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Marquis de Lafayette
Marquis de Lafayette 6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States simply as Lafayette, was a French aristocrat and military officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War, commanding American troops in several battles -
Proclamation of 1763
in 1763, at end of the French and Indian War, the British issued a proclamation,mainly intended to conciliate the Indians by checking the encroachment of settlers on their lands. This royal proclamation, which closed down colonial expansion westward, was the first measure to affect all thirteen colonies. -
french and indian war
The French and Indian War was the North American conflict in a larger imperial war between Great Britain and France known as the Seven Years' War. The French and Indian War began in 1754 and ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763. The war did not begin well for the British. -
sugar act
The Sugar Act was passed by Parliament on 5 April 1764, and it arrived in the colonies at a time of economic depression. It was an indirect tax, although the colonists were well informed of its presence. Also they argued that the profit margin on rum was too small to support any tax on molasses. -
Townshend act
The Townshend Acts were actually a series of taxes and laws imposed upon the colonists. The first, the Townshend Revenue Act, placed a tax on glass, paint, oil, lead, paper, and tea. Other bills included in the Townshend Acts contributed to the colonists' angry reaction. -
Boston massacre
The Boston Massacre was a street fight that occurred on March 5, 1770, between a "patriot" mob, throwing snowballs, stones, and sticks, and a squad of British soldiers. Several colonists were killed and this led to a campaign by speech-writers to rouse the ire of the citizenry. -
Tea act
The Tea Act, passed by Parliament on May 10, 1773, granted the British East India Company Tea a monopoly on tea sales in the American colonies. The passing of the Tea Act imposed no new taxes on the American colonies. The tax on tea had existed since the passing of the 1767 Townshend Revenue Act. -
Boston tea party
The Boston Tea Party was a political and mercantile protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 16, 1773. They boarded the ships and threw the chests of tea into Boston Harbor. The British government responded harshly and the episode escalated into the American Revolution. -
Intolerable act
The laws were meant to punish the Massachusetts colonists for their defiance in the Tea Party protest in reaction to changes in taxation by the British to the detriment of colonial goods. In Great Britain, these laws were referred to as the Coercive Acts. -
Common sense
Common Sense was a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775–76 advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies. Written in clear and persuasive prose, Paine marshaled moral and political arguments to encourage common people in the Colonies to fight for egalitarian government. -
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and the third U.S. president, was a leading figure in America's early development. During the American Revolutionary War 1775-83, Jefferson served in the Virginia legislature and the Continental Congress and was governor of Virginia. -
France provides aid to the colonist
France did a great deal to help the American colonists during their war for independence from the United Kingdom. The French did not get involved in the American Revolution right away. The French did want to support the Americans because they wanted to hurt Great Britain -
lexington and concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord, fought on April 19, 1775, kicked off the American Revolutionary War. Tensions had been building for many years between residents of the 13 American colonies and the British authorities, particularly in Massachusetts. -
Bunker hill
On June 17, 1775, early in the Revolutionary War (1775-83), the British defeated the Americans at the Battle of Bunker Hill in Massachusetts. Despite their loss, the inexperienced colonial forces inflicted significant casualties against the enemy, and the battle provided them with an important confidence boost. -
olive branch petition
John Dickinson drafted the Olive Branch Petition, which was adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 5 and submitted to King George on July 8, 1775. It was an attempt to assert the rights of the colonists while maintaining their loyalty to the British crown. -
Battle of trenton
The Battle of Trenton was a small but pivotal battle during the American Revolutionary War which took place on the morning of December 26, 1776, in Trenton, New Jersey. After a brief battle, almost two-thirds of the Hessian force was captured, with negligible losses to the Americans. -
Valley forge
Valley Forge was chosen for many reasons. Here are a few: The British were occupying Philadelphia for the winter. The American Army needed to keep an eye on them and prevent them from foraging in the countryside for food they needed. -
Articles of confederation
Articles of Confederation, 1777 1781. The Articles of Confederation served as the written document that established the functions of the national government of the United States after it declared independence from Great Britain. Benjamin Franklin had drawn up a plan for Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. -
Battle of saratoga
Fought eighteen days apart in the fall of 1777, the two Battles of Saratoga were a turning point in the American Revolution. On September 19th, British General John Burgoyne achieved a small, but costly victory over American forces led by Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold.
