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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
The Sugar Act was declared by Parliament to lower the sugar tax act. They did this in hopes of reducing smuggling. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act stated that all printed materials were to be taxed, which angered the colonists. -
Declaratory Act
Parliament made the Declaratory Act, which stated that England could make decisions for the colonies. -
Townshend Act
The Townshend Act was passed by Parliament. It added taxes on imported goods before they came into the colonies. Some of these items being glass, paper, and tea. -
The Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was the cause of British soldiers being intimidated by a group of angry colonists. The outcome of this was five people being injured. -
Committee of Correspondence
Samuel Adams revived the Boston Committee of Correspondence, a group that organized protests. This inspired other colonies to make this group. -
The Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a form of protest done by the Sons of Liberty. The group hijacked a boat containing 342 boxes of tea, which they dumped into the Boston Harbor. -
The Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was formed when fifty-five delegates met each other in Philadelphia. This group represented the colonists and their rights and challenged British control. -
The Beginning of Lexington and Concord
On the night of April 18, Dr. Joseph Warren observed British troops marching out of Boston. Joseph Warren told Paul Revere and William Dawes, who quickly rode to Lexington to warn people. This began the battle of Lexington and Concord. -
The Second Continental Congress
The Continental Congress met for a second meeting. This meeting included its original members, along with some new people. -
The Battle of Bunker Hill
After a day of being at Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill, the Americans were charged by the redcoats. Having the high ground, the Americans caused the British retreat twice. Eventually the British won this battle, due to the Americans being low on gunpowder. -
"Common Sense"
In January of 1776, Thomas Paine wrote one of the most influential books of his time. This book, "Common Sense", swayed the opinions of many colonists. -
State Constitutions
Congress declared that each state should make a constitution, they did this so each state could have its own government. It took from 1776 to 1777 because some states, such as New York and Georgia, took longer. -
Manumission
Is the act of a person freeing their slaves, through 1776 to 1778 -
Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson was convinced to write a rough draft of the Declaration of Independence, which was presented to the Continental Congress on July 2. After fixing what he wrote, the Declaration of Independence was approved on July 4, 1776. -
Battles of Trenton and New Jersey
A victorious battle for the Continental army, that took place the morning of December 26, 1776. This battle involved crossing the Delaware River and defeating a large number of Hessian soldiers. This battle inspired many re-enlistments and a winning morale. -
American and British Battle of Saratoga
Multiple British troops tried to ambush the American army by entering Saratoga from multiple directions. However, this failed and America ended up winning. This battle was considered the turning point of the war because it gained allies for America. -
Howe captures Philadelphia
Howe was able to capture Philadelphia at the Battle of Brandywine, with the help of General Charles Cornwallis. The two were able to split their army containing 18000 soldiers and hit the American troops from two angles. This caused the Americans to retreat, allowing the British to occupy Philadelphia. -
Articles of Confederation
The first written constitution for the US. It wasn't ratified till 1781 because of setbacks including, land claims and a weak central government. -
Congress prohibits enslaved people imported to the US
Thomas Jefferson made a law in 1778, ending all importation of enslaved Africans in Virginia. -
Winter at Valley Forge
General George Washington moved the Continental Army to Valley Forge in the middle of winter, where they suffered from terrible conditions. Some of these include little to no shelter, inadequate food, and improper clothing. -
John Paul Jones & Serapis
Being a skilled sailor, John Paul Jones was offered to be a senior lieutenant for the Continental Navy. He was given the ship, Bonhomme Richard and sailed around the British isles. John encountered two British ships, the Serapis and the Countess of Scarborough, which he eventually defeated after many hours of fighting. This was considered an amazing feat because the British ships were better equipped. -
Spain Declares war on Great Britain
During the Revolutionary War, the Americans tried to have Spain join their side like the French did. However, the King of Spain at the time disagreed refusing to be allies. The foreign minister of France eventually convinced the king to join the war, allowing for Spain to half support America in their stance on the war. -
British forces capture Charles Town
During the capture of Charles town, British troops slowly cut off Charles town with both their naval and army forces. This caused American troops to surrender quickly. -
Plans for first Fed. Tax
Robert Morris, a finance superintendent, tried to help fix the country's growing debt by suggesting a change to the Articles of Confederation. This suggestion was that a 5 percent tax is added to imported goods. This plan didn't get passed because Rhode Island vetoed it. He tried this suggestion again in 1783 but got vetoed a second time. -
British surrender at Yorktown
After years of fighting, the British army eventually surrendered their army of 8,000 men. They announced their defeat to General George Washington on October 19, 1781, by waving a white flag and negotiating peace/freedom to the colonists. -
Treaty of Paris
A peace treaty signed by representatives from both Britain and the US. This document showed that the war ended and that Britain acknowledged America as an independent country. -
Spain closed lower Mississippi River to American Western Settlers
The question of ownership revolving the Mississippi River goes over many years. After the peace treaty of 1783, America won the rights to the river, which invoked outrage amongst the Spaniards. In June of 1784, Spain closed navigation of the Mississippi River to Americans to show how angry they were. -
The Ordinance of 1785
The Land Ordinance of 1785 was started in May of 1785, written by Thomas Jefferson. This ordinance set up a grid system where people who move west can be tracked. They also made these plots of land considerably cheap/affordable. -
Shay's Rebellion
This rebellion took place over a yearlong time frame by a poor farmer, Daniel Shays. He and many other poor members of the Massachusetts area started a rebellion to prove that they disagreed with having to pay their taxes and debts. This led to Congress realizing that they have to fix the government. -
Constitutional Convention
A meeting held in Philidelphia to discuss the faults in the Articles of Confederation. An example of what they discussed would be their weak central government. -
The North West Ordinance
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 defined the government for the Northwest territory. This ordinance stated that each new state would need a governor and council to be appointed. A population of 5000 meant an assembly could be picked and a population of 60000 meant that a constitution could be drafted. This law also decreed that slavery wasn't allowed in any of the states. -
Signing of the Constitution
The US Constitution was written to replace the Articles of Confederation, seeing as it gave the central government too little power. The constitutional convention was able to calmly debate about what should be in this document and it was signed by 38 of the 41 delegates. After it passed through the delegates, it needed to pass through the states. It was required that 9 out of the 13 states ratified this constitution. -
Delaware first state to approve Constitution
The US constitution required that 9 out of the 13 states to approve the document to get it passed. Out of these states, Delaware was the first state to approve of the constitution. It is stated that out of the 30 delegates in Delaware, all of them voted for the Constitution. -
New Hampshire ratifies Constitution
8 of the required 9 states had ratified the constitution leaving 5 states to decide if they agreed with the constitution. New Hampshire eventually approved of this document. This meant that 9 states had formally approved, meaning that the Constitution was officially the law of America. -
Land Act of 1800
William Harrison created the land act in April of 1800 to help with the settlement in the Northwest territory. This land act helped with funding for people. It gave 320 acres of land for two dollars per acre. It also allows the buyer to pay half up-front and the remaining amount over four years.
