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Mid 1600s, Enlightenment
The Enlightenment began in western Europe in the mid-1600s and continued until the late 18th century. It was driven by skepticism about traditional ideas and beliefs, intellectual curiosity, and a desire for social, political, and technical progress.
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French & Indian War
was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the start of the war, the French colonies had a population of roughly 60,000 settlers, compared with 2 million in the British colonies The outnumbered French particularly depended on the natives. click here for more information -
Stamp Act
On March 22, 1765, the British Parliament passed the “Stamp Act” to help pay for British troops stationed in the colonies during the Seven Years' War. The act required the colonists to pay a tax, represented by a stamp, on various forms of papers, documents, and playing cards. Click here for more information -
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1761 Townshend Act
The Townshend Revenue Act proposed that Britain would collect small taxes on certain products that were shipped to colonial ports. Parliament thought the colonies could have no objection; this was a tax on trade items, an "external tax," the kind of tax the colonies had always paid. Click here for more information -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a deadly riot that occurred on March 5, 1770, on King Street in Boston. It began as a street brawl between American colonists and a lone British soldier but quickly escalated to a chaotic, bloody slaughter.
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Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a political protest that occurred on December 16, 1773, at Griffin’s Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts. American colonists, frustrated and angry at Britain for imposing “taxation without representation,” dumped 342 chests of tea, imported by the British East India Company into the harbor.
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First Continental Congress Meets
On September 5, 1774, the first Continental Congress in the United States met in Philadelphia to consider its reaction to the British government's restraints on trade and representative government after the Boston Tea Party.
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Declaration Of Independence Adopted
When the Declaration of Independence was adopted, it was a call for the right to statehood rather than individual liberties. Click here for more information -
Battle of Yorktown
The outcome in Yorktown marked the conclusion of the last major battle of the American Revolution and the start of a new nation's independence. Click here for more information -
Treaty of Paris Signed
This ended the Revolutionary War between Great Britain and the United States, recognized American independence, and established borders for the new nation. Click here for more information -
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Constitutional Convention
Near the end of the convention, a committee of Style and Arrangement kneaded it into its final form, condensing 23 articles into seven in less than four days. Click here for more information -
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3/5 Compromise
Benjamin Harrison suggested that an enslaved person should be counted as half of one person. Several representatives from New England attempted to argue the number up to three-fourths before Founding Father James Madison proposed the three-fifths number. Click here for more information -
Constitution is Ratified
The Delaware legislature became the first to ratify the Constitution by a vote of 30-0 on December 7, 1787. Click here for more information -
Bill of Rights Adopted
The first 10 amendments to the Constitution make up the Bill of Rights. Click here for more information
