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Stamp Act
It was on March 22,1765, when the British parliament passed the “Stamp act” to help pay for British troops stationed in the colonies during the seven years’s war. This act made the colonies pay a tax represented by a stamp, on various forms of papers, documents, and playing cards. Every one who was against the idea of it started to protest. -
Tea act
In 1733 the Tea act gave East India Company struggle on the tea sales in America. This made the East India Company tea cheaper than smuggle Dutch tea. This increased sales and helped the government collect a tax on tea. The colonist heard of this and saw it as an attack on a tradition (drinking tea was had become a cultural practice across all social classes) and a symbol of
British control over the colonies. This led the colonies protest over the tax. -
Boston Tea Party
In December in 1773 a group of American people joined to protest the against the Tea Act, they boarded three British ships in Boston Harbor and showed their act of protest by throwing tea chest to the ocean. This was very expensive shipment in a strong act of protest so this made tension with Britain worse. The protesters threw over 342 chests of tea into the sea that would be worth$2
million USD today. -
First Continental Congress
The representatives from the 13 colonies joined to discuss the injustices against Britain. So they decided that they wanted to end the trade with Britain and raise
the militia. After this things got more tensed with Britany. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
When the British troops tried to confiscate colonial weapons the colonial militia met in battle and fought back. This was the start of a conflict between the British and the colonial militia. This later lead to what we know today as the
American Revolution. -
Second Continental Congress
A month after the battles of Lexington and Concord colonist representatives
met. In that meeting they elected George Washington (a great military leader
and the U.S first president) as the commander in chief of the army. The leaders
also worked to create the Declaration of Independence. -
The Declaration of Independence
When the Declaration of Independence was written It was mostly written by Thomas Jefferson. In this paper it was declared the colonies independence from Britain. This also created a new country named the United States of America. It is important to mention that this ideas were mostly based
on the enlightenment era ideas. -
The Battles of Saratoga
The Battles of Saratoga was an important thing, giving a decisive victory to the Americans over the British in the American Revolutionary War. British General John Burgoyne led an invasion army of 7,200-8,000 men from Canada in the Champlain Valley, hoping to meet a similar British force marching northward from New York City and another British force marching east from Lake Ontario; the goal was to take Albany, New York. -
The Battle of Yorkstown
In 1781 the British surrendered in Yorktown with the help of the French. Thanks to this the independence was secure and it ended the war. This was one of the most known and important battle of this war. -
Treaty of Paris
The treaty of Paris officially ended the war and recognized the US as a free country. It had also it set up its boundaries that extended from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River. Benjamin Franklin was the one who primarily made it. -
United States Constitution
The United States constitution became the foundation the US government. Many of this ideas were based on the ideas of great enlightenment thinkers such as Montesquieu who gave the idea of the three branches of the government. Then John Locke gave the idea of liberty, life and property this can be also known as the natural rights. The social contract was created by
Rousseau. -
Bill of Rights
This was one of the two documents that the Americans drafted. It talks about the American rights in relationship to their government. This ideas came from the enlightenment era. Thanks to this document and the constitution document
they were able to inspire more countries.