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French and Indian war
The French and Indian War resulted from ongoing frontier tensions in North America, both French and British imperial officials and colonists wanted to extend each country’s span of influence in frontier regions. The war provided Great Britain a lot of territorial gains in North America but the war was so expensive it led to colonial discontent and ultimately The American Revolution. -
Stamp Act of 1765
The Stamp Act was to help pay for British troops stationed in the colonies during the Seven Years War. The act required the colonists to pay a tax, represented by a stamp, on various forms of papers, documents, and playing cards. -
Townshend Act of 1767
The Townshend act of 1767 was a series of 4 acts passed by the British parliament that taxed goods imported to the American Colonies. A lot of American colonists who were not in parliament hated these new laws and saw them as abuse of power.
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The Boston Massacre
Boston's and Redcoats clashed in the streets of Boston after months of tensions due to occupation and taxation. 5 civilians were killed by the gun fire. -
The Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a political protest about taxes. American colonists were frustrated at Britain for imposing “taxation without representation,” and dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor. -
Olive Branch petition sent to England
The Olive Branch petition was sent to the king as a last attempt to prevent war from being declared. It emphasized their loyalty to the British king and their rights as British citizens. -
Sons of Liberty
The Sons of Liberty were a group of instigators and in colonial America who used extreme forms of threats and violence to intimidate loyalists and outrage the British government. Their goal was to push the colonial leaders into confrontation with the king. -
Thomas Paines Common Sense published
This 47 page pamphlet did a lot to quickly change how colonists saw Britain and its tyrannical laws and unfair tax invasion. Thomas made the argument that Americans had the opportunity to change history by creating a new government where people were free and had the power to rule themselves.
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The Declaration of Independence was adopted
It summarized the colonists motivations for seeking independence. By declaring themselves an independent nation, the American colonists were able to confirm an official alliance with the Government of France and obtain French assistance in the war against Great Britain. -
Articles of Confederation was created
This document served as the Unites States first constitution. It established a league of friendship for the 13 sovereign and independent states. -
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Battle of Yorktown
The Battle of Yorktown was the decisive engagement of the American revolution. It was the birth of the United States. click here -
Treaty Of Paris signed
The Treaty Of Paris ended the American Revolution. It formally recognized the United States as an independent nation. -
Great Compromise
States with an larger population of people wanted representation based on population and smaller states with a smaller population wanted equal representation so the founding father came up with the Great Compromise. The compromise defined the structure of Congress and the number of representatives each state would have in Congress. -
Constitution is Ratified
Until the new Constitution was ratified, the country was governed by the Articles of Confederation. The Constitution became the official framework of the government of the United States of America when New Hampshire became the ninth of 13 states to ratify it. -
Bill of Rights adopted
Many Americans opposed the new government so James Madison introduced a list of amendments to the Constitution. On October 2, 1789 George Washington sent copies of the 12 amendments to the states, by December 15, 1791, three-fourths of the states had ratified 10 of these, Bill of Rights.
