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Declaration of rights and Grievances is passed
In March, 1774, the British Parliament passed a series of laws they referred to as the Coercive Acts. The Americans called them the Intolerable Acts. The Acts were primarily designed to punish the colony of Massachusetts for defying British policies; specifically, for the Boston Tea Party. -
Boston Tea Party
after officials in Boston refused to return three shiploads of taxed tea to Britain, a group of colonists boarded the ships and destroyed the tea by throwing it into Boston Harbor. The incident remains an iconic event of American history, and other political protests often refer to it. -
First Continental Congress Meets
The Congress was attended by 56 members appointed by the legislatures of twelve of the Thirteen Colonies, the exception being the Province of Georgia, which did not send delegates. At the time, Georgia was considered a convict state and was not taken into consideration in the colonies.The Congress met briefly to consider options, including an economic boycott of British trade; rights and grievances; and petitioning King George III for redress of those grievances. -
Revolutionary War begins
Many of the colonies had been upset with Britain over taxes being levied for everyday items such as paper The Battle of Lexington was the first of the shots fired. Many of the colonists hoped for a resolution with Britain. Many colonists did not want to break with Britain. Only after the colonists realized that Britain was fully intending to invade the colonies, and force their cooperation at gunpoint, did the colonists decide that Britain could not be negotiated with. -
2nd Continental Congress Meets
The Second Continental Congress was presided over by John Hancock, who replaced the ailing Peyton Randolph, and included some of the same delegates as the first, but with such notable additions as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. -
Declaration of Independence is signed
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies, then at war with Great Britain, regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a resolution earlier in the year which made a formal declaration inevitable -
Articles of Confederation is signed
The Articles were in force from March 1, 1781, to March 4, 1789, when the present Constitution of the United States went into effect. During those years the 13 states were struggling to achieve their independent status, and the Articles of Confederation stood them in good stead in the process and exercise of learning self-government. -
Revolutionary War ends
The Revolutionary War finally ended only when the treaty of peace was signed by the British in Paris in 1783. It technically lasted for five years. Actually the American Revolutionary War did not start on one fine day or end in the same manner. -
Constitutional Congress opens
Monday May 14th 1787 was the day fixed for the meeting of the deputies in Convention for revising the federal system of Government. On that day a small number only had assembled. Seven States were not convened till, -
Final draft of the Constitution is signed
Members of the Constitutional Convention signed the final draft of the Constitution. Two days earlier, when a final vote was called, Edmund Randolph called for another convention to carefully review the Constitution as it stood. This motion, supported by George Mason and Elbridge Gerry, was voted down and the Constitution was adopted.
