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The French and Indian War
The French and Indian war was a war fought between France and Great Britain over North American territory between 1756 and 1763. It lasted for 7 years, resulting in a victory for Great Britain when France gave up its North American territories to the British in the Treaty of Paris. -
The Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was one of many acts in which the British attempted to tax American colonists. This act specifically put a tax on items such as papers and legal documents by requiring the purchase of a stamp. The colonists rioted against this because they believed in ¨No taxation without representation¨ and it was soon repealed. -
The Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts were imposed by the British and placed a tax on goods imported into the colonies. It established a board of customs that could enforce compliance with these laws and prevent smuggling. These acts furthered the Colonist's anger with Britain. -
The Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a dispute that occured between a colonist and a British soldier. It escalated into a street fight when hundreds of colonists began to harass and throw rocks and sticks at British Soldiers. The British Soldiers opened fire into the crowd killing 5 colonists and injuring a few others. -
The Boston Tea Party
The British imposed a tax on imported tea that infuriated the colonists so they dressed up as Native Americans and dumped 92,000 pounds of tea into the Boston harbor. This event was caused because of ¨Taxation without representation¨. -
The Coercive Acts
The Coercive acts were a series of laws that the British Parliament used to punish the colonists for dumping tea into the Boston harbor during the Boston Tea Party. The acts closed off the Boston harbor until compensation for the tea was made, banned town meetings, and increased British authority in the Colonies. -
The First continental Congress formed
in 1774, the very first meeting of the First Continental Congress was called in response the to Coercive Acts. In this meeting, 12 of the 13 colonies sent delegates to discuss how America should move forward against the frustrated British Parliament. -
Lexington and Concord
British troops secretly planned to march into Lexington and Concord with the intention of seizing weapons and taming the rebellious colonists. However, American spies figured out this plan and confronted the British as they entered Lexington and Concord. This Confrontation resulted in open fire and the death of several people and officially began the Revolutionary war. -
The Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill was a key battle in the revolutionary war that took place in a hilly landscape just outside Boston. There were several casualties and the British won, but the colonist's confidence increased because they were fairly successful at holding their ground and the British had lost more people than the patriots. -
The Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was an official document in which the 13 colonies declared that all ties to the British Government were broken off. This is when the United States of America began to emerge. -
Articles of Confederation Ratified
With the need for a central government, the colonies came together and agreed to form the Articles of confederation. It declared the 13 colonies as the United States of America and established a weak central government in which the states maintained most power. -
The Battle of Yorktown
The battle of Yorktown was the final battle of the Revolutionary war. During this battle, the British were outnumbered leading them to surrender and start seeking a peace treaty with America. -
The Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris was the official document signed by King George of Britain and the United States ending the Revolutionary War. In this document, the British formally recognized America as an independent country and defined the U.S. borders. -
Shays Rebellion
Shays Rebellion was a large uprising of Massachusetts farmers in America who protested the debt crisis from the American Revolution as well as high taxes and loss of land. The main fear was that America was falling back into British ways so the farmers attacked government buildings and courthouses. -
The Ratification of the Constitution
The U.S. Constitution was created as the Supreme law of the land and established the fundamental law of the Federal government in the U.S. and all basic rights American citizens should have. The constitution separated the government into the Judicial, Legislative, and Executive branches in order to prevent one from overpowering the other through checks and balances. It was not until 1788 that the ninth state, New Hampshire, ratified the constitution, making it the supreme law.