Events Leading up to the American Revolution

  • French and Indian War

    It pitted the colonies of British America against those of New France, each side supported by military units from the parent country and by American Indian allies.
  • Albany Plan

    Was a plan to create a unified governement for the Thirteen Colonies, suggested by Benjamin Franklin, then a senior leader and a delegate from Pennsylvania, at the Albany Congress.
  • Proclamation of 1763

    It prohibited American colonists from settling west of the Appalachian. The Treaty of Paris, which marked the end of the French and Indian War, granted Britain a great deal of valuable North American land.
  • Sugar Act

    Was a law that attempted to curb the smuggling of sugar and molasses in the colonies by reducing the previous tax rate and enforcing the collection of duties.
  • Stamp Act

    An act of the British Parliament that exacted revenue from the American colonies by imposing a stamp duty on newspapers and legal and commercial documents.
  • Quartering Act

    Is a name given to two or more Acts of British Parliament requiring local governments of the American colonies to provide the British soldiers with housing and food.
  • Townshed Acts

    Were a series of British acts of Parliament passed during 1767 and 1768 relating to the British colonies in America.
  • Boston Massacre

    Was a deadly riot that occurred 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.
  • Boston Tea Party

    Was a political and mercantile protest by the sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts.
  • Intolerable Acts (aka Coercive Acts)

    Was a package of five laws implemented by the British government with the purpose of restoring authority in its colonies.
  • First Continental Congress

    Was a meeting of delegates from 12 of the 13 British colonies that became the United States.
  • Lexington and Concord

    Were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War.