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Albany Plan of Union
In 1754, Benjamin Franklin proposed a plan for uniting the colonies--The Albany Plan of Union. The colonies rejected the plan, however, because it gave too much power to an assembly made up of representatives from all thirteen colonies. -
George III Becomes King
In 1760, George III became king. He had different ideas about how the colonies should be governed. He was determined to deal firmly with the American colonies. -
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. -
Stamp Act
To help pay for the war, the king and his ministers 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. Parliament also passed laws regulating colonal trade in ways that benefited Great Britain, but not the colonies. -
Stamp Act Congress
In 1765 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. -
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 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. By the early 1770s, events clearly showed that revolution was not far off. -
Committees of Correspondence
By 1773, organizations called committees of correspondence were urging resistance to the British. These committees were colonists who wanted to keep in touch with one another as events unfolded. Samuel Adams established the first committee in Boston. The idea spread quickly, and within months, Massachusetts had more than 80 committees. Virginia and other colonies soon joined in this communication network. Two prominent members of the Virginia committee 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 the colonies except Georgia met in Philadelphia for the First Continental Congress. The delegates debated what to do about the relationship with Great Britain. They finally imposed an embargo on Britain and agreed not to use British goods. They also proposed a meeting the following year if Britain did not change its policies. -
Lexington and Concord
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 the first battle of the Revolutionary War. -
Second Continental Congress
The Continental Congress immediately assumed the powers of a central government. It chose John Hancock of Massachusetts as president. The next step was to organize an army and navy, to issue money, and to appoint George Washington as commander of the Continental Army. The Second Continental Congress served as the acting government of the colonies throughout the war. It purchased supplies, negtotiated treaties, and rallied support for the colonists' cause. -
Resolution of Independence
More than a year after fighting had begun in the colonies, 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
On July 2, Congress approved Lee's resolution. The colonies officially broke with Great Britain. On July 4, the Congress approved the final draft of the Declaration of Independence. It explained the reasons for declaring independence. Its actual title was "The unanimous declaration of the thirteen United States of America.
