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The French and Indian War
The first battle of the French and Indian War was at Fort Necessity. The Virginia governor sent George Washington to warn the French to stay out of the Ohio River Valley, but France ignores the warning and at the top of the Ohio River builds Fort Duquesne. Fifty miles south of Fort Duquesne Washington builds Fort Necessity which the French do not approve of. Soon Washington’s troops are driven out of the area. This marks the beginning of the War. -
Stamp Act
In 1765 the Stamp Acts were passed declaring tax on forty kinds of business transactions in the New World. The colonist thought that Britain had no right to tax the colonists because they had no say in British representatives. So many colonists boycotted English products hurting many businesses like merchants, lawyers, and many more. The boycott worked and in 1766 Parliament got rid of the Stamp Acts. -
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts were a series of laws put on the colonies by the British Parliament in 1767. Some of these acts expanded British control in the colonies. This acts placed a tax on many products such as glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea that were all imported to the colonies. The money made from this act was to be given to the British colonial officers and to gain the money that was lost from the repeal of the Stamp Acts. The colonists were furious about these acts and the tension created by -
Boston Massacre
Before colonists had learned that the Townshend Acts were lifted many kept protesting. With the colonists still not hearing about the lifted acts a mob of colonists provoked and surrounded a small group of British soldiers. The soldiers being very scared panicked and fired into the crowd killing five colonists. The colonist’s mistake eventually led to The Tea Acts. -
The Tea Acts
After the lifted Townsend Acts a last tax was placed on tea. The British East India Company was in debt and this new tax was meant to help it. This tax would lower the price of tea in the colonies but send a greater profit directly to the British East India Company. Many colonists continued to boycott tea and the tax eventually led to the Boston Tea Party in 1773. -
Boston Tea Party
The Parliament finally got rid of the Townshend Acts, but the duty on tea remained. Colonists were very mad so many started to boycott tea. There was a shipment that arrived in the Boston Harbor and it carried about 350 chests of tea. A handful of Boston residents, organized by the Sons of Liberty, all met at the South Meeting House to try and resolve this issue. As a result from there meeting they decided to raid the ship a dump the chests of tea into the Boston Harbor which was valued at thous -
Intolerable Acts
In response to the Boston Tea Party the Intolerable acts, five new laws, were placed on the colonies in 1774. The Intolerable Acts increased power of royal governor, abolished upper house of Massachusetts, cut powers of town meetings, strengthened Quartering Acts, and passed the Quebec Act. The colonies new they had to fix this problem so a meeting called First Continental Congress was held to discuss what to do next. In this meeting the congress declared new boycotts to British goods. -
Fighting at Lexington and Concord
The British wanted to squash colonies resistance so they organized more troops in the colonies. The British troops begin moving toward Concord to look for weapon stashes. When the American minutemen are notified of Britain’s movement by The Sons of Liberty they gather on the Lexington town green to face the British. A shot was fired and eight colonists were killed, this was known as “shot heard round the world”. -
Green Mountain Boys at Fort Ticonderoga
In 1775 Ethan Allen led his small military group to Vermont for a surprise attack on Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain. The surprise attack succeeds and they also manage to capture a big supply of cannons, a lot of ammunition, and many other weapons. This victory gave the colonies high spirits and was the attack that right before Battle of Bunker Hill. -
Second Continental Congress
After the fighting at Lexington and Concord many colonists were split on how to deal with Britain. Many New Englanders in the congress felt very strongly for declaring Independence. On the other hand many southern and middle colonists were a lot more hesitant and believed that a compromised could be made between the colonies and Britain. Everyone agreed on one thing and that was that the colonies needed an army of their own. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
In June 1775 Boston was surrounded by thousands of American soldiers that were trying to achieve a higher positioning against the British troops in Boston. The British and Americans clashed over occupation of the surrounding hills of the city. Once they had fought the British did win but not without a big consequence. At the end of the battle the British lost over one thousand troops that were either killed or wounded. The Americans were proud of their performance although they wanted a victory. -
Thomas Paine Published 'Common Sense"
Many Americans were undecided about whether to stay loyal to Britain or push for independence. In January 1776 Tomas Paine publishes “Common Sense”, a writing where he spoke against George III and criticized the king. He also believed that Americans had the right and ability to govern themselves and that the British government had only used the colonies to gain more money. This piece of writing influenced many colonists to become a patriot and helped them to decide which side to take. -
Congress approves Declaration of Independence
On July fourth 1776 the Declaration of Independence was officially approved by Congress. The Declaration opens with an introduction that states the purpose of the document. Next paragraph is Natural right then List of Grievances and the last paragraph explains that the colonies will rid of all political ties with Britain. This document becomes a piece of writing that other nations use as an example when fighting for freedom and that the colonies. -
Battle of Trenton
The Battle of Trenton was an important battle to win because the troop enlistments were almost expired and in order to keep them Washington needed a victory to convince then to reenlist. On Christmas night Washington planned a surprise attack against the Hessian forces that were occupying Trenton, New Jersey. After the long and hard trek to Trenton they completely surprised the Hessians and killed or captured them all. -
Battle of Saratoga
In Battle of Saratoga the Americans maintained much control over the vital Hudson River valley and convinced France to sign the Treaty of Amity and Commerce, due to these things the Americans won the battle. The help from the French, including many supplies, guarantees the colonies’ independence.
