-
The Mayflower lands at Plymouth Rock
The Mayflower was a ship in 1620, this was from Plymouth in England to the new world. Most of the people aboard were the puritans which were a group of religious people who had dissented from the church of England. They were called puritans because they wanted to purify the church. The people on board the Mayflower were different from the colonists who went to Jamestown because they were fleeing persecution, they wanted to establish a colony where they could practice religious beliefs. -
Pennsylvania Becomes a Colony
Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn who was a Quaker Convert. Charles II gave the province of Pennsylvania to William Penn on a settled debt because he owed William Penn’s father. William Penn wanted a place for all the fellow quakers to have religious freedom and live at peace, so therefore he provided a new colony (which used to be a province) for them to stay at. -
The French and Indian War
America was massive with many opportunities, Britain and France both wanted some control over it. The British owned the colonies area and wanted to move further west whilst the French in Canada wanted to expand south. Eventually they bumped into each other at the Ohio River Valley which was a very important trading area. In 1754 George Washington needed to protect an area which is now Pittsburgh, on the way they saw a french military squad and this was the first battle of the french/Indian war. -
The Sugar Act
After the seven years war ended in 1763 parliament found that the america seemed like a great source for money to pay off war debt. Most of the colonists despised the new taxes and rules, but one of the most unpopular was the sugar act. It was created to stop the smuggling of goods into and out of the colonies, the law also was made so that sugar, timber, and tobacco could be sent directly from the colonies to Britain. Also wine, coffee, cloth and more to be shipped directly into the colonies. -
The Currency Act
This was one of the many acts that the parliament of Britain enforced. It made sure that all the paper money was made by British colonies of america. Before this the colonies suffered with a shortage of currency to trade with so the parliament in 1764 passed the currency act which took control of the colonial money system, it had banned the use of new money (money from different places like a currency from Delaware and a different one from Massachusetts). -
The stamp act
England wanted to pay their troops in the colonies, so they passed the Stamp Act. It put a tax on papers, documents, and other stuff. If the colonists didn’t pay, they were punished unfairly without a jury. The colonists hated this act. For them, it was an example of “taxation without representation. -
The Quartering Act
Happened in 1765, this was where the British needed the local colonists to house British soldiers if they needed shelter/food and water. Many of the colonist soldiers were forced out of their house. At this time America was not very independent so the British were still in a lot of control. The quartering act was passed because the British kept their soldiers housed in america they didn’t need to pay to send them back home and instead use the cost to collect taxes from the colonists. -
The Townshend Revenue Act
These acts were passed just after the unpopular stamp act. It put taxes on things like glass, tea, paper and china. Charles Townshend thought it would be difficult for the colonists to provide for themselves, the colonists proclaimed that because they could not vote for members of the parliament, they should not need to pay for taxes created by parliament. This led to boycotts of English goods and designed ‘spinning bees’ which would help them get cloth and become more independent from Britain. -
The Boston Massacre
The Americans started to boycott the English tea being imported and brewed their own because of the new high taxes being forced on them. Then several British customs commissioners asked London for troops to help enforce the taxes and the red coats fired on them in Boston, this was soon called ‘The Boston Massacre’. -
The Boston Tea Party
In the 1700s Tea was insanely popular in Britain, British increased taxes on tea and the Americans were not happy about this so they boycotted. On December 16 1773 5000 Bostonians crowded in the Meeting House and have heard that new shipments of tea have arrived at the harbour and were going to be forced to buy it because the ships could not leave with the cargo on board so Sam Adams cried “Boston Harbour a teapot tonight” and they went and threw the tea off the ships. -
The First Continental Congress
The first Continental Congress was a compact around the colonies to boycott English goods starting on December 1st, unless the parliament would take away the acts. September 5th, 1774 this was when the delegates from 12 of the 13 colonies (Georgia which were fighting the native Americans) met in Philadelphia to organize resistance against parliament's acts. -
Patrick Henry’s “Give me Liberty or give me Death” speech
Patrick Henry’s ‘give me liberty or give me death’ speech had made the final decision for many colonists whose side they were on and started the revolution. Patrick Henry gave the speech saying ‘Forbid it, almighty god’ ‘I know not what course others may take, but as for me…’ then he had reached in his pocket pulling out a sharp letter opener and made the imitation of stabbing himself whilst saying ‘or give me death’. This speech was incredibly powerful to many people. -
The Ride of Paul Revere
In 1775 Paul Revere rode his horse through the streets warning everyone that the British were coming. He was just an ordinary man who wanted to get involved politically. People nowadays say that ‘he risked everything to make history’. Paul Revere's first known political act was doing an engraving showing the boston massacre and what became one of the most famous images of the american revolution. -
The Second Continental Congress
The second Continental Congress had all 13 delegates this time and it was about the American revolutionary war. It was a meeting discussing the raising of the armies, strategy, assigning diplomats, and writing many petitions such as ‘declaration of causes and necessity of taking up arms’. In 1776 they took it further and declared independence for america. -
George Washington named Commander in Chief
June 19 of 1775 George Washington was named Commander in Chief. Before on April 18 that same year he had given a speech just after the Boston tea party, he said ‘I will raise 1000 men, subsist them at my own expense and march myself at their head to relief Boston’.Washington later on became recognised as a leader and had been elected to this role based on his previous experience in leading the military and many had hoped that because he was from Virginia he could help unite the colonies.