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Albany Plan
In 1754, The British Board of trade called a meeting of seven of the northern colonies at Albany. The meeting was called to discuss the many problems of colonial trade and danger of attacks from the French. Benjamin Franklin here offered the Albany Plan of Union, which proposed a unified government for the thirteen colonies and gave them the power to raise military and naval forces, make peace, and regulate trade. The plan, later rejected, began the events leading to the Declaration. -
The Stamp Act
People resented the new harsh taxes the British Parliament had passed, including The Stamp Act of 1765. It required the use of stamps on all legal documents, certain business agreements, and newspapers. Colonists resisted and started "taxation without representation." In October of 1765, nine colonies sent delegates to meetings with the Stamp Act Congress and prepared a strong protest. However, Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, which angered colonists into a revolt that sparked revolution. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre began simply as a street fight between a British soldier and a few American colonists (as colonists were already angry enough). It soon escalated when a soldier supposedly heard someone say "fire," (though it is unclear whether it was intentional) and a shot rang out, causing others to fire and create a massacre of chaotic, bloody slaughter. This aided anti-British sentiment, and helped carve a path to the American Revolution, and later, the Declaration of Independence. -
Boston Tea Party
Organized resistance was carried on through the Committees of Correspondence, led by leader Samuel Adams. It soon spread through the colonies, providing exchange and cooperation information among the patriots. The protests continued, which led to a huge act of resistance. On December of 1773, a group of men disguised as Native Americans boarded three tea ships, dumping the tea into the sea to protest against the British tea trade. This would later lead to more problems within the colonies. -
Intolerable Acts
In Spring of 1774, Parliament passed yet another set of harsh laws, primarily to punish the colonists for their actions (The Boston Tea Party). These new laws were denounced as the Intolerable Acts, and further infuriated colonists, and prompted widespread calls for a meeting of the colonies. -
The First Continental Congress
At the First Continental Congress, a meeting of delegates of the twelve colonies in Philadelphia , some leaders defended the colonists against the Intolerable Acts. The Congress discussed the issue for around two months, then finally sent a Declaration of Rights as protest against King George III. They urged colonists to avoid trade with England, and to enforce boycott. It ended on October 26, 1774, but the British government still would cause problems, and anger colonists further. -
Battle of Lexington and Concord
The Battle of Lexington and Concord was a battle that took place on April 19, 1775, and kicked off the beginning of the Revolutionary War. On the night of April 18, 1775, hundreds of British troops marched from Boston to nearby Concord to seize an arms cache. A confrontation at Lexington caused the British to cease fire, and many intense battles that made up the Revolution continued, as colonists fought for their independence. -
American Revolution
By 1775, The American Revolution had officially been recognized. This was a colonial revolt that was at its breaking point as a result of Britain's harsh laws. The "shot heard around the world" (the Boston Massacre) had been fired. The Battle of Lexington and Concord had been fought three weeks earlier. This revolution spanned from 1775-1783, as it was a fight for american independence from the colonists, that would end soon after the formal document of the Declaration of Independence. -
Second Continental Congress
During the winter of 1775-1775, the British government refused to compromise, and had reacted to the Declaration of Rights with even stricter means. The Second Congress met in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775, and realized their need for independence. The meeting of the thirteen colonies lasted till March 1, 1781 when the Articles of Confederation went into effect, and served as the first form of government of the U.S for 5 years from the adoption of the Declaration. -
Declaration of Independence
On July 4, 1776, the Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. The Second Continental congress had adopted the document after Thomas Jefferson wrote it to contain some ideas of the delegates and the idea of independence for the colonists from Britain. After many revisions to suit the needs of the people, it was put into affect, and and helped serve the Second Congress to be the United States' first form of government on no constitutional basis.
