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Enlightenment
The American Enlightenment was a period of time from the 18th to 19th centuries marked by a large amount of philosophical and intellectual development inspired by the enlightenment era of Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. The American Enlightenment was arguably started by Jeremiah Dummer with the publication of various Enlightenment books. This Period of enlightenment would eventually lead to the American Revolution. Many of the enlightenment important figures were college presidents. -
French & Indian War
The French and Indian War began in 1754 and was an extension of the Seven Years war between Great Britain and France. It started with the french entering British colonial land in the Americas from the west and ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763, Britain would see large territorial gains. Due to the war, Great Britain's economy would be weakened and to remedy that taxes in the colonies would be established. These taxes would lead to many disputes and eventually the American Revolution -
Proclamation Line of 1763
The Proclamation Line of 1763 was a British Legislatively produced boundary in the Appalachian Mountains at the Eastern Continental Divide. The Proclamation prohibited colonists from settling on lands achieved from the French after the French and Indian war. This was an attempt from the British to discourage westward expansion prior to the American Revolution. The ideological consequences of the proclamation would lead to resentment towards Great Britain within the colonial population. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act of 1765 was a tax from Britain that made American colonists pay extra for newspapers and legal papers. Colonists were angered by this as they had no say in British laws. Some famous figures like Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry spoke out against it. The protests made Britain cancel the tax in 1766 only lasting a year. The Act helped bring the colonies together and made them start thinking more about independence causing issues for Britain. -
The Boston Massacre
The Boston Massace was a riot that that occured on March 5, 1770 on a street in boston. It began as a brawl between American colonists and a single British soldior, but would quickly grow to a huge slaughter of American Protests. This conflict would enrage the American population as anti-British sentiment would continue to grow within the 13 colonies. This continued to pave the way towards the American Revolution -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party happened in 1773 when colonists, fed up with British taxes on tea, dumped a bunch of British tea into Boston Harbor. Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty organized it to protest the Tea Act. This event was important because it made Britain crack down with stricter laws, which only pushed the colonies closer to wanting independence. It was a significant moment that helped lead to the American Revolution and eventually the creation of the U.S. government. -
American Revolutionary War
The Revolutionary War was a war between residents of Great Britain's 13 American colonies and the Kingdom of Great Britain. It was birthed about for various reasons such as the Stamp Act, Boston Tea Party, etc. America would end up winning with the help of the french which led to full American independence. The American Revolution and its consequences has helped shape american attitude and culture and remains one of the most impact events in American history. -
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation were documents which drafted the first American government following the Revolutionary war. It was outlined by weak federal power and kept each state in America as a mostly independent sovereign country only loosely held together as a confederation. With time, many flaws within this system would reveal itself and fear of whether the Americans newly formed government would last. This would eventually lead to the creation of a new constitution. -
Virginia, New Jersey Plans, and the Great Compromise
The Virginia and New Jersey Plans were two forms of government proposed to be the basis of the new United States constitution. The Virginia plan favored the larger states and proposed a bicameral legislature with representation based on population. The New Jersey plan favored smaller states and called for a unicameral legislature where each state would have 1 vote in congress. The Great Compromise was a solution to the situation by establishing the House of Representatives and the Senate. -
Ratification of the Constitution
Following the drafting and writing of the constitution, On June 21, 1788 the Constitution became the official framework of the new American government. It began when New Hampshire, signed the document and became th e ninth of 13 states to ratify the document. Following New Hampshire, the rest of the 13 states would sign the document with the final one being Rhode island. The constitution is the chief document that defines the government of the United States which still exists to this day.