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Somerset decision
James Somerset was forcibly taken from England to the colonies, where the judge decided that no slave owner was allowed to legally take a slave without their consent somewhere, and allowed Somerset to walk free -
First Continental Congress
Delegates from each 13 colonies met (except Georgia, which was in a battle) met in Philadelphia as the first continental congress in order to organize colonial resistance to Parliament’s Coercive Acts -
Pontiac's Rebellion
Began when a confederacy of Native American warriors under Ottawa chief Pontiac attacks the British force at Detroit. After failing to take the fort in their initial assault, Pontiac’s forces, made up of Ottawas and reinforced by Wyandots, Ojibwas, and Potawatamis, initiated a siege that would stretch into months. -
Paxton Boys attack Pennsylvania Indians
About 57 drunken settlers from Paxton, Pennsylvania, slaughtered 20 innocent and defenseless Susquehannock (Conestoga) Indians, near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, whom they suspected of connivance with other Native Americans who had been pillaging and scalping. -
Proclamation of 1763
Prohibited colonists from moving West of Appalachian Mountains -
End of the French and Indian War
(Seven Years War) France's expansion into the Ohio River Valley repeatedly brought the country into conflict with the British Forces in the British colonies -
Sugar Act
Act passed on sugar to raise revenue (enraged colonists) -
Stamp Act
First internal tax levied directly on American colonists by the British government. It meant that any printed document or materials had to have the certain stamp on it -
Townshend Acts
British Parliament taxed goods imported to the American colonies -
Boston Massacre
Deadly riot on King Street in Boston. Started as a street brawl between colonists and a lone British soldier, but escalated to a bloody slaughter -
Tea Act
A tax act of tea, and also the breaking point of colonists, which led to the Sons of Liberty dressing as Mohawk Indians and dumping 92,000 pounds of tea into the harbor -
Boston Tea Party
American colonists, frustrated and angry at Britain for imposing “taxation without representation,” dumped 342 chests of British tea into the harbor. The event was the first major act of defiance to British rule over the colonists. -
Intolerable Acts
four punitive measures enacted by the British Parliament in retaliation for acts of colonial defiance (Boston Port Bill, Massachusetts Government Act, Administration of Justice Act, and Quartering Act) -
Battle of Bunker Hill
British defeated the Americans at the Battle of Bunker Hill in Massachusetts -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
Hundreds of British troops marched to Boston in order to seize an arms cache. Paul Revere sounded an alarm, and colonial men intercepted the British troops. Soon, the British retreated under intense fire -
Second Continental Congress
They appointed George Washington as commander of the continental army, they also issued the Declaration of Independence, and lastly established itself as a central government under the Articles of Confederation -
Common Sense
Challenged the authority of the British government and the royal monarchy -
Declaration of Independence
A five-man committee including Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin was tasked with drafting a formal statement of the colonies’ intentions. -
Battle of Trenton
Washington divided his men, sending flanking columns under General Nathaniel Greene and General John Sullivan. Meanwhile, Colonel Henry Knox’s cannons fired on the garrison. Rall attempted to rally his troops but was never able to establish a defensive perimeter, and was shot from his horse and fatally wounded. The Hessians quickly surrendered. All told, 22 were killed, 92 wounded, 918 captured and 400 escaped. The Americans suffered two frozen to death and five wounded. -
Articles of Confederation
First constitution of America, it created a loose central government and confederation -
Battle of Saratoga
It was a turning point in the American Revolution. British General John Burgoyne achieved a small, but costly victory over American forces led by Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold. Burgoyne again attacked the Americans at Bemis Heights, but this time was defeated and forced to retreat. He surrendered ten days later, and the American victory convinced the French government to formally recognize the colonist’s cause and enter the war as their ally. -
Treaty of Alliance
called for mutual defense in case France or the Union was attacked by the British -
Lord Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington
Cornwallis surrenders 8000 British soldiers, bringing the American Revolution -
Treaty of Paris (American Revolution)
Treaty that ended American Revolutionary War. Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay negotiated the peace treaty with Great Britain -
Newburgh Conspiracy
Plan by the Continental Army officers to challenge the authority Confederacy. Washington put an end to this conspiracy -
Treaty of Fort Stanwix
US signed a treaty with Iroquois Confederacy, by the tribes signing they relinquished their claims to land in the Ohio country -
Annapolis Convention
important rallying point in the movement toward a federal convention to address the inadequate Articles of Confederation -
Shay's Rebellion
Series of violent attacks on courthouses and other places in Massachusetts, which ultimately led to a full on military confrontation in 1787 -
Constitutional Convention
Gathering for the purpose of writing a new constitution -
Northwest Ordinance
Chartered a government for the Northwest territory (to create the first organized territory) -
The Federalist Papers published
collection of 85 articles and essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the pseudonym "Publius" to promote the ratification of the United States Constitution. -
Beginning of French Revolution
Began with the ascent of Napolean -
Election (inauguration) of George Washington
George Washington was officially made the 1st commander-in-chief -
Washington D.C chosen as capital
Established by the Constitution of the United States as capital -
Hamilton's First Report on Public Credit
delivered to Congress called for payment in full on all government debts as the foundation for establishing government credit. -
Bill of Rights ratified
The 10 amendments that are now known as the Bill of Rights were ratified, thus becoming a part of the Constitution -
First Bank of the United States Chartered
National bank chartered for a term of 20 years -
Hamilton's Report on Manufactures
the third major report, and magnum opus, of American founding father and first U.S. Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, which was presented to Congress -
Citizen Genet Affair
when Genet was dispatched to the United States to promote American support for France's wars with Spain and Britain -
Whiskey Rebellion
uprising of farmers and distillers in western Pennsylvania in protest of a whiskey tax -
Battle of Fallen Timbers
final battle of the Northwest Indian War -
Pickney's Treaty
Treaty to establish friendship between the US and Spain -
Treaty of Greenville
it established a set boundary of the lands of the Native Americans and the land open for European settlements, known as the 'Greenville Treaty Line'. -
Jay's Treaty
treaty between the United States and Great Britain that averted war & resolved issues remaining since the Treaty of Paris -
Election of Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson won the election over John Adams -
Election of John Adams
John Adams lost the presidential election to Thomas Jefferson -
XYZ Affair
diplomatic incident between France and America in the late 18th century that led to an undeclared war at sea. -
Quasi War with France
An undeclared war fought almost entirely at sea between the United States and France -
Alien and Sedition Acts
a series of laws were passed by the Federalist Congress and signed into law by President Adams -
Judiciary Act of 1800
Reduced the size of the Supreme Court from six justices to five and eliminated the justices' circuit duties
