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The French and Indian War (1754-1763)
The French and Indian War began in 1754. It was fought to decide if Britain or France would be the strong power in North America. -
The Proclamation Line of 1763
In 1763, at the end of the French and Indian War, King George III issued the Proclamation Line of 1763. This ‘No Trespassing’ line prohibited settlers from crossing west over the Appalachian Mountains in order to prevent further conflicts between settlers and Native Americans. -
The Sugar Act (April 5, 1764)
The Sugar Act, also known as the American Revenue Act or the American Duties Act, was a revenue-raising act passed by the Parliament of Great Britain on April 5, 1764. -
The Stamp Act (March 22, 1765)
The Stamp Act was passed by the British Parliament on March 22, 1765. The new tax was imposed on all American colonists and required them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used. -
The Quartering Act (May 3, 1765)
On May 3, 1765, British Parliament passed the Quartering Act, which stated that troops could only be quartered in barracks and if there wasn't enough space in barracks then they were to be quartered in public houses and inns. -
The Stamp Act Congress (1765)
The meeting of the First Congress was important because the 27 representatives from the nine colonies of the thirteen colonies put aside their local differences and had joined together in a mutual cause. -
The Declaratory Act (1766)
In 1766, British Parliament accompanied the repeal of the Stamp Act by passing the Declaratory Act. It was passed by the British. -
The Townshend Acts (1767)
The Townshend Acts were a series of measures, passed by the British Parliament in 1767, that taxed goods imported to the American colonies such as: glass, oil, lead, paint, paper, and tea. -
The Boston Massacre (March 5, 1770)
The Boston Massacre began the evening of March 5, 1770 with a small argument between British Private Hugh White and a few colonists outside the Custom House in Boston on King Street. -
The Gaspee Incident (June 9, 1772)
HMS Gaspee and her hated commander, Lt. William Dudingston, were sent by King George III to Rhode Island waters in March of 1772 to enforce the maritime trade laws and prevent smuggling. -
The Tea Act (May 10, 1773)
The Tea Act was the Catalyst for the Boston Tea Party. The Tea Act, passed by Parliament on May 10, 1773, granted the British East India Company Tea a monopoly on tea sales in the American colonies. -
The Boston Tea Party (December 16, 1773)
On December 16, 1773, the Sons of Liberty, disguised as Mohawk Indians, tipped 342 crates of tea into the Boston Harbor as a protest against the Tea Act and its provisions for taxation of tea. -
The Intolerable Acts (1774)
The Intolerable Acts were punitive laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 after the Boston Tea Party (In Great Britain, these laws were referred to as the Coercive Acts). -
The First Continental Congress (1774)
The Continental Congress, also known as the Philadelphia Congress, was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies. -
Patrick Henry’s Speech (March 23, 1775)
At the Virginia Convention on March 23, 1775, Delegate Patrick Henry presented resolutions to raise a militia, and to put Virginia in a posture of defense. -
The Battles of Lexington and Concord (April 1775)
The Battles of Lexington and Concord occured in April 1775, when British troops were sent to confiscate colonial weapons, they run into an untrained and angry militia. They defeated 700 British. -
Battle of Bunker Hill (June 17, 1775)
On June 17, 1775, early in the Revolutionary War, the British defeated the Americans at the Battle of Bunker Hill in Massachusetts. -
Thomas Paine’s Common Sense (January 1776)
Published in January 1776 in Philadelphia, nearly 120,000 copies were in circulation by April (instant best-sellar). Paine's brilliant arguments were straightforward. -
Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776)
The United States Declaration of Independence is the statement adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at the Pennsylvania State House (now known as Independence Hall) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 4, 1776.
