-
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act of 1765 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which imposed a direct tax on the British colonies in America and required that many printed materials in the colonies be produced on stamped paper produced in London, carrying an embossed revenue stamp. Loyalists were colonists that were still loyal to the British, and did not protest the stamp acts. However, Patriots rejected British rule, and violently protested. -
Period: to
Road to Revolution
-
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre, known to the British as the Incident on King Street, was a confrontation on March 5, 1770 in which British soldiers shot and killed several people while being harassed by a mob in Boston. The event was heavily publicized by leading Patriots such as Paul Revere and Samuel Adams. Both of these men ended up being key players for the resistance. -
Tea Party
Colonists disguised as Native Americans dumped 18,000 pounds of British tea into the Boston harbor. The British responded by placing 2,000 troops in Boston. This led to martial law, which is rule by military forces. -
Creation of the First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress was created to state the colonists concerns to the King and try and fix the problems. This resulted in continued colonial boycotts as demands were not met. -
Lexington and Concord
First military engagement of the Revolutionary War. Paul Revere rode out to warn colonists about the British attack. These colonists were Minutemen, who were civilian colonists who independently organized to form well-prepared militia companies self-trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies from the American colonial partisan militia during the American Revolutionary War. -
Creation of the Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was the governing body of the American colonies from 1775 to 1781. It was founded when the British failed to address the grievances of the First Continental Congress and to organize a Continental Army to fight. -
Olive Branch Petition
The Olive Branch Petition was a final attempt by the colonists to avoid going to war with Britain during the American Revolution. It was a document in which the colonists pledged their loyalty to the crown and asserted their rights as British citizens. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought as part of the colonial Siege of Boston, as the British had occupied the city, in the early stages of the American Revolutionary War. -
Writing and Distribution of Common Sense
Common Sense was a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775–1776 advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies. This pamphlet was written for patriots, as they were against the British. -
Declaration of Independence
An official act taken by all 13 American colonies in declaring independence from British rule. The war would continue on for another 3 years.
