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End of the French and Indian War
The French and Indian war officially ends. Great Britain, Spain, and France all signed the treaty of Paris which distributed the land in the early Americas between the three world powers. -
Proclamation of 1763
A document created by Great Britain after gaining the previously French occupied land that forbade any colonial expansion beyond the Appalachian Mountain range. -
Stamp Act of 1765
This was a newly issued tax of the British government that required all American colonists to pay a regulated tax on every single piece of mail or printed paper that they used. Everything that could and was printed on paper was taxed. -
Quartering Act of 1765
A document issued by the British government that basically forced the American colonies to house British soldiers at their own expense. -
Stamp Act Congress
This is known as the first congress of the American colonies, the meeting was held in New York City. The meeting consisted of representatives from each of the colonies who came together to organize a civilized protest against the unfair British taxation. -
Boston Massacre
This started out as a street fight between the civilians and a troop of British soldiers. The civilians were throwing stones and sticks at the soldiers, this eventually led to the soldiers opening fire on them. Several of the colonists were murdered and this became the beginning of the physical altercations between the American colonies and the British government. -
Tea Act of 1773
This was a plan devised by British government in an attempt to help out the East India Company which was beginning to go bankrupt, it was never meant to impact the colonies nor to raise taxes. The colonists refused to allow the British ships to unload the cargo of tea and in many cases sent the ships back to England or simply left the tea to rot in the harbors. -
Boston Tea Party
The colonists in Boston had finally had enough of the terrible British rein, they organized a plan to enlist over 100 protestors to disguise themselves as Native Americans and sneak onto the cargo ships to dump all of the tea into the ocean. The people who were responsible for this protest referred to themselves as the Sons of Liberty. -
Coersive Acts of 1774
This was a series of four acts created by the British Government in the response of the recent American disobedience. These acts consist of the Boston Port Act, Massachusetts Government Act, Administration of Justice Act, and the Quartering Act. -
First Continental Congress
A meeting of twelve of the representatives from the thirteen colonies in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The delegates of the colonies met to discuss how the American settlements were going to respond to the British Government, who was growing stricter. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
These were the very first battles of the American Revolutionary War. -
Second Continental Congress
A second meeting of the delegates from the thirteen American colonies that was called in response to the recent warfare with the British. -
New York Campaign (Battle of Long Island)
A loss for the American Army, commanded by General George Washington, the British army was attempting to take over the city of New York. -
Battle of Princeton
Remotely small battle of the Revolutionary War, General Washington and his forces defeated the British Army. -
Battle of Saratoga
A much needed victory for the American forces over the British troops; this also marked the climax of the Saratoga Campaign. -
Articles of Confederation
The document, that after very vigorous debate and consideration, served as the first American constitution until 1789. -
Southern Campaign
The fall of Charleston was one of the harshest defeats for the American colonies during the war. This is also the time that the south becomes divided from the north, politically and in beliefs. -
Battle of Yorktown
This was the last major battle of the Revolutionary War, it was a victory for the American colonies who were allied with French troops. -
Constitutional Convention
A meeting of the American colonies to establish a plan for the growing problems in the newly independent colonies. -
Ratification of the Constitution
It took months for all of the colonies to accept the constitution, the first was Delaware and the last was New Hampshire. The newly formed congress of the United States of America adopted the first twelve amendments to their constitution in 1789.
