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Declaration of Rights and Grievances
This Declaration was written by the Stamp Act Congress, arguing that all taxes put on the colonists were unconstitutional. It also argued that they had a right to trial by jury, Parliament couldn't make decisions for them without their say, and that colonists had the Rights of Englishmen. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was the shooting of 5 Boston citizens by the British troops, after an argument between a soldier and another civilian. With common people throwing snowballs and yelling insults at the soldiers, they trrops fired upon the colonists. -
The Boston Tea Party
After Parliament passed the Tea Act, an act which said the colonies could only buy their tea from British East India Company, colonists dressed as Indians and boarded the Tea ships in the middle of the night. The dumped the chests of tea into Boston Harbour. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The citizens of Lexington and Concord were stockng up on weapons, the British heard of this and tried to surpise them. The Patriots' spies heard of their plan though, and sent Paul Revere and Samuel Prescott to alert the towns of the British arrival. In Lexington, the British troops easily defeated the militia there. In Concord, when they found the stockpile to be missing, they set fire to many buildings, the angry townspeople started firing at them, and chased them back to Boston. -
Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts was a series of acts passed in reaction to the Boston Tea Party, these included: closing Boston Harbor, revoking Massachusetts colonial charter, trails of royal officals accused of crimes would be held in Great Britian, the Quartering Act, and the Province of Quebec was extended into the Ohio Country and guarenteed Catholics the freedom to practice religion. -
First Continental Congress
All colonies except Georgia, sent delegates to this meeting in Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia. They wanted to meet and discuss the Intolerable Acts. While half of them wished to fight, and the other half wanted to keep peace, they comprised, telling local militas to prepare to fight, while they kept on working on their relationship with Great Britain. They wrote the Declaration of Rights, and if the King turned it down, they agreed to meet again in May of 1775. -
Second Contintenal Congress
Delegates from the 12 colonies sent delegates to Philadelphia to meet again (Georgia sent there's a month later). The Congress asked colonies to write new constitutions, and created a Continental Army. They also wrote the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson as the main author. The delegates signed the Olive Branch Petition as well, which was their last try at finding peace, King George turned it down immediately. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Continental Army dug into Breed's Hill, which was above the Boston, where the British army was stationed. The high ground gave the Patriots an advantage, while the British had to cross Boston Harbor and shoot uphill. The were forced to retreat down the hill twice, but on their third attempt, the Patriots had run out of ammunition and forced to retreat themselves. Though the British won the battle, they had lost double the number of Patriot soldiers. -
Olive Branch Petition
The Olive Branch Petition was the Continental Congress's last attempt at keeping peace. King George denied it immediately, and looked for more ways to punish the colonies. -
Common Sense
Common Sense was a 47-page pamphlet published anonymously in Philadelphia. The anonymous author was Thomas Paine. The pamphlet argued that the citizens of countries should make the laws, and not monarchs. The pamphlet changed many peoples views about their King. -
Americans Drive British out of Boston
Washington had many heavy artillery brought to Boston from Fort Ticonderoga. He lined them up on Nook's Hill, overlooking General Howe's troops, in the middle of the night. When the British troops woke up, they had many cannons and guns pointing down on them. On March 7, they left Boston. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was the formal announcement of our independence of Great Britain. Thomas Jefferson, the main author talked about three main things. How every citizen has the right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness", our unalienable rights, that the King had no right to tax the colonists without their consent, and the colonies had the right to break away from Great Britain -
Battle of Trenton
The Battle of Trenton was a very important victory for the Patriots. The Continental Army suprise attacked the Hessian army in Trenton, New Jersey the night after Christmas, knowing the Hessians would be tired out from the festivities of the holiday. After crossing the icy Delaware River in the middle of the night, they easily defeated the Hessians, taking arond 900 prisoners. This victory was a huge morale booster, for the soldiers and supporters. -
Battle of Saratoga
This battle is considered the turning point of the War.The British were planning on cutting off New England from the rest of the colonies. General Burgoyne would go in from Canada, recapture Fort Ticonderoga, and then move onto Albany, meeting General Howe's troops whom were coming up the Hudson.Howe instead went and captured Philadelphia, ruining the plan.The Patriot created obstacles for the British in the forest, when they reached Saratoga, New York they were surrounded by Patriot troops. -
Valley Forge
Valley Forge, Pennsylvania was the place the Continental Army camped for the Winter of 1777-1778. Many soldiers were not fully clothes, without shirts or shoes. and the Food supply was very low. General Washington begged Congress to send more supplies, but the funds were non-existant. Over 2,000 people died from disease and malnutrition during that fateful winter. -
John Paul Jones captures the British ship Serapis
John Paul Jones was considered a pirate to the Brisih Army, because of the many ships he captured from them. His most famous victory was capturing the ship Serapis. During the battle, the British knocked out Jones' heaviest artillery, but he kept on fighting. The battle lastes 2 more hours, finally wearing down the British, the Patriots won. -
Siege of Charleston
The Siege of Charleston was a hard loss for the Patriot forces. Forced to surrender, they lost 5,000 soldiers, and the city of Charleston -
The Battle of Yorktown
The Battle of Yorktown was the last major battle of the War. George Washington trapped Cornwallis, by combining with the French army, on land, while French ships lined the Virginia coast, preventing British ships coming and saving the army. For nearly 2 months, the siege continued, until Cornwallis surrendered on October 19. The Patriots took nearly 8,000 prisoners, the biggest British army in the Colonies. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris gave the colonies their independence they had been fighting for. After the Battle at Yorktown, only a few small battles followed, but for the most part Great Britian started talking of peace with the colonies. Benjamin Franklin had a key part in these peaceful debates. It took 2 years to come up with an agreement. The treaty not only gave the colonies their independence, but also set their country boundaries.
