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Prime Minister George Grenville enforces Navigation Laws
Prime Minister George Grenville ordered the navy to strictly enforce the Navigation Laws. -
Treaty of Paris of 1763
Ended French and Indian War. Britain gained control of the Ohio River Valley. France also gave Spain the Louisiana Territory. -
Proclamation of 1763
Banned settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains out of fear of Indian attacks. -
Sugar Act
Taxed sugar from the West Indies. -
Stamp Tax
Mandated the use of stamped paper or affixing of stamps, certifying tax payment. Grenville regarded these measures as reasonable. -
Quartering Act
Required colonists to provide food and quarters for British troops. -
Sons and Daughters of Liberty Established
They took law into their own hands and cried, "Liberty, Property, and No Stamps." They would tar and feather stamp agents to oppose the stamp act. -
Stamp Act Congress
Stated the rights and grievances of colonists and urged Parliament to repeal the legislation. -
Stamp Act Repealed
Parliament repealed the Stamp Act. -
Declaratory Act
Britain re-affirmed its right to control the colonies. British government defined its constitutional principle : absolute and unqualified sovereignty over the colonies. -
Townshend Act
Imposed a light import duty on glass, white lead, paper, paint, and tea. It was an indirect customs duty payable at American ports. -
Boston Massacre
British Army soldiers shot and killed people while under attack by a mob. -
Townshend Acts repealed
Parliament repealed all Townshend duties except the tax on tea. -
Committees of Correspondence
The First Committee of Correspondence was created in Boston in 1772. Similar organizations were set up in many other towns. Virginia led the way for other colonies in 1773. Other colonies soon joined the effort. They exchanged letters that kept alive opposition to British policy. They evolved directly into the first American congresses. -
Boston Tea Party
Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty dressed as Native Americans, boarded three ships in the Boston harbor and threw 342 chests of tea overboard. It was prompted by Hutchinson ordering the tea ships not to leave Boston until they had unloaded their cargoes. -
Intolerable Acts
A series of acts to chastise colonists, especially in Boston ; limited rights traditionally practiced in Massachusetts. -
First Continental Congress
12/13 colonies sent 55 men to meet in Philadelphia to redress grievances. They drew up a Declaration of Rights as well as a solemn appeal to other British colonies, to the king, and to the British people. -
Creation of The Association
Called for a complete boycott of British goods : nonimportation, nonexportation, nonconsumption. -
Lexington and Concord
British commander in Boston sent troops to Lexington and Concord to seize stores of gunpowder and arrest ringleaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock. At Lexington, shots were fired, 8 Americans were killed, several more were wounded. Redcoats pushed on and suffered heavy losses at Concord. -
Second Continental Congress
Met in Philadelphia in 1775 to select a leader for the army. -
Bunker Hill
Colonists seized a hill, now known as Bunker Hill (actually Breed's Hill) British blundered bloody when they launched a frontal attack with 3,000 men. The Americans were doing well, until they ran out of ammo and ran away. -
George Washington selected to lead army
The Second Continental Congress selected George Washington, at 43 years of age, to lead the army. Although the decision was largely political, he was gifted with leadership and a strong character. -
Olive Branch Petition
The Continental Congress pledged American loyalty to the crown and begged the King to prevent further hostilities. But, following Bunker Hill, the King was done trying to be nice to the Americans. -
"Common Sense" Published
Thomas Paine went a long way to convey the American colonists that their true cause was independence rather than reconciliation with Britain. -
The Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence, the colonies' formal statement of separation written by Thomas Jefferson, was formally approved by Congress. -
Trenton
Washington crossed the Delaware River and surprised and captured 1,000 Hessians. A week later he defeated a small British force at Princeton. -
Saratoga
General Burgoyne was trapped and surrendered to General Horatio Gates. The most important part of this, was that after this war, the French realized their connection with the colonists, and befriended them (The Treaty of Alliance). The British offered the Americans a measure that gave them home rule - everything they wanted minus independence. -
Valley Forge
Soldiers went without bread for 3 days in the cruel winter of 1777–1778. Manufactured goods were in short supply and clothing and shoes were appallingly scarce. -
Yorktown
General Cornwallis was trapped and went back to Yorktown where he waited for seaborne supplies from the British. As the Americans (led by Washington) pushed the British back, the French (led by de Grasse) were aiding the Americans by taking over the sea, and attacking the British from the water. Cornwallis surrendered 7000 men on October 19, 1781. -
Treaty of Paris 1783
The Treaty of Paris in 1783 ended the Revolutionary War. It granted generous boundaries to the Americans and allowed them to retain access to fisheries in Newfoundland. Britain officially accepted defeat in North America. In return, the Americans promised to stop persecuting the Loyalists and encourage states to return confiscated Loyalist property and pay their debts to British creditors. (This didn't actually happen)
