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The French vs Indian War
This war was also known as the “Seven Years’ War” because it lasted for seven years. The war provided Great Britain territorial gains in North America, but disputes over frontier policy and paying the war’s expenses, and ultimately to the American Revolution. End date: Febuary 10, 1763 -
James Otis, Jr. -”No Taxation Without Representation”
James Otis Jr. was a lawyer in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, a member of the Massachusetts provincial assembly, and an early advocate of the Patriot views against British policy that led to the American Revolution. His catchphrase “No Taxation without representation tranny” became the basic Patriot position. End date: Febuary 1, 1761 -
Americans move west of the Appalachian Mountains
After the French and Indian War, the Treaty of Paris was drawn up, officially ending the war, and granting the British a great deal of North American land. The territory that was gained, the Ohio Valley, was between the Appalachian Mountains in the east and the Mississippi River in the west. It gave the British access to important trade routes, but the new land also brought up many new problems. End date: October 7, 1763 -
Pontiac's Rebellion
After the French and Indian War, Chief Pontiac of Ottawa led a loosely united group of American Indian tribes against the British in a series of attacks, referred to as Pontiac’s Rebellion. Participating tribes included the Ottawa, Ojibwas, Potawatomis, Huron, Miami, Weas, Kickapoo, Mascouten, Piankashaw, Delaware, Shawnee, Wyandot, Seneca, and Seneca-Cayuga. End date: July 25, 1766 -
The Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 was a British-produced boundary marked in the Appalachian Mountains at the Eastern Continental Divide. The Proclamation Line prohibited Anglo-American colonists from settling on lands acquired from the French following the French and Indian War. End date: April 19, 1775 -
The Sugar Act
The Sugar Act, properly known as the American Revenue Act, was passed by Parliament on April 5, 1764. The goal of the act was to raise revenue for Britain to pay part of the cost of a standing army in North America. It began the controversy over Britain taxing the colonies when they had no representatives in Parliament, a direct cause of the American Revolution and the War for Independence. End date: January 1, 1776 -
The Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was a tax put on the American colonies by the British in 1765. It said they had to pay a tax on all sorts of printed materials such as newspapers, magazines, and legal documents. It was called the Stamp Act because the colonies were supposed to buy paper from Britain that had an official stamp on it that showed they had paid the tax. End date: March 18, 1766 -
Quartering Act 1765
In 1765, Parliament passed a law called the Mutiny Act, which became known as the Quartering Act of 1765. Contrary to popular belief, this Quartering Act did not direct British soldiers to be billeted in the private homes of the colonists. The 1765 act actually prohibited British soldiers from being quartered in private homes, but it did make the colonial legislatures responsible for paying for and providing for barracks or other accommodations to house British regulars. End date:March 24, 1776 -
Virginia Resolves 1765
In May 1765 the House of Burgesses in Williamsburg passed the Virginia Resolves, a strongly-worded set of resolutions against the recently announced Stamp Act. The chief architect of these resolves was Patrick Henry, who waited until a group of conservative Burgesses was absent before submitting them to the assembly. End date: None -
Stamp Act Congress
The Stamp Act Congress met in the Federal Hall building in New York City. It was the first colonial action against a British measure and was formed to protest the Stamp Act issued by the British Parliament in March 1765. The Stamp Act Congress was attended by 27 representatives from nine of the thirteen colonies. Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia were prevented from attending because their loyal governors refused to convene the assemblies to elect delegates. End date: March 18, 1766 -
Declaratory Act
The Declaratory Act was a measure issued by British Parliament to assert its authority to make laws for the colonists including the right to tax. The Declaratory Act was a reaction of the British Parliament to the failure of the Stamp Act as they did not want to give up on taxation and its legal right to tax colonies. End date: September 3, 1783 -
Townshend Revenue Act
The British put tax on things like glass, paint, oil, lead, paper, and tea. They put taxes on these things because they knew people couldn’t make them themselves. This act ended up raising about 40,000 pounds. End date: April 1, 1770 -
British troops arrive in Boston
The British troops arrived in Boston accompanied by the British men of war. Eventually, 70 of the British troops found there a way to the interior of the colony which made the colonists very mad. This event had gone further and ultimately ended up in the Boston Massacre. End date: March 17, 1776 -
Boston Massacre
It was an event where British troops fired at colonists because they were throwing snowballs, rocks, and sticks at them which resulted in them shooting and killing 5 colonists. 3 colonists died on the spot and 2 of them later died from their injuries. The main reason there was a big mob is that there was a fight that was happening before the British tried to stop them. End date: March 5, 1770 -
Repeal of the Townshend Revenue Act
The British Parliament took off all of the other taxes from the Townshend Revenue other than the tax on tea. However, the import duty on tea was retained in order to demonstrate to the colonists that Parliament held the sovereign authority to tax its colonies. This led ultimately led to the tea act. End date: April 12, 1770 -
Tea Act
The tea act granted east India company tea a monopoly on tea sales in America the Tea Act was the final straw in a series of unpopular policies and taxes imposed by Britain on her American colonies. End date: January 1, 1861 -
Boston Tea Party
A group of Sons of Liberty members on the night of December 16, 1773, disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians, boarded three ships moored in Boston Harbor, and destroy over 92,000 pounds of tea. End date: December 16, 1773 -
1st Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress, comprised of delegates from the colonies, met in 1774 in reaction to the Intolerable Acts, a series of measures imposed by the British government after the colonies resisted new taxes. End date: October 6, 1774 -
Patrick Henry 1775 speech
Patrick Henry was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and the first governor of Virginia. In his 1775 speech, he famously declared “Give me liberty, or give me death”, this fired up the Americans to fight for independence. In this famous speech, Patrick Henry was talking about how it was time for the colony to start a militia in order to defend their right to freedom. End date: March 23, 1775 -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord on 19 April 1775, the famous “shot heard around the world”, marked the start of the American War of Independence. This persuaded many Americans to take up arms and support the cause of independence. End date: April 19, 1775 -
Battle of Bunker Hill
The American patriots were defeated at the Battle of Bunker Hill, but they proved they could hold their own against the British Army. The fight ended because the Americans ran out of ammunition. The British lost twice as many men as the Americans most of them were officers. End date: June 17, 1777 -
Battle of Trenton
Immediately following his famous crossing of the Delaware River, General George Washington marched the Continental Army to Trenton, New Jersey. The weather was worse than it had been crossing the river. End date: January 3, 1777 -
Valley Forge
Valley Forge was the six-month camp of the Continental Army of the newly formed United States of America under the command of General George Washington, a few miles from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. End date: January 19, 1778 -
Battle of Guilford Courthouse
The Battle of Guilford Courthouse was an important battle in the Revolutionary War. Although the Battle only lasted two hours and the British won the battle and forced the Americans to retreat, they lost so many soldiers that the battle eventually led to their defeat in the war. End date: March 15, 1781 -
Surrender of the British at Yorktown
The Americans trapped the British at Yorktown Virginia, which caused British General Lord Cornwallis to surrender 8,000 British soldiers and made the Americans a lot stronger causing the end to the American Revolution. End date: October 19, 1781 -
Treaty of Paris
The Americans and British signed this treaty to end the American Revolution and make the United States an independent nation. The treaty was written by Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, John Jay, and representatives from king George lll. End date: September 3, 1783