The American Revolution

Sugar Act

Apr 5, 1764

http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/wwww/us/sugaractdef.htm1764 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 certain part of the population, but the affected merchants were very vocal. Besides, the taxes were enacted (or raised) without the consent of the colonists.

Stamp Act

Mar 22, 1765

http://www.usfca.edu/fac_staff/conwell/revolution/stamp.htmThe Stamp Act was sponsored by George Grenville and it took effect on November 1, 1765. It was the first direct tax imposed by Britain on its American colonies. The Act was created to help cover the cost of maintaining troops in the colonies.
Under the Stamp Act, all printed materials and commercial documents as well as printed material including, newspapers, pamphlets, bills, legal documents, licenses, almanacs, dice and playing cards, were taxed and had to carry a special stamp.

Townshend Acts

Jun 29, 1769

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/601114/Townshend-ActsTownshend Acts, (June 15–July 2, 1767), in U.S. colonial history, series of four acts passed by the British Parliament in an attempt to assert what it considered to be its historic right to exert authority over the colonies through suspension of a recalcitrant representative assembly and through strict provisions for the collection of revenue duties.

Boston Massacre

Mar 5, 1770

http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/related/massacre.htmThe Boston Massacre was a street fight that occurred on March 5, 1770, between a "patriot" mob, throwing snowballs, stones, and sticks, and a squad of British soldiers. Several colonists were killed and this led to a campaign by speech-writers to rouse the ire of the citizenry.

Boston Tea Party

Dec 16, 1773

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Tea_PartyThe Boston Tea Party was a political protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, on December 16, 1773. Disguised as American Indians, the demonstrators destroyed an entire shipment of tea, which had been sent by the East India Company, in defiance of the Tea Act of May 10, 1773. They boarded the ships and threw the chests of tea into Boston Harbor, ruining the tea.

First Continental Congress

Sep 5, 1774

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Continental_CongressThe First Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from twelve colonies (Georgia was not present) that met on September 5, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, early in the American Revolution. It was called in response to the passage of the Coercive Acts (also known as Intolerable Acts by the Colonial Americans) by the British Parliament.The Congress was attended by 56 members appointed by the legislatures of twelve of the Thirteen Colonies.

Battle of Lexington and Concord

Apr 19, 1775

http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/battles-of-lexington-and-concordThe Battles of Lexington and Concord, fought on April 19, 1775, kicked off the American Revolutionary War (1775-83). Tensions had been building for many years between residents of the 13 American colonies and the British authorities, particularly in Massachusetts. On the night of April 18, 1775, hundreds of British troops marched from Boston to nearby Concord in order to seize an arms cache. Paul Revere and other riders sounded the alarm, and colonial militiamen began mobilizing.

Second Continental Congress

May 10, 1775

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Continental_CongressThe Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the 13 colonies that started meeting in the summer of 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon after warfare in the American Revolutionary War had begun.The second Congress managed the colonial war effort, and moved incrementally towards independence, adopting the United States Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

Battle at Bunker Hill

Jun 16, 1775

http://www.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/42bunker/42bunker.htmIt was in June 1775 that the pent­up anger and hatred between the British and many American colonists exploded into brutal fury at the top of this hill, while the nearby town of Charlestown, Massachusetts, burned from red­hot cannon balls fired by British warships into its wooden buildings. This Revolutionary War battle, which was supposed to have been fought on Bunker Hill, but which in fact took place on nearby Breed’s Hill, gained the British a narrow victory.

Battle of Yorktown

Sep 28, 1781

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-yorktown-beginsGeneral George Washington, commanding a force of 17,000 French and Continental troops, begins the siege known as the Battle of Yorktown against British General Lord Charles Cornwallis and a contingent of 9,000 British troops at Yorktown, Virginia, in the most important battle of the Revolutionary War.After three weeks of non-stop ombardment, both day and night, Cornwallis surrendered to Washington in the field at Yorktown on October 17, 1781, effectively ending the War.