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Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was the first direct tax put on the American colonists. This act made the colonists pay a tax for any type of paper that they wanted to buy. They made the act because the British were in debt from the Seven Years’ War. The colonists were not happy about this act and eventually repealed it only one year later. However, the colonists never forgot that act and had an armed rebellion against the British 10 years later. -
Boston Massacre
On the night of March 5th, 1770, there was a deadly uproar on King Street in Boston. It started with just one colonist and one British soldier but quickly grew in size. This fatal riot was a key factor to the start of the American Revolution. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party happened in Boston, Massachuetets. The Ameican colonists, led by Sam Adams, were angry about the new tax on tea and said “No taxation without representation.” They then dumped 342 chests of tea from British East India into the harbor. This lead to the American patriots throughout the 13 colonies wanting to fight for their independence and the martial law, which was a military government. -
Creation of the First Continental Congress
The First Continential Congress was made up of delegates from the 13 colonies. The delegates from each of these colonies met in Philadelphia to finalize the Congress. These members then served as the government to the 13 colonies. -
Lexington and Concord
The battles of Lexington and Concord were one of the main things that lead to the American Revolution. On the night of April 18, many British loyalists stormed into Concord to take their supply of weapons. Paul Revere, a colonist, set off an alarm to let the minutemen, a militia, know that they were being attacked. Then after many battles between the Britsh and the colonists, the colonists won their independence in 1783. -
Creation of the Second Continental Congress
The creation of the Second Continental Congress was made when Congress met in Philadelphia, after the American Revolution had already started. Then in 1776, it lead to a big step of getting America’s independence from Britain. Then they made the first national constitution and the Articles of Confederation which ran the country until 1789. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
In the Battle of Bunker Hill, the British defeated the Americans on June 17, 1775. Even though the Americans lost, they still caused many casualties to the British forces. The battle also gave the Amercians a confidence boost during the Siege of Boston. -
Olive Branch Petition
The Olive Branch Petition was written by
John Dickinson and was made to keep good relations between the colonies and Great Britain. The main purpose of the Olive Branch Petition was that the colonists were still going to maintain loyal to Britain and be friendly with them. -
Writing and distribution of Common Sense
Thomas Paine Published a pamphlet called Common Sense which listed his arguments in favor of American independence. His pamphlet I said to be one of the most influential pamphlets in American history. His pamphlet was a key factor that led the Americans wanting to fight for their independence. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence came about because the Americans were fighting for their rights from Britain. As the Revolutionary War was taking place, the urge for American rights grew stronger, which led to a vote. Then five men including Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams, needed to make a document stating everything the Americans wanted, and Thomas Jefferson wrote a majority of the Declaration. The Congress finally agreed to this document on July 4, 1776.
