-
Period: to
French and Indian War
The cause of the French and Indian war was the British and the French both wanting the Ohio River Valley. Both sides allied with different groups of Indians. In the end, the British win. The French lost almost all their territories in North America. -
Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 was a document that was made after the French and Indian war to reward the Indians that helped the British defeat the French. This document stated that the land west of the Appalachian Mountains was reserved for the Indians. There was no way to enforce this law so the colonists settled west anyways. -
Sugar Act
This law was passed by Parliament. England began taxing the colonists to pay for war debt from the French and Indian war. This law taxed sugar and molasses. This affected mainly the northern colonies. The significance of this law was that the tax on sugar was to refill parliaments empty treasury. The colonists, especially in the north were very angry about this law and it was eventually repealed. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act required an official government stamp on all documents. This law was passed by Parliament. This began a lot of protesting groups such as the Sons of Liberty (led by Samuel Adams and protested and harassed British stamp agents), and the Stamp Act Resolves which was passed by the House of Burgesses were a series of laws in response to the Stamp Act. -
Quartering Act
The Quartering Act required colonists to provide food, drink, and living space to British soldiers. -
Period: to
Stamp Act Congress
In 1765, delegates met in New York to discuss the Stamp Act. They decided that Parliament could not tax the colonies since the colonies did not have representation in Parliament. -
Townshend Acts
Parliament passed the Townshend Acts in 1767 which taxed led, paper, glass, and tea from England. The money would just be for British profit. The colonists responded by boycotting British good. -
Boston Massacre
- Protesting, unarmed colonists were harassing British soldiers
- Captain Preston came to try to stop the crowd of colonists
- Someone heard someone yell "fire"
- 5 unarmed colonists were killed
-
Boston Tea Party
Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty dressed as Natives and dumped 92,000 pounds of tea into Boston Harbor in response to the Townshend Acts and the tax on tea. The British responded by passing the Intolerable Acts. -
Intolerable Acts
Massachusetts colonists were mainly affected by the Intolerable acts because they were held responsible for the Boston Tea Party. The Intolerable Acts shut down the Boston Harbor, made all trials in the colonies be sent to Britain to be tried by a British judge, and more. The First Continental Congress met in response to the Intolerable Acts. -
Quebec Act
The Quebec Act was made to institute a permanent administration in Canada replacing the temporary government created after the Proclamation of 1763. This is often recognized as a source of American resentment toward British rule. -
Period: to
First Continental Congress
In September 1774 in Philadelphia delegates met from each of the colonies (except Georgia) including the founding fathers George Washington, Patrick Henry, John Adams, and John Jay. Their purpose of meeting was to defend the colonies right to run their own government, decided no military actions were gonna be taken, and they agreed to meet again. -
Battle of Concord & Lexington
There was a rumor of a large stockpile of guns and ammunition hidden in concord. General Gage ordered redcoats to seize the stockpile and find Samuel Adams and John Hancock. Paul Revere and the Sons of Liberty warned the colonists of approaching British troops. 70 minutemen from the colonies waited on the British to approach. This is known as the first battle of the American Revolution. 73 british soldiers were killed and 49 colonists were killed. -
Period: to
Second Continental Congress
On May 1775 in Philadelphia delegates from 12 of the 13 colonies met again, including George Washington Samuel Adams, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, and Patrick Henry. In this meeting they created the Continental Army and made the leader George Washington, wrote the Declaration of Causes and Necessity of Taking up Arms, sent the Olive Branch Petition, and issued currency. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought in June 1775 in Boston. The redcoats stormed the hill 3 times but was forced to retreat. The colonists were successful the first 2 fights, but the British was successful the 3rd time because the colonists ran out of ammunition. This battle gave the colonists the confidence they needed. -
Declaratory Acts
The Declaratory Act was passed after Parliament repealed the Stamp Act and declared that Parliament still had the right and power to rule and tax the colonists. -
Common Sense
Common Sense was wrote by Thomas Paine to try to get undecided colonists to side with the Patriots and support independence. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson and signed on July 2 and approved on July 4, 1776. The significance was that it was the first formal announcement of the break with England. The 3 main ideas were "inalienable rights", unfair laws and taxes and the violation of the social contract. All the colonies had copies of the Declaration of Independence and each colony declared itself as an independent state.
