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The Enlightenment
The Enlightenment, commonly referred to as the Age of Reason, was an intellectual and cultural movement that promoted science over blind faith and reason over superstition in the eighteenth century. -
French and Indian War
Beginning in 1754 and coming to a conclusion in 1763 with the Treaty of Paris. Great Britain made significant territory gains in North America as a result of the war, but disagreements over following frontier policies and how to pay for the war's costs ultimately stoked colonial unrest and sparked the American Revolution. -
Stamp Act of 1765
The law demanded that the colonists place a stamp, which stood in for a tax, on a variety of papers, documents, and playing cards. It was a direct tax imposed by the British government without the consent of the colonial legislatures. -
Townshend Act
The Townshend Acts, which put taxes on glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea, were introduced by Parliament to aid in covering the costs involved with overseeing the American colonies. Nonimportation. The colonies again decided to ban the purchase of British products in reaction to increasing tariffs. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a street brawl that took place on March 5, 1770, between a "patriot" crowd and a squad of British troops who were both throwing snowballs, stones, and clubs. Following the deaths of many colonists -
Boston Tea Party
American colonists, irritated and enraged at Britain for imposing "taxation without representation," dropped 342 chests of tea, imported by the British East India Company into the bay. -
Olive Branch Petition sent to England
On July 5th, 1775, Congress approved the Olive Branch Petition, which was intended to be conveyed to the King as a final effort to avoid a formal declaration of war. The Petition underlined their allegiance to the British monarchy and their citizenship privileges. -
Battle of Yorktown
British soldiers submitted to the Continental Army and their allies from France. The Treaty of Paris was ratified in 1783 after the American Revolution's final significant ground combat and subsequent peace talks with the British. -
Treaty Of Paris Signed
On September 3, 1783, the American colonies and Great Britain signed a treaty that put an end to the American Revolution and acknowledged the United States as an independent country. -
Great Compromise
Oliver Ellsworth and Roger Sherman, among others, suggested a bicameral legislature with proportionate representation in the lower house and equal representation of the states in the upper house. This proposal is frequently referred to as the Connecticut, or Great, Compromise. -
Articles of Confederation created
The Articles established a loose confederation of independent states with a meager central administration that transferred most authority to the member legislatures. A larger federal government was soon required, which prompted the Constitutional Convention in 1787. -
3/5 Compromise
During the 1787 Constitutional Convention, state delegates arrived to the Three-Fifths Compromise. In order to estimate a state's overall population for legislative representation and taxation, it was determined that three out of every five slaves were counted.