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Albany Plan of Union
In response to French attacks on the frontier, Benjamin Franklin proposed a plan for uniting the colonies. The colonies rejected this plan, because it gave to much power to an assembly made up of representatives from all thirteen colonies. -
George III becomes king of Great Britain
When George III became king, he was determined to deal firmly with American colonies. To help pay for the war, the king and his ministers levied taxes on tea, sugar, glass, paper, and other products. -
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War started as a struggle between the French and British over lands in western Pennsylvania and Ohio. By 1756 several other European countries became involved. Great Britain won the war in 1763 and gained complete control of the eastern third of the continent. The defeat of France meant American colonists no longer needed the British to protect them from the French. British had huge war bill. -
Stamp Act
The stamp 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 playing cards. Parliament even passed laws regulating colonial trade in ways that benefited Great Britain but not the 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 by the 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 Act. -
Coercive Act
In relation to the Boston Tea Party, Parliament passed the Coercive Acts, in which the colonists called the Intolerable Acts. This Act closed the Boston Harbor. Another one of the Acts withdrew the right of the Massachusetts colony to govern itself. -
Boston Tea Party
A group of colonists, dressed as Mohawk Indians, dumped 342 chests of British tea into Boston Harbor. It was the protests that became known as the Boston Tea Party. -
Committees of Correspondence
Organizations called committees of correspondence were urging resistance to the British. These committees consisted of colonists who wanted to keep in touch with one another as events unfolded. Sam Adams established the first committee in Boston. The idea spread quickly and many joined in this network. Two prominent members were Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry. -
First Continental Congress
The intolerable acts prompted Virginia and Massachusetts to call a general meeting of the colonies. Delegates from all colonies except from Georgia met in Philadelphia. The delegates debated on what to do with relationship with Great Britain. They finally imposed the embargo, prohibiting trade, and agreed to not use their goods. -
Second Continental Congress
Within three weeks of the start of the Battle of Lexington and Concord, delegates from all 13 colonies gathered in Philadelphia. It immediately assumed the powers of a central government. It chose John Hancock of Massachusetts as president. The next critical steps were to organize an army and navy, to issue money, and appoint George Washington as commander of the army. It also served as the acting government of the colonies throughout the war. -
Lexington and Concord
This was the first battle of the Revolutionary War. British redcoats clashed with colonial minutemen at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. -
Resolution of Independence
After Lee's resolution, congress promptly named a committee to prepare a written declaration of independence. -
Declaration of Independence
Congress promptly named a committee to prepare a written declaration of independence. Thomas Jefferson wrote it. The colonies officially broke with Great Britain, the on the 4th of July, Congress approved the document.
