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John Locke
John Locke was an English philosopher and a political theorist. John Locke came up with the idea of checks and balances. He was also very influential toward the founding fathers because of his belief that america's freedom "is not only a right but an obligation". -
Sam Adams
Sam Adams was one of the Founding fathers, protested against British taxation, and fought for America's freedom. Adams was an influential leader to Boston and helped organize the Sons of Liberty. He fought for America's freedom in as many ways as possible and even signed the declaration of independence once all of his work paid off. Without his help to lead America and Boston in particular the colonies may have lost the American Revolution. -
John Adams
John Adams was a writer, diplomat, American statesman, and attorney. He spent years representing the Americans in France and Britain, helping them win their Independence. Sooner or later, he would be signing the Declaration of Independence, becoming the first vice president of the US, and being voted to become the second president. -
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743, and was elected to the continental congress in 1775. He was one of the selected few that wrote the decleration of independence and claimed America's independence from England. Although the American Revolution didn't end after the Decleration of Independence, the Decleration of Independence was was very important in America's future. Thomas Jefferson would later be elected for president and for eight years. -
Abigail Adams
Abigail Adams was born on November 22, 1744 and was the spouse of John Adams. Abigail Adams was not only known for her title of second first lady in the US and the mother of the 6th president (John Quincey Adams), but rather as an advocate of anti-slavery and women's rights. She was incredibly influential during the revolutionary war to the colonists due to her perspective on women's rights and anti-slavery. -
Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 was declared by the British crown at the end of the seven year war, French Indian war. The proclamation was to protect the natives from the settlers who felt that the colonists would drive them out of their land. The proclamation would later become very important to the revolutionary war, since this ones one of the first acts that the colonists and British didn't agree on and would cause future conflict. -
Sugar act
The sugar act was passed in 1764 by the British. The British hoped that by taxing sugar they would be able to collect more money from the colonists that they lost during the war. This was the first act that the British passed and the act that started to anger the colonists since they felt that they were taxing them without representation. The sugar act was important since it angered the colonists to eventually begin protesting and lead to the Revolutionary war. -
Act of Quartering
The act of quartering in 1765 required the colonists to house and pay for British soldiers. The British soldiers were primarily held in barracks, but the colonists rebelled because they saw this act as "unjust taxation" since they were held accountable by the British to pay for their housing. This eventually leads to the Boston massacre which was also a major factor in the American Revolution since it was another way that the colonists fought back and took physical actions against the British. -
Stamp Act
The stamp act required the colonies to stamp many printed materials such as legal documents, playing cards, and newspapers. The British came up with the Stamp act in hopes to help pay off their debt from the seven year war with France. The colonists proved to Britain that they were going to fight back by creating the sons of Liberty and harassed the stamp distributers. This was important because they proved to Britain they were not going to back down. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston massacre was a riot that took place on King Street, Boston in 1770. On the night of July 5th 1770, angry colonists approached the Custom house where one British solider was stationed. They began to threaten him and eventually a violent riot erupted. The Boston Massacre was a huge turning point in the American Revolution, because it turned a lot of the colonists against King George lll. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party occurred on December 16, 1773. 342 chests of tea from the British East Indian company were dumped into the waters of Boston's Harbor by the angry colonists. The colonists took these measures in order to stop the "taxation without representation". This was very important to the Revolutionary war since it truly showed Britain that the colonists were not going to stop and were going to go to further measures in order to stop the taxing and gain freedom. -
Minutemen
The Minuteman were colonist who served as a militia for the 13 colonies. They were self taught in weaponry, military strategies, and tactics. They were known as the Minutemen because they were supposed to be ready in a minute's time. They went to duty in many battles such as Lexington and Concord and ultimately helped the colonies win their Independence and the revolutionary war. -
Boston Port Act
The Boston Port act took affect on June 1, 1774 and was an act of parliament of Great Britain. The Boston Port act was passed to punish Boston for the Boston Tea Party. No ships were allowed in the Boston Harbor. This gave the Britch a huge advantage in the Revolutionary war since they now had control over Boston's main port for importing goods and exporting goods. -
First Continental Congress
The first continental congress was held in 1774, 12 out of the 13 delegates from the colonies met in Philadelphia. Many of these delegates would later become the president of US such as John Adams and George Washington. They met to discuss the coercive acts. They decided that they needed todo anything in their ability to gain freedom and needed to spread this message across the globe. This was critical in the steps leading up to the war since they showed authority to the British. -
Battle of Lexington
The Battle of Lexington occurred on April 19, after the tension were high between the colonists and the British. The Battle of Lexington marked the first military conflicts between the colonists and Britain. Although the colonists lost the battle, it showed how much the colonists were willing to fight for their freedom. -
"Give Me Liberty of Give Me Death" Speech
"Give Me Liberty of Give Me Death" Speech took place on March 23, 1775 and was written in hopes to persuade the the residents of Virginia to rebel against the British. Patrick Henry performed the speech and believed that the British were controlling the colonists and they were given no choice but to accept. This speech was key in turning more colonists against the British, and without it the revolutionary war may have not started. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 2 1776, but wasn´t approved by the congress until July 4th 1776. The Declaration was a very important to the revolutionary war since it was the official signing of the 13 colonies freedom from the British Empire. -
Battle of Yorktown
George Washington lead his troops to the victory of Yorktown by building trenches and entrapping the British until they surrendered. The Battle of Yorktown ended the fighting in the Revolutionary war and gave the colonies the confidence that they would gain freedom. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris was the official signing of America's freedom from England. It was signed in 1783 by the representatives of King George III and the representatives of the 13 colonies. This signing is a very key element since it finally ended the Revolutionary war and America had freedom. -
US Constitution Signed
The colonies had already declared independence but now needed to create and publish the laws that ones self would live by in America, so they created the US contitution. The US Constitution was signed in 1785 by 38 of the 41 delegates in Philadephia. This was one of the final events in the American revolution, and truly claimed ameria's freedom from Britain.
