-
Writ of Assistance
A general search warrant that allowed British customs officials to search any colonial ship or building they believed to be holding smuggled goods. -
Sugar Act & Colonists Response
It halved the duty on foreign-made molasses in the hopes that colonists would pay a lower tax rather than risk arrest by smuggling. It placed duties on certain imports that had not been taxed before. Most important, it provided that colonists accused of violating the act would be tried in a vice-admiralty court rather than a colonial court -
Sons of Liberty is Formed & Samuel Adams
A secret resistance group called the Sons of Liberty protested the law. Led by men such as Samuel Adams, one of
the founders of the Sons of Liberty, the colonists boycotted British goods. -
Declaratory Act
Asserted Parliament’s full right “to bind the colonies and
people of America in all cases whatsoever. -
Townshend Acts & Colonist Response
The 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 the colonies. It was repealed and there were no longer taxes on anything but tea. -
Boston Massacre
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
Lord North devised the Tea Act in order to save the nearly bankrupt British East India Company. The act granted the company the right to sell tea to the colonies free of the taxes that colonial tea sellers had to pay. This action would have cut colonial merchants out of the tea trade by enabling the East India Company to sell its tea directly to consumers for less. -
Boston Tea Party
A large group of Boston rebels disguised themselves as Native Americans and proceeded to take action against three British tea ships anchored in the harbor. In this incident, later known as the Boston Tea Party, the “Indians” dumped 18,000 pounds of the East India Company’s tea into the waters of Boston harbor. -
Intolerable Act
Parliament responded to the Boston Tea Party by passing a series of measures that colonists called the Intolerable Acts. One law shut down Boston harbor. Another, the Quartering Act, authorized British commanders to house soldiers in vacant private homes and other buildings. In addition to these measures, General Thomas Gage, commander-in-chief of British forces in North America, was appointed the
new governor of Massachusetts. To keep the peace, he placed Boston under martial law. -
First Continental Congress Meets
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. -
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. -
Minutemen
Civilian soldiers who pledged to be ready to fight against the British on a minute’s notice -
Second Continental Congress
Colonial leaders called the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia to debate their next move. The loyalties that divided colonists sparked endless debates at the Second Continental Congress. Some delegates called for independence, while others
argued for reconciliation with Great Britain. Despite such differences, the Congress agreed to recognize the colonial militia as the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander. -
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the ex-British colonies that became the United States of America and was led by George Washington. -
Publication of Common Sense
In the pamphlet, Common Sense, Thomas 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
Written by Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence followed John Locke's ideas of natural rights as well as Jefferson's “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness”. They stated to have unalienable rights that could not be taken away. They voted on July 2 and adopted the Declaration on July 4. -
French-American Alliance
The Saratoga victory bolstered France’s belief that the Americans could win the war. As a result, the French signed an alliance with the Americans in February 1778 and openly joined them in their fight. -
Treaty of Paris
Confirmed U.S. independence and set the boundaries of the new nation. The United States now stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River and from Canada to the Florida border.
