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Albany Plan of Union
A plan for uniting the colonies proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1754 in response to French attacks on the frontier. Because the people believed it gave too much power to the representatives of the 13 colonies, however, it was rejected. -
French and Indian War
A power struggle between Britain and France, the two countries fought over lands in western Pennsylvania and Ohio. Britain won the war, but not without plunging into debt. War is expensive. -
George III becomes king of Great Britain
When George III becomes the King of Great Britain, the country was knee-deep in war debt. He decided to tax the colonies more, and this did not sit well with the colonists. -
Committees of Correspondence
Shadow governments organized by Patriot leaders near the beginning of the American Revolution. Became the beginning of a formal political union among the colonies. -
Stamp Act
To help pay for the war, a tax was placed on tea, sugar, glass, paper, and other products. This was the first tax placed directly on the colonists. This lead to a series of protests, one being the infamous Boston tea party, which would eventually lead to the repeal of the Stamp Act. -
Stamp Act Congress
The Stamp Act Congress was the first meeting of elected representatives from several of the American colonies to devise a unified protest against new British taxation. -
Boston Tea Party
It was a political protest by the Sons of Liberty, where participants dressed up as Mohawk Indians and threw large amounts of tea into the waters. This was in retaliation to the Tea Act. -
First Continental Congress
12 of the 13 delegates from the 13 colonies met up in response the intolerable acts. They discussed methods of retaliation, including an economic boycott of British trade. -
Coercive Acts
In response to the rebellion of the colonists, the Coercive Acts were essentially Britain's way of punishing the troublemakers. The Coercive Acts were made up five acts, being the Boston Port Act, the Massachussetts Government Act, the Administration of Justice Act, the Quartering Act, and the Quebec Act. -
Lexington and Concord
Being the first military engagements of the war, the British were marching from Concord to Lexington to seize a weapons cache when they were confronted by colonial militiamen. A battle then took place, resulting in the British fleeing from the scene. -
The Resolution of Independence
Also known as the Lee Resolution, it was a an act of the Second Continental Congress declaring the thirteen colonies to be independent of the British Empire. -
Declaration of Independence
Statement adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at the Pennsylvania State House which declared that the thirteen colonies regarded themselves as 13 sovereign states. -
Second Continental Congress
Though the first Continental Congress failed, this one managed to bring the colonies together to manage the war effort and ultimately win the revolution. This is when they adopted the Declaration of Independence.
