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French & Indian War
The war provided Great Britain enormous territorial gains in North America, but disputes over subsequent frontier policy and paying the war's expenses led to colonial discontent, and ultimately to the American Revolution. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was passed by the British Parliament on March 22, 1765. The new tax was imposed on all American colonists and required them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used. -
Townshend Act
Initiated taxes on glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea to help pay the expenses involved in governing the American colonies. -
Boston Massacre
British sentries guarding the Boston Customs House shot into a crowd of civilians, killing three men and injuring eight, two of them mortally. -
Boston Tea Party
American colonists were frustrated and angry at Britain for imposing “taxation without representation,” and dumped 342 chests of tea, imported by the British East India Company into the harbor. -
1st Continental Congress
Delegates from twelve of Britain's thirteen American colonies met to discuss America's future under growing British aggression. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776 by Thomas Jefferson as a break up with England. -
Treaty of Paris
This agreement recognized U.S. independence and granted the U.S. significant western territory. -
Shays Rebellion
A violent insurrection in the Massachusetts countryside that brought about by a monetary debt crisis at the end of the American Revolutionary War. -
Signing of US Constitution
39 of the 55 delegates signed the new document, with many of those who refused to sign objecting to the lack of a bill of rights.