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End of the French and Indian War
The war provided Great Britain enormous territorial gains in North America, but disputes over subsequent frontier policy and paying the war's expenses led to colonial discontent, and ultimately to the American Revolution. -
Proclamation of 1763
Britain closed down colonial expansion westward to conciliate the Indians by checking the encroachment of settlers on their lands. -
Pontiac’s Rebellion
After the French and Indian War, Ottawa chief Pontiac led a confederacy of Native American warriors to expel the British from the formerly French lands. -
Paxton Boys attack Pennsylvania Indians
Scots-Irish frontiersmen formed a vigilante group to retaliate against local American Indians in the aftermath of the French and Indian War and Pontiac's Rebellion. -
Sugar Act
A tax on the importation of sugar passed by the Parliament of Great Britain to raise revenue to help pay the debt from the war. -
Stamp Act
A new tax imposed on all American colonists that required them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used in order to help the British pay for the French and Indian War. The colonists were angered because these taxes were imposed upon the colonists without their consent, and they had no representation in Britain. -
Townshend Acts
A series of measures, passed by the British Parliament to help pay for war debts, that taxed goods imported to the American colonies. American colonists, who had no representation in Parliament, saw it as an abuse of power. -
Treaty of Fort Stanwix
A treaty between Native Americans and Great Britain. In return for a guarantee of their traditional homelands in western New York, the Iroquois surrendered their claims south of the Susquehanna and Ohio rivers. -
Boston Massacre
An incident in which British Army soldiers shot and killed five people while under attack by a mob throwing snowballs, stones, and sticks. It united the colonists against Britain, which would eventually lead to the Revolutionary War. -
Somerset Decision
The Somerset case was about releasing an individual from unlawful imprisonment. It was decided that Somerset was free and his supporters, who included both black and white Londoners, celebrated a great victory. The result of this trial was that as soon as any slave set his foot on English ground, he became free. -
Boston Tea Party
American colonists dumped shiploads of tea into the water to protest a British tax on tea. The British were furious with the actions of the colonists and imposed the Intolerable Acts as punishment for their rebellion. -
Tea Act
A British Law passed by Parliament, that was 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. The colonies refused to purchase the tea and bought smuggled tea that was actually at a higher price instead. -
First Continental Congress
A meeting of delegates from twelve of the Thirteen Colonies created in reaction to the Coercive Acts, a series of measures imposed by the British government on the colonies in response to their resistance to new taxes. They passed and signed the Continental Association in its Declaration and Resolves, which called for a boycott of British goods to take effect in December 1774. -
Intolerable Acts
Laws passed by the British Parliament to punish Massachusetts and Boston after the Boston Tea Party. They passed the Boston Port Bill, the Massachusetts Government Act, the Administration of Justice Act, and a new Quartering Act. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
The first major battle of the American Revolution where the British defeated the Americans. Despite their loss, the Americans gained a confidence boost from the number of casualties they inflicted. It sent a strong message to both the British and the colonists what the upcoming Revolutionary War would be like. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The first battles of the Revolutionary War. When British troops are sent to confiscate colonial weapons, they run into an untrained and angry militia. They defeated 700 British soldiers and the surprise victory bolsters their confidence for the war ahead. -
Second Continental Congress
It managed the Colonial war effort. They first authorized the creation of a Continental Army, then tried to peacefully resolve the conflict, then finally, they declared independence from Britain. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence summarized the colonists' motivations for seeking independence from Britain. -
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. -
Common Sense
Common Sense is a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies. It challenged the authority of the British government and the royal monarchy. -
Battle of Saratoga
A decisive victory to the Americans over the British in the American Revolutionary War. -
Treaty of Alliance
A defensive alliance between France and the United States of America, formed in the midst of the American Revolutionary War, which promised mutual military support against the British. It was critical to the United States gaining independence. -
Articles of Confederation
An early version of the US Constitution that was created as a governing agreement among the 13 original colonies/states to fight the Revolution and establish some limited federal power. They established the first national government of the United States. -
Lord Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington
British General Charles Cornwallis formally surrenders at Yorktown, Virginia, ending the American Revolution. -
Treaty of Paris (American Revolution)
An agreement between the British and the Americans that formally ended the American Revolutionary War. The British acknowledged the independence of the United States and granted the U.S. significant western territory. -
Newburgh Conspiracy
A plan by Continental Army officers to challenge the authority of the Confederation Congress. The officers were frustrated with Congress's long-standing inability to meet its financial obligations to the military. -
Annapolis Convention
A meeting was to discuss the commercial problems troubling the United States under the Articles of Confederation. It also pointed out and addressed the problems of the Articles of Confederation. -
Shays’ Rebellion
Daniel Shays led four thousand rebels in a protest against perceived economic and civil rights injustices through a series of violent attacks on courthouses and other government properties in Massachusetts. -
Constitutional Convention
A meeting to address the problems of the weak central government that existed under the Articles of Confederation. -
Northwest Ordinance
Established a government for the Northwest Territory, outlined the process for admitting a new state to the Union, and guaranteed that newly created states would be equal to the original thirteen states. -
The Federalist Papers published
A 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. -
Election (Inauguration) of George Washington
The inauguration marked the commencement of the first four-year term of George Washington as President. -
Beginning of the French Revolution
A period of far-reaching social and political upheaval in France and its colonies. One main cause was people were asking the king for reforms in the taxation policy along with other development reforms. -
Washington DC chosen as the capital
It was established by the Constitution of the United States to serve as the nation's capital. -
Hamilton’s First Report on Public Credit
Alexander Hamilton's First Report on the Public Credit called for payment in full on all government debts as the foundation for establishing government credit. -
First Bank of the United States Chartered
It was necessary to stabilize and improve the nation's credit, and to improve handling of the financial business of the United States government under the newly enacted Constitution. -
Whiskey Rebellion
An uprising of farmers and distillers in western Pennsylvania in protest of a whiskey tax enacted by the federal government. -
Bill of Rights ratified
The first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, became the law of the land. The amendments were designed to protect the basic rights of U.S. citizens. -
Hamilton’s Report on Manufactures
Urged congress to promote manufacturing so that the United States could be "independent on foreign nations for military and other essential supplies." -
Citizen Genêt Affair
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. Washington regarded these actions as a clear violation of American neutrality and demanded that France recall its minister. -
Battle of Fallen Timbers
The final battle of the Northwest Indian War, a struggle between Native American tribes affiliated with the Western Confederacy against the United States for control of the Northwest Territory. -
Pinckney’s Treaty
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. -
Treaty of Greenville
It established a set boundary of the lands of the Native Americans and the land open for European settlements. -
Jay’s Treaty
An agreement that relieved antagonisms between the United States and Great Britain, established a base upon which America could build a sound national economy, and assured its commercial prosperity. -
Election of John Adams
It was the first test of whether the nation could transfer power through a contested election. The Federalists chose Vice President John Adams as their presidential candidate, and the Republicans selected Thomas Jefferson. -
XYZ Affair
A diplomatic incident between the United States and France that led to an undeclared war called the Quasi-War. -
Quasi-War with France
An undeclared war fought almost entirely at sea between the United States and France. It began shortly after the Jay Treaty took effect when the French began seizing American ships trading with Britain. -
Alien and Sedition Acts
They made it harder for an immigrant to become a citizen, allowed the president to imprison and deport non-citizens who were deemed dangerous or who were from a hostile nation, and criminalized making false statements that were critical of the federal government. -
Election of Thomas Jefferson
It marked the first time that power in America passed from one party to another. -
Judiciary Act of 1800
A partisan political attempt by Federalists in Congress and the John Adams administration to pack the federal courts with Federalists. It reduced the size of the Supreme Court from six justices to five and eliminated the justices' circuit duties.
