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French and Indian War 1754
Fought between France and British colonists backed by mother countries for control of Ohio Valley. Indians aided both sides. George Washington emerges as a military leader. Britain wins but acquires huge war debt. https://www.history.com/topics/french-and-indian-war/videos/french-and-indian-war -
Period: to
American Revolutionary War
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Interesting Fact: George Washington
George Washington was an aide to British General Braddock who came to fight during the French and Indian War. Unfamiliar with frontier warfare tactics, Braddock marched his troops into the wilderness in bright red coats. The Indians ambushed the troops, killing General Braddock, shooting two horses from underneath Washington and two holes through his uniform. He was the only officer to survive the attack and orchestrated a retreat, earning him the name "Hero of the Monongahela". -
The Boston Massacre
Patriots were protesting the occupation of their city by British troops, who were sent to Boston in 1768 to enforce unpopular taxation measures passed by a British parliament that lacked American representation. They threw snowballs at the soldiers and were fired upon. Five were killed which enraged the colonists and further fueled the fires of Independence. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-boston-massacre -
Interesting Fact: John Adams
The Boston Massacre,
enraged American colonists. Yet John
Adams, future president of the United
States and cousin of Boston Patriot-leader
Sam Adams, ended up defending a group
of hated British soldiers at their trials. 35-year-old Adams believed that it was vital that the British
soldiers and their captain receive fair trials. Adams believed that the cause for self-government would be damaged if Boston justice turned out to be little more than lynch law. -
The Boston Tea Party
On December 16, 1773, American colonists dressed as Native Americans boarded three merchant ships in Boston Harbor and dumped 342 chests of tea (valued at approximately $1.7 million today) into the water.
Because Britain forced colonists to pay a tax on tea, the Sons of Liberty took matters into their own hands and dumped it into the harbor. https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/boston-tea-party/videos/boston-tea-party?m=528e394da93ae&s=undefined&f=1&free=false -
First Continental Congress
On September 5, 1774, delegates from each of the 13 colonies except for Georgia (which was fighting a Native-American uprising and was dependent on the British for military supplies) met in Philadelphia as the First Continental Congress to organize colonial resistance to Parliament's Coercive Acts. https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/the-continental-congress/videos -
Lexington and Concord
The British were sent to confiscate colonial weapons but ran into untrained, angry militia who refused to allow it. This resulted in the first battle of the Revolutionary War. "The shot heard 'round the world" is a reference to the first shot fired in the American Revolution. https://youtu.be/fjnEC76NvIM School house rock version of "The Shot Heard 'Round the World" https://youtu.be/rZMmPWTwTHc -
Approval of the Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson was 33 when he drafted the Declaration of Independence. A Committee which included Ben Franklin and John Adams aided him, though he was left to do the writing. The draft was hotly debated but with several revisions, passed on July 4. https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/writing-of-declaration-of-independence/videos School House Rock Version of The Declaration
https://youtu.be/vrSeCYSnj5Y
The Preamble
https://youtu.be/yHp7sMqPL0g -
Interesting Fact: Declaration of Independence
Once the Declaration of Independence had been written and signed, printer John Dunlap was asked to make about 200 copies to be distributed throughout the colonies. Today, the “Dunlap Broadsides” are extremely rare and valuable. In 1989, someone discovered a previously unknown Dunlap Broadside. It was sold for over $8 million in 2000. There are only 26 known surviving Dunlap Broadsides today. -
Battle of Saratoga
The Battle of Saratoga was the turning point in the Revolution for the Patriots. Horatio Gates defeated the British taking 6000 prisoners which prompted France to openly join the Colonial forces suppling much needed troops. https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/american-revolution-history/videos/battle-of-saratoga-turns-the-tide -
Interesting Fact: Spies of the Revolutionary War
There were spies working for both the British and the Americans, passing secret messages and plans for battles back and forth. Some of these messages were cleverly hidden in coded letters, letters with invisible ink, and even sewn into buttons. -
Surrender at Yorktown
British General Cornwallis was trapped on Yorktown peninsula when General Washington, aided by the French fleet, forced their surrender, bringing an end to the American Revolution. https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/siege-of-yorktown/videos -
Treaty of Paris 1783
Though the war ended with the surrender of the British at Yorktown, British troops remained in Charleston, SC and New York. With the removal of these troops in 1782 and the signing of the Treaty of Paris, Independence from Britain was finally, formally recognized. https://youtu.be/fdlkx7QKaPw
