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1st Navigation Acts
The Navigation Acts were put in place because of the idea of Mercantilism. Mercantilism is the idea that there is a set amount of money in the world, and that if a country loses money, another country gains money. Because Britain wanted to be as wealthy as possible, so they put in place the Navigation Acts. These restricted trade of the colonies. All trade had to be done through British ships. Trade could only be with Britain for many products, and enemies of the British could not be traded with -
Salem Witch Trials
The Salem Witch Trials was the seeking out of witches. This witch hunt was conducted by the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Salem Witch Trials was the reason for hundreds of Puritan community members, mostly women, to be killed because they were accused of being witches. Since state and church were the same, and witchcraft was against the Bible, witchcraft was a capital offense. The mass paranoia of the Salem Witch Trials ended when a governor's wife was accused of witchcraft. -
Benjamin Franklin writes Poor Richard's Almanack
Benjamin Franklin made many contributions to society during his lifetime. One of these was the book Poor Richard's Almanack. This book was the guide to everyday life, and it included information that helped people, such as what the growing season was supposed to be like. This book was so important to the everday life of colonists, it was the second most owned book, besides the Bible. -
John Edwards begins Great Awakening
After the Enlightenment, many colonists stopped coming to church. To revive religion, John Edwards began the Great Awakening. John Edwards was a preacher, and to bring more attention back to the church, he traveled through the colonies preaching. One of his most famous sermons was Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. This sermon spoke of how if you don't live religiously, you will go to Hell. This traveling sermon changeed religion and how it was viewed, but it brought people back to religion. -
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7 Years' War
The 7 Years' War, also known as the French and Indian War in the colonies, was a war between England and France. The English fought off the French in Europe, while the colonists defeated the French and Native Americans basically without aid from Britain. The result of the war made the colonists feel proud, and they found that they were self-sufficient, they didn't need the mother country for everything. England had a large debt from this war. -
Proclamation of 1763
After the French and Indian War, Britain and its colonies gained a large sum of land in North America. After Pontiac's uprising, the English government established the Proclamation of 1763, which stated that the land west of the Appalachian Mountains could not be settled. The reason this was done was to protect the colonists from Native Americans. However, the colonists were very angered by the proclamation and felt that they had earned the right to that land. -
Sugar Act
The Sugar Act was the first instance of the mother country attempting to gain revenue through taxation of the colonies. They did this by placing a tax on sugar imported into the colonies. After colonial protest, the tax was lowered low enough that colonists could accept the tax. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was the taxation of the colonies by the British on certain papers and documents. This angered the colonists, especially since they had no representation in Parliament. Colonists were very angry about the Stamp Act, and asked the King and Parliament to repeal the act. They were denied the repeal, so groups like the Sons of Liberty took matters into their own hands. They killed off or drove off stamp tax collectors. Since no one collected the tax, it was eventually repealed. -
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts were laws established by Charles Townshend, who wanted to put the colonies in their place. The Townshend acts were taxes placed on certain goods, like tea and glass. The tax was an indirect customs duty, so it could be paid at American ports. The colonists were angered by this tax because even though it was minimal, it still went against the concept of "no taxation without representation". The boycotting of the goods affected by this tax was not effective. -
Boston Massacre
In response to smuggling in Boston, Britain sent over two regiments of troops. The colonists, who were Liberty-loving, taunted these troops maliciously. When these taunts escalated to throwing snowballs at the bloody backs, the group of nervous troops fired into the crowd. Eleven were wounded or killed, and this became known as the Boston Massacre. -
Committee of Correspondence formed
The Committees of Correspondence were began by Samuel Adams. He formed the first committee, and nearly eighty were formed within the colony of Boston. Their main function were to spread the spirit of opposition to the British and their policies. They did this by exchanging letters with one another. -
Governor Hutchinson provokes Boston Tea Party
Governor Hutchinson wanted to stop the boycotting rebels. Since they wanted to prevent British tea ships from unloading their cargo, he refused to allow this rebellion. He ordered that the ships not leave the harbor until they had unloaded all their tea. This angered the colonists, and some of the radicals dressed up as Native Americans and went to the harbor at night, dumping all the tea into Boston Harbor. -
Intolerable Acts
In response to the Boston Tea Party, the King and Parliament issued the Intolerable Acts. Boston lost many rights, it lost its representative government and Boston Harbor was closed until the tea was repaid. British officers were also now tried in Britain rather than America. This led many colonists to believe that the officers would get away with murder. The Quebec Act also extended the range of the Quebec territory. This spread Roman Catholicism, which surprised the Protestant colonists. -
1st Continental Congress
The first Continental Congress was a convention of fifty five leaders from all the colonies except Georgia. It was a convention to discuss how they should get England to return to the days before the colonies were heavily taxed. The Continental Congress came up with many important ideas, such as grievances to file with England, the Declaration of Rights, and The Association. The Association was the idea that all British goods would be boycotted by the colonists. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
In 1775, troops from Boston marched to Lexington and Concord to secure colonial weapon stores and to capture "rebel" leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock. The Lexington minute men were shot for getting in the way. When the British continued to Concord, they were forced to retreat by the prepared Americans there. The British were surprised at the Americans. -
2nd Continental Congress
The second Continental Congress met to discuss the idea of independence for the colonies. All thirteen colonies were represented at this convention. The convention didn't want independence, but to be recognized by Britain by their fighting that the grievances of the colonies needed to be addressed. The assembly also raised money for war and tried to establish an army and navy. War was on the horizon. -
Thomas Paine's Common Sense
Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense to rally support for the idea of an independent America. He based his document on ideas about government, saying that states were only lawful because the powers are distributed by the governed. He also based his idea on the sense that the little island of Britain shouldn't control a much larger America. Because of the ideas that colonists could relate to, Paine's Common Sense was very influential for the decision of independence. -
The Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was approved by Congress on July 4th, 1776. It declared that the colonies were independent from British rule. The Declaration of Independence began with describing human rights and natural rights. It then went into detail about the grievances of the colonies with King George III's rule. The Declaration of Independence now made the colonies separate from Britain in this war, meaning that foreign aid would be possible. This became essential in the Patriots' victory. -
Battle of Saratoga
The Battle of Saratoga is considered the turning point in the war. Britain offered the Americans home rule after there loss in the battle. The Americans had originally wanted this, but they refused the offer. Because of Benjamin Franklin's diplomatic endeavors in France, France agreed to aid America in their fight against Britain. After France agreed to help, Spanish and Dutch aid also agreed to help America. The Spanish and French supplied the naval presence that helped defeat the British navy. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris marked the end of the American Revolution. As part of losing, the British recognized the independence of the United States. They also gave them the lands up to the Mississippi, up to the Great Lakes, and down to Spanish Florida. They also kept some fishing boundaries. America still had to stop Loyalist persecution and were recommended to give back Loyalist property. How the Loyalist debts were handled would be hurtful later in these countries.