-
Navigation Acts
The Navigation Acts were enforced in Britain, to restrict the carrying trades of England to English ships. This was so that the better ships that weren’t being used could be ready if they were needed for war. This was known as protectionism at the time. -
French and Indian War Ends
This war, also known as the Seven Years’ War, ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. England and Spain were the victors of this war. England gained Canada and Florida from France. Spain gained Louisiana from this treaty. These expansions helped to strengthen the colonies, and open up the window to westward expansion. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp act was the first tax that the British put on the American Colonists. This act put a tax on all paper documents in the thirteen Colonies. In retaliation, the Colonists would mob the tax collectors, because they didn’t feel that it was right to tax them without representation in the colonies. -
Boston Massacre
This very crucial event in the American Revolution started out as a small street brawl. After a British soldier stuck someone with his bayonet, he was pelted with snowballs that had rocks in them. After things escalated, five Colonists were killed, and this fueled events to come in the Revolution. -
Tea Act
Britain enforced the Tea Act to help the East India Company from going bankrupt. This lowered the tax that they would have to pay Britain for the tea. As a result, this tea became cheaper for the Colonists, but they still were not happy about it. They saw this tax as a continued trend of tyranny, and this tax led to the Colonists dumping tea into the Boston Harbor, known as the Boston Tea Party. -
The Boston Tea Party
This event took place in Boston, Massachusetts, on the Boston Harbor. The American Colonists were holding a political protest, protesting Britain’s “taxation without representation.” 342 chests of tea were dumped into this harbor. -
Coercive/Intolerable Acts
These acts were enforced by Britain, in order to make the Colonists pay for their acts in the Boston Tea Party, among other events. These acts involved in the Intolerable Acts included the Boston Port Act, the Massachusetts Government Act, the Administration of Justice Act, and the Quartering Act. Britain expected the other colonies to abandon New England after this, but they banded together and stood up for the northeast. -
First Continental Congress
At the First Continental Congress, delegates from all 13 colonies, except Georgia, met in Philadelphia. The reason for this meeting was to discuss the Coercive Acts that Britain had just put on the Colonies. They formed the Declaration of Rights, that reassured their loyalty to England, but denouncing their taxes. They also passed the Articles of Association, which stopped the colonies from importing goods from the British Isles. -
Lexington and Concord
The night before, April 18th, the British troops traveled from Boston to a spot near by Concord to take control of a weapons hideout. Paul Revere alarmed the militiamen, and they mobilized to meet the British troops. They forced the redcoats to retreat. -
Second Continental Congress
On May 10, 1775, Congress reconvened in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This meeting took place after the revolution had already started. The Continental Congress needed an official army, since the war had already started in Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. The Olive Branch petition was a last ditch effort by the colonists to get out of this situation and avoid war. This was not adopted by Congress until July 5, 1775. -
Declaration of Independence Adopted
The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson. This document was adopted and signed on July 4, 1776. It was adopted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Trying to form their own government, this was the first formal document by the people trying to do so. -
Battle of Saratoga
The battle of Saratoga contained two battles, Freeman’s Farm and Bemis Heights. At Freeman’s Farm, the British suffered two times as many casualties as the Americans, and couldn’t go to Albany. In the Battle of Bemis Heights, Burgoyne was surrounded by Gates’ soldiers. Eventually, he ran out of supplies and options and surrendered. -
Winter at Valley Forge
George Washington had his troops stationed 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia, so he could monitor the British troops, while still keeping a safe distance. He had 12,000 soldiers their, accompanied by 400 women. Washington brought in a former Prussian military officer named Friedrich Wilhelm Baron von Steuben. He helped the soldiers train and get into shape in order to defeat the British army. -
Battle of Yorktown
The Battle of Yorktown is thought to be the most important battle of the Revolutionary War. General George Washington led his 17,000 Continental and French troops against General Lord Charles Cornwallis’ army of 9,000 in Yorktown, Virginia. After three weeks of bombardment, General Cornwallis’ troops were surrounded and forced to surrender. This Battle marked the end of the War for Independence. -
U.S. Constitution Written
The Constitution was written in Philadelphia in the Assembly Room of Pennsylvania State House, or Independence Hall. It was written during the Constitutional Convention. James Madison was the main contributor in writing the Constitution, but got help from the Committee of Detail. -
U.S. Constitution Adopted
Before the Constitution was ratified, the Articles of Confederation were to govern the people. When New Hampshire was the ninth colony to ratify the Constitution, this document became binding. After the ratification, the election dates were set, and the new government was to begin on March 4, 1789.
