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French and English Enlightenment
European politics, philosophy, science, and communications were radically reoriented as part of a movement referred to as the Age of Reason or the Enlightenment. Enlightenment thinkers in Britain, in France and throughout Europe questioned traditional authority and embraced the notion that humanity could be improved through rational change. -
John Locke
Locke is an English philosopher that introduced the natural rights of men and influenced the Declaration of independence. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
These battle were what started off the American Revolution. Tensions had been building for many years between residents of the colonies and the British authorities. On the night of April 18, 1775, hundreds of British troops were marching from Boston to nearby Concord in order to get some hidden weapons. An alarm was sounded by Paul revere and troops began their way to intercept them. America won while the British troops retreated. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was organized to help fight the war with Great Britain, and it ended up appointing George Washington commander in chief of the American Army -
George Washington
George Washington was named commander in chief. -
Olive Branch Petition
This petition was the final attempt to avoid going to war with Britain during the American Revolution by the colonist. It was a document in which the colonists pledged their loyalty to the crown and asserted their rights as British citizens. However, the king refused to see it given that his decision was already made about the colonist. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
Since the colonists heard that the British were trying to take over Bunker's hill they went to intervene that but lost the battle. Although they lost, they had a confidence boost since they caused a good amount of damage to the British. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence marked the independence of America from Great Britain. This caused even more conflict. Also, Thomas Jefferson took part in writing this document. -
Trenton
In the harsh winter, George Washington was faced with the annual crisis of the expiry of the Continental Army’s period of enlistment. To motivate people to enlist so they would have new troops, he surprised Hessians, German payed-soldiers, at Trenton, winning the battle. -
Princeton
After Washington convinced some of the American soldiers to stay 6 more weeks that the time they were meant to fight, he led his troops towards to Princeton where he heard the British were attacking. They were able to drive the British troops to New Brunswick which was the only place they were in New Jersey. -
Saratoga
In the first week of October 1777, Gate's American army was positioned between Burgoyne's army and Albany. On October 7, the troops crashed together south of the town of Saratoga, and 86 percent of Burgoyne's command was captured. The American victory in October 1777, the success at Saratoga gave France the confidence in the American cause to enter the war as an American ally. Later American successes owed a great deal to French aid in the form of financial and military assistance. -
Valley Forge
At Valley Forge, there was a six-month encampment of the Continental Army of the newly formed U.S. under the command of General George Washington, a few miles from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. No battle was fought here, but from December 19, 1777, to June 19, 1778, a struggle suffered from a shortage of food, clothing, and other supplies was overcome on this sacred ground. -
France and Spain
France and Spain came into the picture when they began helping the Americans fight battles. -
Treaty of Alliance
The Treaty of Alliance with France was a defensive alliance between France and the United States of America, formed during the American Revolutionary War, which promised mutual military support in case fighting should break out between French and British forces, as the result of signing the previously concluded Treaty of Amity and Commerce. The alliance was planned to endure indefinitely into the future. -
Treaty of Amity and Commerce
The Treaty of Amity and Commerce recognized the independence of the United States and established a strictly commercial treaty between America and France as an alternative to, and in direct defiance of, the British Acts of Trade and Navigation. The Treaty of Alliance, for mutual defense, was then signed in case Britain threw a fit. -
Cowpens
On 17th January 1781, Tarleton marched his force onto the battlefield and attacked immediately. As the British foot attacked, the Americans withdrew but in good order. The British line lost its cohesion, as it hurried to come to close quarters with the Americans, who repeatedly halted and gave fire. The Americans went onto the offensive and the British line, attacked in the front and the rear collapsed. The British troops continued to fight until forced to surrender. -
Yorktown Sept. 28 - Oct. 14
On 14th October 1781, the Americans and French stormed two places to retreat in front of the trenches of Cornwallis and his position in Yorktown became unable to maintain. On October 16th, Cornwallis attempted to pass across the York River but was stopped by a storm. With no sign of support, on 19th October 1781, Cornwallis’s army marched out of Yorktown and surrendered to George Washington. -
Treaty of Paris
The U.S. and Great Britain sign the Treaty of Paris.