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french indian war
The French-British conflict reignites after 6 relatively peaceful years. The French built Fort Duquesne on English land. -
Signing Treaty of Paris
The signing of the treaty of Paris is the official end of the war. -
Proclomation of 1763
Proclomatin prohibiting colonial expansion past the Appalachian Mountains. -
The Sugar Act
The sugar act halved the duty on foreign made molasses, put taxes on certain imports, and decided those violating those acts would be tried in an English court rather than a colonial one. Merchants and traders spoke out about these new taxes. -
The Stamp Act
It was a tax on all written documents. It was the first act that affected all the colonists because it levied goods and services. -
Sons of Liberty is formed
The Stamp Act caused much outrage against the crown. A group of Artisans and laborers, led by men like Samuel Adams, started a resistance group called the sons of liberty. -
John Locke
One of the key enlightenment thinkers -
The Declaratory Act
After repealing the Stamp Act, parlimant released a new one giving it power “to bind the colonies and people of America in all cases whatsoever.” -
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts taxed all goods imported into the colonies by Britain and placed a tax on tea. In response the Sons of Liberty boycotted English goods. -
Townshend acts repeal
Violence erupted in many places, most notably the Boston Massacre. Eventually all the Townshend Acts, except for the tax on tea were repealed. -
The Boston Massacre
In 1770, when an angry mob agitated a group of British soldiers, they fired into the crowd killing 5 people. Colonial leaders called this the Boston Massacre. -
The intolerable Acts
In response to the Boston Tea Party, British Parlimant passed a series of laws which came to be known as the Intolerable Acts. The first closed the Boston Harbor. Next was the Quartering Act which allowed troops to stay in the homes of the colonists. then, placed the British Commander-in-Chief as governer of Boston and placed it under martial law. -
First Continental Congress
The Continental Congress first met in Philidelphia and drew up a list of colonial rights. -
The Minutemen
After the first Continental Congress, many Eastern colonies formed civilian militias called the Minutemen -
The Midnight Riders
In April, 1775, Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel
Prescott rode out spreading word that British troops were headed for Concord. -
The Publication of Common Sense
In a widely read 50-page pamphlet titled Common Sense, Thomas Paine attacked King George and the monarchy -
Battle of Lexington
British troops came upon conlonial troops at Lexington. When someone fired fighting broke out between the two.Eight minutemen were killed and ten were wounded, but only one British soldier was injured. -
Battle of Concord
On their March back from Concord, Colonial troops attacked the British, killing them by the dozens. -
Second Continental Congress
Despite disagreements on whether to declare Independence, the Continental Congress decided to recognize the colonial militia and appoint George Washington as it's General. -
Continental Army
In 1775 the Continental Congress recognized the colonial minutemen as the Continental Army. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
General Thomas Gage sent 2400 men up Reed's hill the
colonists had lost 450 men, while the British had suffered over 1,000 casualties in this misnamed battle. -
Olive Branch Petition
The Congress sent a petition to George III asking for a return to the "former harmony" of the crown and it's colonies. -
Period: to
Redcoats push Washington’s army across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania
The Redcoats pushed Washingtons Army further and further south until he was forced to cross the Delaware River. -
Declaration of independence
By the early summer of 1776, the wavering Continental Congress finally decided to urge each colony to form its own government. On June 7, Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee moved that “these United Colonies are, and of a right ought to be, free and independent States.” While talks on this fateful motion were under way, the Congress appointed a committee to prepare a formal Declaration of Independence. Virginia lawyer Thomas Jefferson was chosen to prepare the final draft. -
Loyalists and Patriots
As the war began, Americans found themselves on different sides of the conflict. Loyalists—those who opposed independence and remained loyal to the British king. And Patriots—the supporters of independence. -
Washington’s Christmas night surprise attack
George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River, which occurred on the night of December 25–26, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War, was the first move in a surprise attack organized by George Washington against the Hessian forces in Trenton, New Jersey on the morning of December 26.