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Stamp Act Passed
The Stamp Act was passed by the parliament of Britain in 1765. It taxed all types of printed papers from newspaper and licenses to legal documents and even playing cards. This tax was forced on all American colonists. They had to pay or face legal trouble from the British army. Although the colonists were the ones getting taxed, they did not see a dime of that money. Colonists feared this was the gateway to a far worse taxation in the future and had to be stopped. -
The Sons of Liberty formed
The Sons of Liberty were a secretive group of political dissenters that formed after the Stamp Act was passed. The Sons of Liberty included household names like Samuel Adams, Benedict Arnold, and John Hancock. They were the architects of the Boston Tea Party, especially Samuel Adams. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre refers to when British soldiers shot and killed 5 colonists in 1770. The British soldiers just opened fire into a crowd and 3 people were killed immediately with 2 dying of their wounds later. This gave a boost to the American Revolution and intensified anti-British attituded at the time. It didn't help that the colonists and the British troops were already at each other's throats, this was the last straw for the colonists. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a protest against the crown of England. The people of the colonies were not fans of how the British rulers were getting rich off of their hard work. This was orchestrated by the Sons of Liberty in Boston Massachusets in the 12th of December 1773. -
American Revolution
This was a war fought by America against the powerful force that was Britain. America, just recently formed was fighting for her independence from the tyrannical rulers of Britain. The war was also influenced by political ideals and the American colonies were helped in their efforts by the French. -
Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson presented the United States Declaration of Independence. This came just weeks after the American Revolution was given a huge boost King Louis XVI of France. America declared itself free from Britain and would become its own independent and sovereign country. It was signed by representatives from all of the 13 colonies. -
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation was the very first Constitution of the newly formed United States. Under these articles, the states had sovereignty and the central government was very weak. For instance, it could not enforce its laws and it could not collect taxes. -
Treaty of Paris Ratified
The Revolutionary War came to an end officially in 1784 when the Treaty of Paris was ratified by Congress. Britain finally agreed to recognize the American colonies as independent and the United States of America was thus born. Both sides to release prisoners of war and pay back the debts they incurred during war times. -
Shay's Rebellion
Shay's Rebellion was a series of protests by farmers against the United States government on the grounds of taxation and debt judgments. The protest was named after Daniel Shays of Massachusetts who used to be a captain in the Continental army. The protests were most prominent in Massachusets but they were happening in all the other states as well. Farmers feared the loss of their farms due to a combination of high taxes, bad harvests, and economic depression. It lasted until 1787 -
Constitutional Convention
The Constitutional Convention was held in Philadelphia from may 25 to September 17 of 1787 in order to amend the Articles of Confederation. Instead of amending the articles, the delegates devised a completely new way to govern and came up with the Constitution of the United States. The power of the government was divided between branches and the constituion was made "The supreme law of the land".
