was free from Britain. -
Spain closes lower Mississippi River to American Western Settlers
The treaty made sure that the Mississippi River was in the Western boundary was in the U.S and gave Americans the freedom to navigate. Spain closed the navigation and people were very angry. -
The Ordinance of 1785
Adopted on May 20, 1785, the purpose of this was to set up a "standardized system" where settlers could purchase land in the west. This was the foundation for the Homestead Act of 1862. -
Shay's Rebellion
They were a group of protesters led by Daniel Shays. They began a 6 month rebellion starting in August by taking over the Court of Common Pleas in Northampton. They wanted to prevent the trial and imprisonment of debt-ridden citizens. -
Convention
May 14 to September 17, 1787 in Pennsylvania, the purpose of the event was to decide how America should be governed. The definition of convention is "a way something is done". That's what was happening here; they were finding a way something should be done in this area. -
The North West Ordinance
The Confederation Congress adopted the Northwest Ordinance July 13th of 1787. It provided a method for admitting new states to the union and listed the rights for it. This was basically like a set of rules for the new territories. -
Singing of the Constitution
September 17, 1787 at Independence Hall in Pennsylvania, the Constitution was signed by 39 delegates which were representatives from the 12 states. It would have been 13, but Rhode Island did not send anyone as they declined. However, the 12 states were enough! -
Delaware first state to approve Constitution
With a vote of 30 - 0, Delaware was the first state to approve the federal Constitution on December 7, 1787. -
New Hampshire ratifies Constitution
New Hampshire voted to ratify the Constitution. They wanted to have a civil government. They were the ninth state to do so. -
Land Act of 1800
This act allowed people to buy land in the Northwest territory from the federal government. People had to purchase at least 320 acres of land for a minimum of $2 per acre.
