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French and Indian War
The French built a fort in the Ohio River valley even though it was owned by Britain. Virginia sent militia to evict the French, starting the war. The British defeated the French and their Native American allies at Quebec. The war ended in 1763 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, which gave Britain land in Canada, most of America east of the Mississippi River, and Florida. -
John Locke's Social Contract
One of the key Enlightenment thinkers was John Locke. Locke maintained that people have natural rights to life, liberty, and property. He claimed that every society is
based on a social contract—an agreement in which the people consent to choose
and obey a government so long as it safeguards their natural rights. If the government
violates that social contract by taking away or interfering with those rights, people have the right to resist and even overthrow the government -
Writ of Assistance
The royal governor of Massachusetts authorized the use of the writ of assistance, a general search warrant that allowed British customs officials to search any colonial ship or building they believed to be holding smuggled goods. -
Treaty of Paris 1763
Great Britain claimed Canada and virtually all of North America east of the Mississippi River, and took Florida from Spain. Spain kept its lands west of the Mississippi and the city of New Orleans. France retained control of only a few islands and small colonies near Newfoundland, in the West Indies, and elsewhere. -
Proclamation of 1763
British government prohibited colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains to avoid further conflicts with Native Americans. The colonists ignored the proclamation. -
Sugar Act
The Sugar Act halved the duty on foreign-made molasses, placed duties on certain imports that had not been taxed before, and provided that colonists accused of violating it would be tried in a vice-admiralty court instead of a colonial court. Colonial merchants and traders claimed it would reduce their profits and that Parliament had no right to tax them without representation. -
Stamp Act and colonists response
The Stamp Act imposed a tax on documents and printed items such as wills, newspapers, and playing cards. A stamp would be placed on the items to prove the tax had been paid. It was the first tax that affected colonists directly because it was levied on goods and services. The colonists united to defy the law, forming the Sons of Liberty. -
Sons of Liberty Formed, Samuel Adams
Boston shopkeepers, artisans, and laborers organized a secret resistance group to protest the Stamp Act and boycotted British goods. Samuel Adams was one of the founders. -
Declaratory Act
Parliament asserted its right to "bind the colonies and people of America in all cases whatsoever." -
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts taxed goods imported into the colonies from Britain, such as lead, glass, paint, paper, and tea. The colonists boycotted British goods. The Townshend Acts were costing more to enforce than they would bring in, so Parliament repealed all the acts except the tax on tea. -
Boston Massacre
A mob taunted British soldiers guarding the Boston Customs House. Shots were fired and five colonists were killed or mortally wounded. Colonial leaders labeled the confrontation the Boston Massacre. -
Tea Act
The Tea Act allowed the British East India Company to sell tea to the colonies free of the taxes the colonial tea sellers had to pay. This would have cut colonial merchants out of the tea trade. -
Boston Tea Party
Boston rebels disguised themselves as Native Americans and dumped 18,000 pounds of the East India Company's tea into Boston Harbor. -
Intolerable Acts
In response to the Tea Party, Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts. One law shut down Boston Harbor. The Quartering Act authorized British commanders to house soldiers in vacant private homes and other buildings. General Thomas Gage was appointed the new governor of Massachusetts, and placed Boston under martial law. -
First Continental Congress meets
In response to Britain's actions, the committees of correspondence assembled the First Continental Congress. 56 delegates met in Philadelphia and drew up a declaration of colonial rights. They defended the colonies' right to run their own affairs and stated that, if the British used force against the colonies, the colonies should fight back. -
Minutemen
After the First Continental Congress, colonists in many eastern New England towns stepped up military preparations. Minutemen - civilian soldiers who pledged to be ready to fight against the British at a minute's notice - quietly stockpiled firearms and gunpowder. -
Midnight Riders: Revere, Dawes, Prescott
British General Thomas Gage sent British troops to seize illegal weapons at Concord. Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott rode out to spread the word that 700 British troops were headed for Concord. -
Battle of Lexington
When the British troops reached Lexington, 70 minutemen were waiting for them. Someone fired, and the British soldiers sent a volley of shots into the departing militia. Eight minutemen were killed and ten more were wounded, but only one British soldier was injured. The battle only lasted 15 minutes. -
Battle of Concord
The British marched on to Concord, where they found an empty arsenal. After a brief skirmish with the minutemen, the British soldiers lined up to march back to Boston. Between 3,000 and 4,000 minutemen had assembled by now, and they fired on the marching troops from behind stone walls and trees. British soldiers fell by the dozens. Bloodied and humiliated, the remaining British soldiers made their way back to Boston. -
Second Continental Congress
Colonial leaders called the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia to debate their next move. Some delegates called for independence, while others argued for reconciliation with Great Britain. The Congress agreed to recognize the colonial militia as the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander. -
Continental Army
At the Second Continental Congress, the colonial militia was recognized as the Continental Army, and George Washington was appointed as its commander. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
Thomas Gage decided to strike at militiamen on Breed's Hill. The colonists held their fire until the last minute and then began to mow down the advancing redcoats before finally retreating. The colonists lost 450 men, while the British had suffered over 1000 casualties. -
Olive Branch Petition
Congress sent the king the Olive Branch Petition, urging a return to "the former harmony" between Britain and the colonies. King George flatly rejected it, issuing a proclamation stating that the colonies were in rebellion and urged Parliament to order a naval blockade on the American coast. -
Publication of Common Sense
In the widely read pamphlet, Common Sense, Thomas Paine attacked King George and the monarchy. He claimed that independence would allow America to trade more freely and give colonists the chance to create a better society - one free from tyranny, with equal social and economic opportunities for all. -
Declaration of Independence
The Continental Congress appointed a committee to prepare a formal Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson was chosen to prepare the final draft. He argued that the rights of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness are unalienable, and when the government denies their rights, the people have the right to change the government. -
Loyalists and Patriots
Loyalists - those who opposed independence and remained loyal to the British king - included judges and governors, as well as people of more modest means. Many thought Britain was going to win and wanted to avoid punishment as rebels. Others thought the Crown would protect their rights more effectively than the new colonial governments would. Patriots - the supporters of independence - drew their numbers from people who saw political and economic opportunity in an independent America. -
Redcoats push Washington's army across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania
The British army attempted to take over New York, and the untrained and poorly equipped colonial troops soon retreated. By late fall, the British had pushed Washington's army across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania. -
Washington's Christmas Night Surprise Attack
In the face of a fierce storm, Washington led 2,400 men in small rowboats across the ice-choked Delaware River. They then marched to their objective—Trenton, New Jersey—and defeated a garrison of Hessians in a surprise attack. The British soon regrouped, however, and in September of 1777, they captured the American capital at Philadelphia. -
Saratoga
General Burgoyne planned to lead an army down a route of lakes from Canada to Albany, and meet the British troops to isolate New England from the rest of the colonies. As Burgoyne traveled through the wilderness, militiamen from the Continental Army gathered. While he was fighting off the colonial troops, his fellow British officers were preoccupied with holding Philadelphia and weren’t coming to meet him. American troops finally surrounded Burgoyne at Saratoga, where he surrendered. -
French-American Alliance
The surrender at Saratoga turned out to be one of the most important
events of the war. Although the French had secretly aided the Patriots since early 1776, the Saratoga victory bolstered France’s belief
that the Americans could win the war. As a result, theFrench signed an alliance with the Americans in February 1778 and openly joined them in their fight. -
Valley Forge
Washington and his Continental Army fought to stay a live at winter camp Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. More than 2,000 soldiers died, yet the survivors didn't desert. -
Friedrich von Steuden and Marquis de Lafayette
Friedrich von Steuben, a Prussian captain and talented drillmaster, helped train the Continental Army. The Marquis de Lafayette lobbied France for French reinforcements and led a command in Virginia for the last years of the war. -
British Victories in the South
British Generals Henry Clinton and Charles Cornwallis captured Savannah, Georgia and Charles Town, South Carolina. Clinton then left for New York, while Cornwallis continued to conquer land throughout the South. -
British Surrender at Yorktown
After learning of Cornwallis’s actions, the armies of Lafayette and Washington moved south toward Yorktown. Meanwhile, a French naval force defeated a British fleet and then blocked the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay, obstructing British sea routes to the bay. By late September, about 17,000 French and American troops surrounded the British on the Yorktown peninsula and began bombarding them day and night. Less than a month later, Cornwallis surrendered. -
Treaty of Paris
Peace talks began in Paris in 1782. In September 1783, the delegates signed the Treaty of Paris, which confirmed U.S. independence and set the boundaries of the new nation. The United States now stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River and from Canada to
the Florida border.
