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Stamp Act Congress
In response to the recently-passed Stamp Act, colonial delegates decided that only the colonial assemblies themselves had the right to tax Americans. -
Townshend Acts
taxed glass, lead, paint, paper, and paint entering the colonies, the profits from which were to be used to pay salaries of the royal colonial governers -
Boston Massacre
When an unruly mob of colonists taunted a patrol of British troops with rocks and snowballs, redcoats fired back in an episode of chaos and confusion that supposedly commenced after the guards heard the order to fire. -
Boston Tea Party
In response to the Tea Act passed earlier that year, angry Bostonian colonists masqueraded as Indians and tossed hundreds of chests of British tea overboard three vessels. -
First Continental Congress
Prepared for possible British retaliation for Colonial resistence to taxed imports, delegates called upon all colonies to raise and train local militias. -
Second Continental Congress
Raised armies, directed strategy, appointed diplomats, and adopted the Declaration of Independence -
Declaration of Independence
Proclaimed American independence from Britain and listed grievances as evidence of George III's tyranny -
Articles of Confederation
Intended to severely limit the power of the central government, these articles only made the new country a confusing place. Congress had no power to tax, raise troops, regulate interstate commerce, &c, and Americans were unsure how to effectively divide power. -
Treaty of Paris
The British recognized American independence and defined the borders of the United States as along Canada to the north, the Mississippi to the west, and Spanish Florida to the south.
