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Navigation Acts
A long series of English laws that developed, promoted, and regulated English ships, shipping, trade, and commerce between other countries and with its own colonies. -
French and Indian War end
The Treaty of Paris is signed to end the war. France gave up all its territories in mainland North America, effectively ending any foreign military threat to the British colonies there. -
Stamp Act
Act of Parliament which imposed a direct tax on the British colonies in America. Colonial reaction to the Stamp Act ranged from boycotts of British goods to riots and attacks on the tax collectors. -
Boston Massacre
British soldiers shot and killed 5 people. This made colonist more weary of the soldiers. -
Tea Act
Made to reduce the massive amount of tea held by the financially troubled British East India Company in its London warehouses and to help the struggling company survive. -
Boston Tea Party
Political protest revolting against the Tea Act. 342 chests of tea were dumped into the harbor. This fueled the tension between Britain and America. -
Coercive/Intolerable Acts
Passed after the Boston Tea Party. Meant to punish the Massachusetts colonists for their defiance. Also fueled the tension between America and Britain. -
First Continental Congress
A meeting of delegates from 12 of the 13 British colonies that became the United States. Delegates discussed boycotting British goods to establish the rights of Americans and planned for a Second Continental Congress. -
Lexington and Concord
The battles of Lexington and Concord were the first of the Revolutionary War. It persuaded people to join the cause. -
Second Continental Congress
A meeting of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies in America. Declared Americas independence from Britain. -
Declaration of Independence adopted
The Declaration of Independence gets adopted by the Continental Congress severing their political connections to Great Britain. -
Battle of Saratoga
The continental army and British army fought on the Hudson River for a month. The battle ended with the Continental Congress winning. The surrender of General Burgoyne's British Army to the Colonists brought France and Spain into the war. -
Winter at Valley Forge
The third of eight winter camps for the Continental Army's main body commanded by George Washington. Valley Forge was a naturally defensible plateau where they could train and recoup from the year's battles. -
Battle of Yorktown
Cornwallis surrenders to George Washington and the French. -
U.S. Constitution written
The U.S. Constitution was written during the Philadelphia Convention now known as the Constitutional Convention. -
U.S. Constitution adopted
U.S. Constitution established America’s national government and fundamental laws.