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Albany Plan of Union
In response to French attacks on the frontier, Benjamin Franklin proposed this plan for uniting the colonies. 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 of Great Britain
Became king in 1760. He had different ideas about how the colonies should be governed. He was determined to deal firmly with the 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 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
The Stamp Act of 1765 imposed the first direct tax on legal documents, pamphlets, newspapers, and even dice and playing cards. -
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 -
Coercive Acts
In retaliation of 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. -
Committees of Correspondence
These organizations were urging resistance to the British. Consisted of colonists who wanted to keep in touch with one another as events unfolded. Samuel Adams established the first committee in Boston. -
Second Continental Congress
Within three weeks, delegates from all thirteen colonies gathered in Philadelphia for the Second Continental Congress. It chose John Hancock of Massachusetts as president. The next critical steps were to organize an army and navy, to issue money, and to appoint George Washington as commander of the Continental Army. It served as the acting government of the colonies colonies throughout the war. It purchased supplies, negotiated treaties, and rallied support for the colonists cause. -
First Continental Congress
Delegates from all the colonies except Georgia met at Philadelphia, for the First Continental Congress. Delegates debated what to do about the relationship with great Britain. They finally imposed the embargo on Britain and agreed not to use British goods. -
Lexington and Concord
British Redcoats clashed with colonial minuteman at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. This skirmish was the first battle of the Revolutionary War. -
Resolution of Independence
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
Congress promptly named a committee of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman to prepare a written declaration of independence. On July 4, the Congress approved the final draft. It explained the reasons for declaring independence. Its actual title was "The unanimous declaration of the thirteen United States of America."
