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French and Indian War
The French and Indian War was started over many different things. There were so many conflicts between a Great Britain and France just over territories. Other conflicts were over religion and trade. The war resulted in France departing from North America. Great Britain gained a lot of territory in North America. The cost of the war put Britain into great debt. -
Sugar Act
The Sugar Act was created to reduce the taxes the colonists payed on sugar and molasses. It really affected shippers and business merchants. This caused many violent protests all around the colonies. This helped lead to the first official battle of the American Revolution. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was a law that the British Parliament passed. It was when they imposed taxes on many different things. They started taxing stamps for the colonists and this angered them. This all led to chaos and they started riots. -
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts were when the British government imposed taxes on many British products that Americans buy. There were four Townshend Acts. The colonists were very angry and but not about the cost. They were mad because they weren’t even allowed a representative in the British Parliament. These acts caused the colonists to boycott again. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was when the British soldiers and American colonists confronted each other. The colonists were frustrated and angry about the new taxes. The colonist started throwing snowball, sticks, and calling them names. A mob started and the British soldiers opened fire. This resulted in five colonists being killed. -
Tea Act
The Tea Act was another law that the British Parliament passed. This was created to let a company ship tea directly to the colonies without landing in England first. This act wasn’t another tax on tea, but it still made the colonists really mad. They started boycotting tea. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a protest in Boston, Massachusetts. This protest was started because the colonists were very angry about all of the taxes. They protested “No Taxation Without Representation” as they were dumping so many chests of tea into the harbor. This act started the major violent part of the Revolution. -
Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts were more laws passed by British parliament. The laws were made to punish the colonists for the Tea Party protest. One act closed the Boston Harbor. It would be closed until the colonists would pay for the destruction and tea. As a result, a lot of the colonist decided not to listen to the laws and started boycotting even more. -
Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense”
“Common Sense” was Thomas Paine’s work on a very important argument. It advocates for independence for the American colonies from Britain. It was very successful and he sold so many copies in a very short amount of time. It was very inspirational for the colonists. After reading, they decided to start fighting for their independence. -
Battle of Lexington and Concord
The British Army went to try to catch the colonists off guard. Instead, they were warned and prepared. When the British arrived to Lexington, a gunshot went off and everyone was surprised. The British started to attack and colonist fled. This gunshot was called it the “shot heard around the world”. After the colonist fled from Lexington, the British went to Concord. They were searching for hidden weapons.The colonists came back from across the North bridge and defeated the British. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill was when the Americans were defeated. It was a terrible fight. Over half of the British army were wounded right away and there were so many patriot deaths. The colonists lost because they ran out of ammunition. They ran out very fast because they short as soon as a British soldier got near them. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a very important document. The document mainly included that all men are created equal, and people have certain inalienable rights that include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It was signed by all of the founders. Thomas Jefferson. Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams all contributed to writing the declaration. It officially declared the 13 American colonies independence from the British government.