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The Stamp act
In the year 1765, The Stamp Act was passed by the British parliament, it imposed taxes on legal papers and other printed goods to pay for the British troops in America. The colonists did not like this act because as Daniel Dulany wrote in 1765, “that the subject shall not be taxed without his consent.” Benjamin Franklin also felt like because the colonies did not elect members to the Parliament, they were not represented and could not be taxed by that body. -
The Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable acts were issued to punish the Massachusetts colonists for the Boston Tea Party back in 1773 to restore British authority back into the colonies. The Colonists viewed this as a violation of their liberty and lead more complications between Britain and the colonists. -
Declaration of Independence
During the beginning of 1776, the idea of independence became very popular. Town meetings throughout the colonies approved resolutions in support of independence. But it would take a few months for the Continental Congress to pass the independence resolution. Then a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine called “Common Sense” was published. The book was meant to challenge the authority of Britain and fight for independence. -
British Defeat
In 1781, the British were fighting France, Spain, and Holland. So the Americans took advantage of the British southern strategy with the help from the French army and navy. By October, Washington marched his troops from New York to Virginia in an effort to trap the British southern army that was under the command of General Charles Cornwallis. Cornwallis and his troops were surrounded by American and French troops at Yorktown, Virginia and eventually had to surrender. -
Paris Peace Treaty
After their defeat at Yorktown, the battle left British with no new strategy and no public support to continue the war. Peace negotiations took place in France and the war came to an official end on September 3, 1783. -
U.S Constitution
In 1787, the U.S Constitution was approved by the majority of delegates to the Constitutional Convention. The Constitution was meant to replace the Articles of Confederation and was forwarded to the states for consent. -
The Bill of Rights
In 1789, the Anti-Federalists demanded protection for individuals rights. So the Federalists followed their promise to create that bill. Then a Virginia Representative James Madison introduces the Bill of Rights and the Congress approved in 1791. -
Slavery and equality
Slavery was a big controversial issues confronting the delegates at the Constitutional Convention. The states argued about if slavery itself should be illegal. However they disagreed because they did not the want the Constitution ratification to fail. So they postponed the decision. Another committee worked out a compromise, the Congress would not have the power to ban the importation of slaves until 20 years. In 1808, the federal government allowed for taxation of the slave trade in the market.
