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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 Albany Plan of Union. However, the colonies rejected the plan because it gave too much power to an assembly made up of representatives from all 13 colonies. -
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The French and Indian War
It started as a struggle between the French and British over lands in western Pennesylvania 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 war left Britain with a huge debt which Britain's leaders felt that the colonists had an obligation to pay. -
George III becomes king of Great Britain
King George III becomes king in 1760. He had different ideas about how the colonies should be governed, tightening control on the colonies. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act of 1756 impose 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 i New York called the Stamp Act Congress. this was the first meeting organized by the colonies to protest Kng Georgre'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. -
Committees of Correspondence
These committees consisted of colonist who wanted to keep in touch with one another as events unfolded and urged resistance to the British. Samual Adams established the first committee in Boston. With the idea spreading quickly, MA had more than 80 committees and VA, among other colonies, joined in this communication network. Two prominent members of the VA committee of correspondance were Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry. -
Boston Tea Party
In 1773, a group of colonists, dressed as Mohawk Indians, dumped 342 chests of British tea into Boston Harbor. -
Coercive Acts
In retaliation to the Boston Tea Party, Parliament passed the Coercive Acts, which the colonists called the Intolerable Acts. One of these acts closed Boston Harbor. Another of the Coercive Acts withdrew the right of the Massachusetts colony to govern itself. -
First Continental Congress
The Intolerable Acts prompted VA and MA to call a general meeting of the colonies. Delegates from all the colonies except Georigia met in Philadelphia for the First Continental Congress. Key colonial leaders that attended: Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, Richard Henery Lee, and George Washington.The delegates debated what to do about the relatioship with Great Britain. They finally impoosed an embargo on British goods and proposed another meeting in a year if Britain did not change their policies. -
Lexington and Concord
King George III decided to test whether the colonies would be part of Britain or independent. The first blow entailed the clashing of the Redcoats and colonial minutemen at Lexington and Concord, MA. This skirmish was the first battle of the Revolutionary War. -
Second Continental Congress
Three weeks after Lexington and Concord, delegates from all thirteen colonies met in Philadelphia for the Second Continental Congress. The Second Continental Congress immediately assumed the powers of the central government and remained that way throughout the war. John Hancock was chosen as president of the Continental Congress. There next steps were to organize an army/navy, to issue money, and appoint George Washington as commander of the Continetal Army. -
Resolution of Indepedence
Even after a year of war, there was still not a declaration of independence. Richard Henry Lee introduced a resolution in the Continental Congress "[t]hat these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states. After Lee's proposed resolution, Congress immediately put together a group to draft a written declaration of indepedence. Thomas Jeffereson wrote it up. On June 28 the committee submitted the draft to Congress. Congress accepted Lee's resolution on July 2, 1776. -
Declaration of Independence
After editorial changes were made to the draft, Congress approved the final draft of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776, and John Hancock was the first to sign the document. He was followed by the signatures of all 56 delegates. The Declaration of Indepenedence explained the reasons for declaring indepenedence. Its actual title was "The unanimous declaration of the thirteen United States of America."
