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The French & Indian War
The French and Indian War was a destructive war between the French and the British over the Ohio River Valley. At first, the French, partnered with the Indians, had the upper hand, but in the end the British won the war. For a more in-depth summary, click here -
Treaty of Paris Signed
The French and Indian War was ended officially by the 1763 Treaty of Paris. The French had to give up all of their land in the Americas to relieve their threat on the British colonies. -
The Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was the first direct tax on the colonists by Britain. It charged a tax on every printed good the colonists bought. -
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The Sons of Liberty
The Sons of Liberty were a group of patriots who directly opposed British acts in the colonies. Click here to learn more. -
The Townshend Act
The Townshend Act was a law passed by British parliament, proposed by Charles Townshend, the crown's chief financial officer, that added taxes on everyday goods like glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was the result of British retaliation on the colonists' protests of the Townshend Acts. The British used their military power to suppress the riots, resulting in 5 deaths. -
Boston Tea Party
After the Boston Massacre, the colonists continued to boycott British tea, which remained taxed. Wealthy colonists that were smuggling in Dutch tea, were not happy about it and so the Patriots boarded British ships and dumped all the tea into the Boston Harbor. -
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The Coercive Acts
The Coercive Acts were a series of 5 laws made by the British to help control the unruly Patriots. For more in depth descriptions of what each law did, click here -
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First Continental Congress Meets
The first continental congress consisted of delegates from every colony except for Georgia. The congress declared a boycott of all British goods to pressure parliament to withdraw the Coercive Acts. -
The Battles of Lexington and Concord
When the British tried to put General Thomas Gage as governor of Massachusetts, the Patriots John Hancock and Samuel Adams, formed a Provincial Congress to govern without the British. The British sent troops to Lexington and Concord to seize weapon stockpiles and arrest Hancock and Adams, where the battles took place. The British suffered major losses. -
The Second Continental Congress Meets
Congress put George Washington in charge of the Continental Army. They did not declare independence yet because of the amount of colonists who wished to remain loyal to Britain. However they did send an Olive Branch Petition to Britain. -
Olive Branch Petition
The Olive Branch Petition was sent to King George III to affirm the colonists' loyalty to the King but not to Parliament. The king disregarded the petition and sent troops to Boston anyway. -
Common Sense Published
Thomas Paine's book, Common Sense, was published and began to change the minds of many British Loyalists. They began to believe that they can actually have freedom from British rule. -
Declaration of Independence
Congress wrote a document of why the Americans should have their independence from the Crown. It focused heavily on the natural rights every man is born with, that the king was keeping from them.
