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Albany Plan of Union
Benjamin Franklin proposed a plan for united teh colonies after the French attacks on the frontier. However, the colonies rejected the plan because it gave too much power to an assembly made up of representatives from all 13 colonies. -
French and Indian War
When the Frencha and Indian War first started, it was a struggle between the French and British over lands in western Pennsylvania and Ohio. By 1756, many other European countries became involved. Great Britain won the war in 1763 and gained complete control of the eastern third of the continent. -
George III becomes king of Great Britain
He was determined to deal firmly with the American colonies. After the defeat of France meant American colonists no longer needed the British to protect them from the French. But the war cost the British. The British leaders believed teh coloniest should pay up. -
Stamp Act
This Act imposed the first direct tax on the colonists. It required them to pay a tax on legal documents, pamphlets, newspapers, and even dice and playin cards. Parliment also passed laws regulating colonial trade in ways that benefited Great Britain but not he colonies. -
Stamp Act Congress
Nine colonies sent delegates to a meeting in New York called the Stamp Act Congress. This was the first meeting organized my teh colonies to protest King George's actions. Delegates to the Congress sent a petition to the king, arguing that only colonial legislatures could impose direct taxes such as the Stamp Tax. -
Boston Tea Party
A group of colonies, dressed as Mohawk Indians, dumped 342 chests of British tea into Boston Harbor. This protest became known as the Boston Tea Party. -
Coercive Acts
In retaliation to the Boston Tea Party passed the Coercive Ats, which the colonists called the Intolerable Acts. One of these acts closed Boston Harbor. Another of the Coercive Acts withdrew the right of the Massaschusetts colony to govern itself. By the early 1770s, events clearly showed that revolution was not far off. -
Committees of Correspondence
This organization were urging resistance to the British. These committees consisted of colonists who wanted to keep in touch with one another as events unfolded. Samuel Adams established the first committee in Boston. -
First Continental Congress
The Intolerable Acts prompted Virginia and Massachusetts to call a general meeting of the colonies. Delegates from all the colonies except Georgia met in Philadelphia for the First Continental Congress. The delegates debated what to do about the relationship with Great Britian. They finally imposed an embargo, an agreement prohibiting trade, on Britian and agreed not to use British goods. -
Second Continental Congress
The Continental Congress immedialy assumed the powers of a central government. It chose John Hancock as president. The next critcal steps were to organize an army and navy, to issue money, and to appoint George Washington as commader of the Continental Army. It served as the acting government of the colonies throughout the war. It purchased supplies, negotiated treaties, and rallied support support for the coloniests' cause. -
Lexington and Concord
After the First Continental Congress agreed to prohibit trade with Britian, events moved quickly. The British adopted stronger measures. The first blow fell early on the morning of April 19, 1775. British Redcoats clashed with colonial minutemen at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. This skirmish was teh first battle of the Revolutionary War. -
Resolution of Independence
More than a year after fighting had begun in the colonies, Richard Henry Lee did declare independence. Lee introduced a resolution in the Continental Congress, "that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states." -
Declaration of Independence
The Congress approved Lee's resolution. The colonies officially broke with Great Britian. The Congress then turned its attention to Jefferson's draft and then on July 4, Congress approved the final draft. John Hancock was the first to sign it, then eventually held the signatures of all 56 delegates. It explained the reasons for declaring independence.
