-
Period: to
The French and Indian War
War fought between Great Britain and its two enemies, the French and the Indians of North America. Most of the battles were in Canada.American colonists, including George Washington, fought with the British in this war.The British won the war and won the right to keep Canada and several other possessions in the New World. -
sugar act
Act that put a three-cent tax on foreign refined sugar and increased taxes on coffee, indigo, and certain kinds of wine. It banned importation of rum and French wines. These taxes affected only a part of the population. -
Stamp act
Every newspaper, pamphlet, and other public and legal document had to have a Stamp, or British seal, on it. The Stamp,, cost money. colonists didn't think they should have to pay for something they had been doing for free for many years, and they responded , with demonstrations and even with a diplomatic body called the Stamp Act Congress, which delivered its answer to the Crown. Seeing the reaction in the colonies, the British government repealed the Stamp Act in March 1766 -
Boston Massacre
Shooting of five American colonists by British troops.an African-American man named Crispus Attacks, was killed. The British say rocks and other such weapons were hurled at them. But the British had guns, and they did open fire. The Boston Massacre deepened American distrust of the British military presence in the colonies. -
Boston Tea Party
Angry at a new tax on tea, American colonists calling themselves the Sons of Liberty and disguised as Mohawk Native Americans boarded three British ships and dumped 342 whole crates of British tea into Boston harbor -
The Battles of Lexington and Concord
First shots fired between American and British troops, on April 19, 1775. The British chose to march to Concord because it was an arms depot. This meant that the Americans had stockpiled weapons there. British troops had occupied Boston and were marching on Concord as they passed through Lexington. No one is still sure who fired first,but both sides opened fire, and the Americans were forced to withdraw. -
Geroge Washington named Commander in Chief
First president of the United States, he also fought (for the British) in the French and Indian War and was the commanding officer of the American forces in the Revolutionary War. He was named president of the Constitutional Convention. He served two terms as president, during which he invented the Cabinet, his advisers, After his second term, Washington retired to his home at Mount Vernon, to live a quiet life with his wife, Martha. -
Bunker Hill
2 engagement between British forces under the command of General William Howe and American forces under Colonel William Prescott. The Americans had occupied Breed's Hill in Charlestown .In order to protect the shipyard of nearby Boston. The next day, the British attacked. They took the hill but suffered heavy losses. The Americans fired until they were out of ammunition, then quickly retreated. -
Benedict Arnold's failed attack on Quebec
The general who won several battles against the British and then joined them. He won at Lake Champlain and helped Ethan Allen take Fort Ticonderoga. He played a big part in the American victory at Saratoga,, he joined the British and tried to help them win the war. He had planned to deliver his own keys to site of the U.S. army, to Britain's Major John Andre. Andre was captured and hanged. Arnold escaped and actually commanded British troops later in the war. He died in Britain, alone. -
Declaration of Independence signed
Document declaring the 13 American Colonies independent from Great Britain. Written by Thomas Jefferson and declared in effect by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. Many Americans signed it, including John Hancock, John Adams, and Samuel Adams. Great Britain's response was to continue the war.
