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Albany Plan of Union
In response to French attacks on the frontier, Benjamin Franklin proposed the Albany Plan of Union to unite the colonies. The colonies rejected the plan, however, because it gave too much power to an assembly mad up of representatives from all 13 colonies. -
George III becomes king of Great Britain
This was one of two events that changed the relationship between the colonies and Britain because he had different ideas about how the colonies should be governed. He wanted to deal firmly with the colonies, and imposed levied taxes on tea, sugar, glass, paper, and other products. This was called the Stamp Act of 1765. -
French and Indian War 1756-1763
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 control of the eastern third of the continent. -
Stamp Act
George III, in order to help pay for the war, levied taxes on tea, sugar, glass, paper, and other products. The Stamp Act of 1765 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. -
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 Tax. -
Boston Tea Party
A group of colonists, 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 Parliament passed the Coercive Acts, which the colonists called the Intolerable Acts. One of these acts closed Boston Harbor. Another withdrew the right of the Massachusetts colony to govern itself. By the early 1770s, the revolution was not far off. -
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. Samuel Adams established the first committee in Boston. Prominent members included- 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 the colonies escept Georgia met in Philadelphia on Sept. 5, 1774, for the First Continental Congress. Key colonial leaders such as Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, Richard Henry Lee, and George Washington attended, The delegates discussed the relationship with Great Britain. They finally imposed an embargo on Britain and agreed not to use British goods. -
Second Continental Congress
Within three weeks of the First Continental Congress, delegates from all 13 colonies gathered in Philadelphia for the Second Continental Congress. The Continental Congress immediately assumed the powers of a central government. It chose John Hancock of Massachusetts as president, Hancock was a well known leader, and a wealthy merchant who could help raise funds for an army. It served as the government throughout the war. -
Lexington and Concord
George III saw that the colonies were in a state of rebellion, and said, "Blows must decide whether they are to be subject to this country or independent." The first blow fell early in the morning when British Redcoats clashed with colonial minutemen at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. This skirmish was the first battle of the Revolutionary War. -
Resolution of Independence
A year into the war, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia 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
After Lee's resolution, Congress named a committee of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman to prepare a written declaration of independence. The committee asked Jefferson to write the draft. June 28 the first draft was submitted. July 2 the Congress approved Lee's resolution, and the colonies broke from Great Britain. July 4 the final draft was approved and all 56 delegates signed it.
