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End of the French and Indian War
War provided Great Britain a lot of territorial gains in North America -
Pontiac's Rebellion
In effort to improve their relations with Amerindian leaders, the British agreed to start enforcing rule they created after the French and Indian war but which had been largely neglected up to this point -
Paxton Boys attack Pennsylvania Indians
A group of Paxton men raided a small settlement of Conestoga Indians in Lancaster County. -
Proclamation of 1763
Intended to conciliate the Indians by checking the encroachment of settlers on their lands. Became one of the cornerstones of Native American law in the United States and Canada. -
Sugar Act
The first tax on the American colonies imposed by the British Parliament. Its purpose was to raise revenue through the colonial customs service and to give customs agents more power. -
Stamp Act
Imposed on all American colonists and required them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they use. -
Townshend Acts
They were laws that were passed by Parliament that governed trade between England and its colonies. The acts made colonist angry because they were restricted from trading with other colonies. -
Boston Massacre
Fight on the street between a patriot mob and British soldiers. The mob threw rocks and sticks but the soldiers used their muskets to kill several colonists. -
Somerset Decision
Lord Mansfield retired to make his decision, and reserved judgement for over a month. James Somerset was forcibly taken from England to the colonies. -
Boston Tea Party
British were furious with the actions of the colonists and need to impose punishment for rebellion and this caused the Intolerable Acts -
Tea Act
Designed to bail out the British East India Company and expand the company's monopoly on the tea trade to all British Colonies, selling excess tea at a reduced price. -
First Continental Congress
Delegates from the colonies met about the Coercive Acts. Compact among the Colonies to boycott British goods. -
Intolerable Acts
The colonists felt they violated their rights as Englishmen and their Natural Rights as human beings. The act was passed as a punishment for the Boston Tea Party. -
Second Continental Congress
A convention of delegates from the 13 colonies that formed in Philadelphia, soon after the launch of the American Revolutionary War. It succeeded the First Continental Congress. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
The British defeated the Americas but even though they lost, the colonial forces caused a good amount of casualties and gave them an important confidence boost. -
Treaty of Alliance
This war promised mutual military support in case fighting should break out between French and British forces. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
These battles are what kicked off the American Revolutionary War. They happened because a British commander heard of supplies of powder and weapons being kept by Patriots -
Common Sense
The impact was to help cause the American colonists to decide to fight for independence -
Declaration of Independence
It contains the ideals or goals of our nation, the complaints of the colonists against the British king and the arguments the colonists used to explain why they wanted to be free of British rule. -
Battle of Trenton
The Hessian army was crushed in Washington's raid across the Delaware River and the Americans were invigorated by the easy defeat of the British Hessian forces. -
Articles of Confederation
Early version of the US Constitution that were created as a governing agreement among the 13 original colonies to fight the Revolution and establish some limited federal power -
Battle of Saratoga
This battle was the turning point of the Revolutionary War because it renewed the morale of the American public and convinced potential foreign partners -
Lord Cornwallis surrendered to George Washinton
Cornwallis brought 8000 British troops to Yorktown but the ships never arrived. The American and French troops overran the British strongholds -
Treaty of Paris (American Revolution)
The significance was that the American Revolutionary War was formally ended and the British acknowledged the independence of the United States. -
Newburgh Conspiracy
A plan by Continental Army officers to challenge the authority of the Confederation. -
Treaty of Fort Stanwix
A treaty between Native Americans and Great Britain, signed in 1768 at Fort Stanwix, in present-day Rome, New York. It was negotiated between Sir William Johnson, his deputy George Croghan, and representatives of the Six Nations. -
Annapolis Convention
Held to discuss some issues of interstate trade. Attendance was low, with only 12 delegates total representing just five states. Those included New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Virginia. -
Shay's Rebellion
A rebellion among farmers in Massachusetts. It led to the writing of the new Constitution. -
Constitutional Convention
Made to address the problems of the weak central government that existed under the Articles of Confederation. -
Northwest Ordinance
Made to lay the basis for the government of the Northwest Territory and for the admissions of its constituent parts as states into the union. -
The Federalist Papers Published
Written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, the essays originally appeared anonymously in New York newspapers in 1787 and 1788 under the pen named "Publius." A series of eighty-five essays urging the citizens of New York to ratify the new United States Constitution. -
Election of George Washington
Unanimously elected president of the United States. With 69 electoral votes, Washington won the support of each participating elector. No other president since has come into office with a universal mandate to lead. -
Beginning of the French Revolution
A period of far-reaching social and political upheavel in France and its colonies that lasted from 1789 until 1799. Historians widelt regard the Revolution as one of the most important events in human history -
Washington DC Chosen as the Capital
Alexander Hamilton and northern states wanted the new federal government to assume Revolutionary War debts, and Thomas Jefferson and southern states who wanted the capital placed in a location friendly to slave holding agricultural interests. -
Hamilton's First Report on Public Credit
One of the four major reports on fiscal and economic policy submitted by American Founding Father, Alexander Hamilton on the request of Congress. -
Bill of Rights ratified
Enough states ratified 10 amendments to make them part of the Constitution. Together they are know as the Bill of Rights. They defined citizens' rights in relation to the newly established government under the Constitution. -
First Bank of the United States Chartered
Needed because the government had a debt from the Revolutionary War, and each state had a different form of currency. -
Hamilton's Report on Manufactures
Went further than any other report in projecting the future of the United States and its place in the world economy. Hamilton urged congress to promote manufacturing so that the United States could be "independent on foreign nations for military and other essential supplies." -
Citizen Genet Affair
Citizen Edmond Charles Genet, a French minister, arrived in the United States and passed out letters authorizing Americans to attack British commercial vessels and Spanish New Orleans. It intensified party feeling. -
Whiskey Rebellion
In American history, uprising that afforded the new US government its first opportunity to establish federal authority by military means within state boundaries. -
Battle of Fallen Timbers
Wayne led American troops to a decisive victory against a confederation of Native Americans whose leaders included Chief Little Turtle, Chief Blue Jacket, and Chief Buckongahelas. -
Jay's Treaty
Sought to settle outstanding issues between the two countries that had been left unresolved since American independence. -
Treaty of Greenville
A year after the Battle of Fallen Timbers, Native American leaders and Anthony Wayne met at Fort Greenville in Ohio to negotiate an end to the Northwest Territory Indian War. -
Pinckney's Treaty
This treaty was an important diplomatic success for the Unites States. It established intentions of friendship between the United States and Spain. It also defined the boundaries of the United States with the Spanish colonies and guaranteed the United States navigation rights on the Mississippi River. -
Election of John Adams
The first contested American presidential election in which political parties played a dominant role, and the only presidential election in which a president and vice president were elected from opposing tickets. -
XYZ Affair
A diplomatic incident that occurred between the United States and France in 1797. In an attempt to avert war with Great Britain, the US signed the Jay Treaty in 1795. One of the provisions limited the ability of nations that were hostile to Great Britain to trade in US ports. -
Quasi-War with France
An undeclared naval war between the United States and France during the Presidency of John Adams. It grew out of the XYZ Affair and ended when French politics changed direction after Napoleon came into power. -
Alien and Sedition Acts
Passed by the Federalist Congress and signed into law by President Adams. These laws included new powers to deport foreigners as well as making it harder for new immigrants to vote. -
Election of Thomas Jefferson
He called this "the Revolution of 1800" because it marked the first time that power in America passed from one party to another. He promised to govern as he felt the Founders intended, based on decentralized government and trust in the people to make the right decisions for themselves. -
Judiciary Act of 1800
Reduced the size of the Supreme Court from six justices to five and eliminated the justices' circuit duties. To replace the justices on circuit, the act created sixteen judgeships for six judicial circuits.
