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Declaration of Rights and grievances is passed
British Parliament passed a series of laws they referred to as the coercive acts. The Acts were designed to punish the colony of Massachusetts for defying British policies. During the First Congress, the delegates decided to take several actions, including a boycott of British goods. declaring that taxes imposed on British colonists without their formal consent were unconstitutional. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a direct action by colonists in Boston. After officials in Boston refused to return three shiploads of taxed tea to Britain, a group of colonists boarded the ships and destroyed the tea by throwing it into Boston Harbor. The Tea Party was the culmination of a resistance movement throughout British America against the Tea Act. The Boston Tea Party was a big event in the growth of the American Revolution. -
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First Continental Congress meets
There was a total of 56 members.The Congress had two primary accomplishments. The first was a compact among the colonies to boycott British goods beginning on December 1, 1774. All of the colonial Houses of Assembly approved the proceedings of the congress with the exception of New York and Georgia. -
Revolutionary War Begins
Great britain declared war against the colonies. When the war began, the 13 colonies lacked a professional army or navy. The British Army consisted of about 36,000 men worldwide, but wartime recruitment steadily increased this number. More than 25,000 American Revolutionaries died during active military service. -
2nd Continental Congress meets
The second Congress managed the colonial war effort, and moved incrementally towards independence. Many of the same 56 delegates who attended the first meeting were in attendance at the second. By raising armies, directing strategy, appointing diplomats, and making formal treaties, the Congress acted as the de facto national government of what became the United States. -
Declaration of Independence is signed
It contains American democratic traditions. It also outlines the major rights of people. Announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain were now independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration is a formal explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain, more than a year after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. -
Articles of Confederation is signed
Was an agreement among the 13 founding states that legally established the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states and served as its first constitution. the Articles provided domestic and international legitimacy for the Continental Congress to direct the American Revolutionary War. The committee appointed to draft the Articles in June 1776 met repeatedly and sent their draft to the individual states in November 1777, for their ratification. -
Revolutionary War ends
Great Britain did not have a large enough land military to deal with the colonies on land, which proved to be an issue. The United States would still be British colonies if the Revolutionary War was not won by the colonies which declared themselves to be the United States of America. With the assistance of other countries such as France and Spain, the colonies were able to fight for our independence. -
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Constitutional Congress opens
The delegates elected George Washington to preside over the convention. The result of the Convention was the United States Constitution, Placing the Convention among the most significant events in the history of the United States. The most contentious disputes revolved around the composition and election of the senate. -
Dinal draft of the Constitution is signed
The final draft of the Constitution was the work of Gouverneur Morris. The Constitution was written by several committees over the summer of 1787, but the committee most responsible for the final form we know today is the "Committee of Stile and Arrangement". The members were Alexander Hamilton, William Johnson, Rufus King, James Madison, and Gouverneur Morris. The actual text of the Preamble and of much of the rest of this final draft is usually attributed to Gouverneur Morris.