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French/Indian War
This violent war was a result of the clash between the French and English over colony territory and wealth. To some people, this also happened because of the localized rivalry between British and French colonists. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was passed to impose taxes on American colonists, requiring them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used. The money collected was to help pay the costs of protecting the American frontier near the Appalachian Mountains. -
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts were created by Charles Townshend, and passed by the English Parliament not long after the repeal of the Stamp Act. They were made to collect revenue from the colonists in America by putting customs duties on imports of glass, lead, paints, paper, and tea. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a street fight caused by the anger a patriot mob had against the British troops sent to Boston to maintain order and to enforce the Townshend Acts. Several colonists were killed. -
Tea Act
The Tea Act was an act of the British Parliament that created a monopoly unfair to American tea merchants. It gave a monopoly on tea sales to the East India Company, meaning American colonists could buy no tea unless it came from that company. This triggered the anger that caused the Boston Tea Party -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a political protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusettes. The Sons of Liberty disguised as Mohawk Native Americans, boarded three British ships, and dumped 342 whole crates of British tea into the Boston harbor. -
Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts was the American Patriots' name for a series of laws passed by the British Parliament after the Boston Tea party. The acts were meant to punish the Massachusetts colonists for the throwing of tea into the Boston harbor. -
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First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from twelve colonies whom met at Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia in response to the passage of the Intolerable Acts. The congress' objectives were to compose a statement of colonial rights, to identify British parliaments violation of those rights, and to provide a plan that would convince Britain to restore those rights. -
Lexington and Concord
The first shots of this battle were fired at Lexington, Massachusettes. On this memorable date, General Thomas Gage sent out seven hundred soldiers to destroy the weapons and ammunition stored by the colonists in Concord. -
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Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that started meeting to discuss the making of the Declaration of Independence, a statement declaring the freedom of the thirteen American colonies from Great Britain -
The Publishing of "Common Sense"
Common Sense was a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that challenged the authority of the British government and the royal monarchy. The way Paine wrote out to the common people of America and was the first work to openly ask for independence from Great Britain.
