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The French and Indian War
The French and Indian War started in 1754 and ended 1763. The war was fought because both the French and English wanted to claim the rich Ohio River Valley. The Indians, mostly Iriqois from with the French hoping to prevent British expansion. The French appeared to be winning the war having won early victories over a young George Washington, General Edward Braddock and General William Shirley . However, after WillIam Pitt became the British leader things began to change. -
French and Indian War No. 2
Pitt borrowed alot of money to finance the war effort which later created a huge war debt for the British and damage to their economy. Ultimately the British won the war and the French lost the Ohio River Valley and most land in North America. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris was an agreement (a peace treaty) between Britian and France at the end of the French and Indian War. By the agreement the British gained the Ohio River Valley lands which previously belonged to the French. After this agreement the French lost all lands it claimed in North America. They kept their land and everyone was happy. It made them seem weak, and they wanted revenge. -
Pontiac's War No. 2
The war consisted primarily of attacks on British held Forts in the Ohio River Valley region. The first attach was aginst Fort Detroit which turned out to be unsuccessful. However Pontiac's tribes did successfully capture eight fortified posts. In the end Pontiac's efforts were not for nothing since at the end of the war the colonies were prevented from expanding westward by the Proclamation of 1763. -
Pontiac's War
The Pontiac War was named after Ottawa Cheif Pontiac. Cheif Pontiac brought together a confederacy of Native American warriors to fight against the English to prevent the English from expanding west past the Appalachian Mountains. Pontiac believed that preventing the English who had little respect for the Native Americans and their customs was the only way to preserve the Native American way of life. -
Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 was a law which required that all lands occupied by Englishmen in Indian territories be abondoned. The purpose of the law was to preserve the western frontier for the Native Americans The proclamation upset the colonist who wanted expansion and felt the British created the law to keep the close to the coastline so they would be easier to rule. -
The Sugar Act
In order to help pay for debts and the costs to secure the colonies, Parliment created the Sugar Act of 1764. The Sugar Act reduced the price of molasses used to make rum and began strictly enforcing the tax which had been previously avoided. In addition it taxed other goods like sugar, certain wines and coffee. The British were attempting to get the colonies to pay taxes and to trade primarly with Britain. -
Sugar Act No 2
The colonists were very upset. They did not want to be forced to pay taxes or to trade only with Britain for lower prices. As a result, the colonists boycotted the sale and purchase of British goods. -
Stamp Act No. 2
Unlike with Sugar Act the colonists responded with immediate violence against the tax collectors as oppossed boycott. The Stamp Act was repealed on March 18, 1766. -
The Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was an attempt by Parliment to raise revenue to pay for the costs of maintaining troops from the colonies by taxing all paper dcuments. Under the Stamp Acts printed matrials such as newspapers, bills, pamphlets legal documents
and even palying cards were taxed and required to carry a stamp. The colonist were furious claiming no taxation without representation. -
The Quartering Act
The Quartering Act was a law made to get the colonies to pay the costs of troops stationed within the colonies. The law called for each assembly to pay for the basic needs of troops located within their borders. Colonists were upset becuase they had a fear of standing armies preferring militias which could be raised and disbanded as required and because of the cost which was expensive. -
The Stamp Act Congress
The Stamp Act Congress took place in New York and was held to craft a unified colonial response to Parliment as a result of the Stamp Act and other injustices. The Congress attended by nine of the thirteen colonies was led by James Otis and William Ruggles. A lot of arguing took place at the congress but utimately the colonist did draft a Declaration of Rights and Grievences which disputed the issue of taxes, insisted on trial by jury and acknowledged Britains right to make laws in the colonies. -
The Townshend Acts
Named after Charles Townshend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Townshend Act imposed a taxes on imported glass, lead, paints, paper and tea. Implemented to produce revenue from the colonies by taxing them indriectly the taxes were met with opposition from the colonies which boycotted English goods believing they should not be taxed at all. Eventually the taxes were repealed in 1770 with the exception of the taxes on tea. -
The Boston Massacre
Boston prior to the Boston Massacre was a toen ready to explode. In the years prior it had been through the boycotts of the Sugar Act, the violence resulting from the Stamp Act and the recent boycotts of the Townshend Acts including the disbanding of the Massachuecetts Assembly. It was the city leading the charge against taxation without representation. -
The Boston Massacre 3
Patrick Carr. Samuel Gray, Samuel Maverick and James Caldwell.
I do not think it's fair to call what happened a massacre because the colonist started it and because the British did not intend to hurt anyone just defend themselves.
At trial the John Adams defended the British soldiers because he wanted to show the English that the colonial justice system worked.
The events of the Boston Massacre were depicted in famous picture by Paul Revere. -
Boston Massacre 2
The Boston Massacre was the killing of 5 colonists by British regulars on March 5, 1770. It started when an angry mob of colonists started taunting British soldiers guarding the Customs House in Boston. When Captian Thomas Prescott told the soldiers to fix their bayonets the crowd begain to throw snowballs and other objects at the soldiers. When Private Hugh Montgomery was hit he discharged his weapon causing the other soldiers to begin shooting. Those killed included Crispus Attucks, -
The Tea Act
The purpose of the Tea Act was to save the East India Company which was having financial difficulty. The law required the colonists to purchase thier tea from the company thereby giving it a monopoly in the colonies. -
The Boston Tea Party
Angry about the Tea Act and its insistance on being enforced in Boston, a group named the Sons of Liberty which included John Adams secretly boarded three ships loaded with tea and dumped 342 chests of tea into the Boston Harbor. As a result of these actions by this group of colonists the Parliment passed the Intolerable Acts. -
The Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts also known as the Coercion Acts were passed to turn around colonial resistence and especially in Boston. It consisted of five laws namely, the Boston Port Act, the Massachuecetts Government Act, the Administration of Justice Act, the Quatering Act and the Quebec Act. -
Intolerable Acts 2
These acts required the following, First, Boston ports were to be closed until the East India Company was paid. Second, the British were to take full control over the Massachuetcetts government. Third, British officials accused of crimes were permitted to be transfered to another colony. Lastly, the colonies were to pay the cost for British troops in their colonies. -
The First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress held in Philadelphia was organized to discuss and debate the frustrations the colonies had with the Intolerable Acts. All of the colonies were represented except Georgia. The 56 attendees at the congress included John Adams, Samuel Adams, George Washington and Patrick Henry. In the end the colonist agreed to boycott British goods and to hold a secong congrees the next year. -
Lexington and Concord 2
The Minutemen who had 70 troops compared to 240 British troops fought fiercely killing many British soldiers. The British continued on to Concord to sieze gunpowder and ammunition. When they arrived at Concord they wre met by the American militias and another battle occured. The British were forced to retreat to Boston but on the way lost many men to minutemen sharp shooters. -
Lexington and Concord
The British troops were headed to Concord to capture John Handcock and Samuel Adams both of whom had been warned about the attack. Thus when the British came to get them the Minutemen, rebels who were ready to fight at a moments notice, prepared to attack them in Lexington. The battle began when shots were fired at the Minutemen who had been preparing to retreat. The Bristish then attacked with bayonets. -
Second Continental Congress 2
This was destined not to work because just prior to its creation the colonists signed the Declaration of Causes written by Thomas Jefferson and John Dickenson in which they stated their reasons for taking up arms against the British. -
The Second Continental Congress
At the Second Continental Congress attended by 65 delegates including Thomas Jefferson Ben Franklin and John Handcock, the colonies did several things starting with the establishment of a militia naming George Washington Commander -In-Chief on June 14, 1775 and ending with the Declaration of Independence. Not sure what path to take the colonist signed an Olive Branch Petition pledging their loyaty to the crown and asking King George,III to avoid war. -
Battle of Bunker Hill 3
It was a costly win for the British who lost 1000 men and showed the colonist that their army was not invincible. -
Battle at Bunker Hill
At the Battle of Bunker Hill the colonist were upset when they saw the build up of British troops off the coast in an attempt to occupy parts of the Boston penninsula. Thus at night General Prescott ordered 1,200 of his men to fortify Bunker Hill in an attempt to stop the British. The colonist worked all night and built a 160 x 30 ft. earthed structure. However, the structure which surprised the British General Gage was not built on Bunker Hill but on Breed's Hill. -
Battle of Bunker Hill 2
At day break the battle began. The British believed that they could win by scaring the colonist and walked up the hill without loaded weapons. This was did not work and many British soldiers were killed when the colonist began shooting once they saw the whites of their eyes. After three attempts and 1000 loses the British finally took the hill and won the battle. The colonists ran out of ammunition and retreated.
