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Jamestown is Established
On May 14, 1607, English settlers arrived in the new world looking for opportunity. This was the first permanent settlement in the New World. 100 members of the Virginia Company of London settled in what is now know as Jamestown, Virginia. This settlement was chartered by King James. -
Headright System
The headright system referred to a grant of land, usually 50 acres, given to settlers in the 13 colonies. This system was created to attract new settlers to the region and address the Labor Shortage. The system was used mainly in Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Maryland. It was used as a way to attract new settlers to the region and address the labor shortage. -
Pilgrims Landing on Cape Cod Aboard the Mayflower
On November 11, 1620, the Mayflower anchored at what is now Provincetown Harbor, Cape Cod. 41 male passengers, heads of families, single men and three male servants, signed the famous Mayflower Compact. In which they obeyed laws in the colony. Over the next month, several small scouting groups were sent ashore to collect firewood and scout out a good place to build a settlement. -
Toleration Act of 1649
Also Know as the Act Concerning Religion, was religious tolerance for Trinitarian Christians. It helped guarantee religious liberty throughout the years. Religious groups were allowed to practice their religion without the punishment that would come with it. "no person or persons … professing to believe in Jesus Christ, shall from henceforth be anyways troubled, Molested or discountenanced for or in respect of his or her religion nor in the free exercise thereof within this Province" -
Treaty of Paris
This treaty effectively ended the French and Indian War. In this treaty, France gave up all of its mainland North America territories. The territories East of the Mississippi went to Britain while the territories West of the Mississippi went to Spain. Immediately after the French and Indian War, Britain ended salutary neglect, issued the Proclamation Line of 1763, issued new taxes, got permanently stationed British troops, and passed the Quebec Act. -
Proclamation of 1763
After the French and Indian war, the British made a boundary line forbidding colonist to settle west of the Appalachian Mountains. The lands west of the Appalachian Mountains were acquired from this war. This would be in efforts to discourage the American Revolution. In it's efforts to discourage the revolution, it would only fire the Americans to rebel and start the American Revolution. -
Sugar Act
First law passed by Parliament that raised tax revenues in the colonies. The Sugar Act which was enforced in April 5th of 1764. It placed tax on sugar, molasses, and various other products shipped to the colonies. It increased duty on foreign sugar imported from the West Indies. This law was passed because of the same purpose as the Stamp Act, to help pay for England's debt. This tax was enforced in the colonies, as they were needed to pay for the debt of the French and Indian War. -
Stamp Act
This act was part of a new imperial program that imposed a tax on printed documents such as, newspapers, almanacs, pamphlets, deeds, wills, and licenses. It was used to try to reapply the old principles of mercantilism. Many colonists were angered at the tax which gave ten times as much annual revenue from America to the British officials. This is where you first see the colonists starting to work together. This leads directly to the Stamp Act Congress. -
Quartering Act
The Quartering Act forced colonists to help in providing provisions and maintenance to the British army. The British navy was assigned to patrol American waters in search of smugglers or enemies. The custom service was reorganized and enlarged. Royal officials were sent from Britain to order and take up colonial posts in person. Colonial manufacturing was also limited so that America could not surpass British manufacturing. Many colonists were angered over the fact that they were restricted. -
The Boston Massacre
A crowd of dockworkers called the "Liberty Boys" began pelting the Customs house with rocks and snowballs. captain Thomas Preston lined up several of the British soldiers in front of the building to protect it. During the skirmish, the British soldiers fired into the crowd killing five people. This became a symbol of British oppression and brutality to the Americans. Resistance and public outrage started growing within the colonies.. -
Tea Act
This gave the British East India Company the right to export its merchandise directly to the colonies without having to pay the Navigation Act's fees. It enraged colonial merchants who feared bankruptcy by a powerful monopoly. It also was resented by those who were excluded from the lucrative trade. The number one reason it made colonists mad was because "no taxation without representation". -
The Boston Tea Party
Led by Samuel Adams, three companies of 50 men or more, 116 dressed as Mohawks went aboard three ships, broke the chest containing tea, and dumped it all into the Boston Harbor. This was done in anger of the Tea act earlier that year. Other seaports followed their example. This showed the strong support of disobeying the British government. -
The Intolerable Acts
This happened in 1774, and they were four acts passed by Parliament. It closed the port of Boston, reduced colonial self-government, permitted royal officers to be tried in other colonies (or in England), and provided for the quartering of troops in the colonists' barns and empty houses. Its goal was to provide a stable government for the French-speaking inhabitants of Canada and the Illinois country. It sparked new resistance in the colonies. -
The First Continental Congress
In September of 1744, the First Continental Congress convened in Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia. They made five major decisions: reject creating a colonial union under British authority, support a statement of grievances (demanded the repeal of oppressive legislation since 1763), approve recommendations and resolutions concerning military preparations and other things, agree to nonimportation, nonexportation, and nonconsumption (formed a "Continental Association"), and agree to meet again. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
General Gage wanted to bloodlessly cease illegal supplies that the colonists stashed, but the patriots in Boston were watching, and the minutemen were ready. Shots were fired, and 8 minutemen were killed with ten wounded. The British proceeded to Concord, but the farmers were hiding on the roads. The British ended up losing three times as many men as the colonists did. The shots fired here were "The Shot Heard Round the World", and they heralded in the American Revolution. -
The Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress meeting of delegates from the thirteen colonies in Philadelphia. Started with the battle of Lexington and Concord fresh in their memories. The New England militia were still encamped outside of Boston trying to drive the British out of Boston. The Second Continental Congress established the militia as the Continental Army to represent the thirteen states. They also elected George Washington as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. -
Declaration of Independence
The declaration of independence was a signing declaring the independence of the colonies. Declaration of Independence was the first formal statement by a nation's people asserting their right to choose their own government. Telling that we are no longer a part of Britain and we are an independent country. The Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence, written largely by Jefferson, in Philadelphia on July 4, a date now celebrated as the birth of American independence. -
The Crossing of Deleware
George Washington splits his army into three groups. George Washington leads 2,500 men across the river. George Washington leads the Continental army with attacks unsuspecting Hessians. In a half hour all the enemies were rounded up. George Washington had won with only four losses. -
Battle Of Saratoga
The Battle of Saratoga occurred in September and October, 1777, during the second year of the American Revolution. It included two crucial battles, fought eighteen days apart, and was a decisive victory for the Continental Army and a crucial turning point in the Revolutionary War. It gave the Patriots a major boost and persuaded the French, Spanish, and Dutch to join their cause against the rival. America was victorious. -
Battle Of Yorktown
When British General Lord Charles Cornwallis and his army surrendered to General George Washington’s American force and its French allies at the Battle of Yorktown on October 19, 1781, it was more than just military win. The outcome in Yorktown, Virginia marked the conclusion of the last major battle of the American Revolution and the start of a new nation's independence. It also cemented Washington’s reputation as a great leader and eventual election as first. -
Treaty Of Paris
The Treaty of Paris ended the Revolutionary War between Great Britain and the United States, recognized American independence and established borders for the new nation. Treaty of Paris, September 3, 1783, Benjamin Franklin's letter book copy of the treaty ending the Revolutionary War. -
Shay's Rebellion
Shays' Rebellion was an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts and Worcester in response to a debt crisis among the citizenry and in opposition to the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes both on individuals and their trades. The fight took place mostly in and around Springfield during 1786 and 1787.
