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Enlightenment
An intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries with global influences and effects. The scientific revolution brought the Enlightenment to life, and the Enlightenment lead to numerous books, essays, inventions, laws, and scientific discoveries. -
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French & Indian War
Began in 1754 and ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763. This war began over the issue of weather the upper Ohio River Valley was a part of the British Empire. -
Stamp Act of 1765
An act of Parliament of Great Britain which imposed a direct tax on the British colonies. This act required that many printed materials in the colonies be produced on stamped paper produced in London.
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Boston Massacre
A riot in Boston in which a group of nine British soldiers shoot five people out of a crowd. Three or four hundred people in the crowd had been abusing the soldiers. This lead to the Governor kicking the army out of the town. This was also a single event leading up to the Revolutionary War. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a political protest that occurred on December 16, 1773, at Griffin’s Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts. American colonists were frustrated and angry at Britain for imposing “taxation without representation,” so they dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor.
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Intolerable Acts (Coercive Acts)
A series of punitive laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 after the Boston tea party. This led to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. -
First Continental Congress Meets
On September 5, 1774, the first Continental Congress in the United States met in Philadelphia to consider its reaction to the British government's restraints on trade and representative government after the Boston Tea Party. The group agreed to a boycott of British goods within the colonies as a sign of protest, they also called for an end of exports to Great Britain in the following year if the Intolerable Acts weren’t repealed -
Battles of Lexington & Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord, fought on April 19, 1775. This kicked off the American Revolutionary War. Hundreds of British troops marched from Boston to nearby Concord and in 1783 the colonists formally won their independence. -
Second Continental Congress Meets
The Second Continental Congress met inside Independence Hall beginning in May 1775. It was just a month after shots had been fired at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts, and the Congress was preparing for war. -
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. The Petition emphasized their loyalty to the British crown and emphasized their rights as British citizens.
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Thomas Paine's Common Sense Published
On January 9, 1776, writer Thomas Paine publishes his pamphlet “Common Sense,” setting forth his arguments in favor of American independence. “Common Sense” played a remarkable role in transforming a colonial squabble into the American Revolution. -
Declaration of Independence Adopted
The Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, with 12 of the 13 colonies voting in favor and New York abstaining. It took two days for the Congress to agree on the edits, Thomas Jefferson was the main author. -
Treaty of Paris Signed
This treaty signed on September 3, 1783, between Britain, France, and Spain, formally marked the end of the Seven Years War. It ended the American Revolution and formally recognized the United States as an independent nation. -
3/5 Compromise
States in the North and South could not agree on how slaves would be counted in the population. It was the decided during the Philadelphia convention that every five slaves would be counted as three people for taxation and representation purposes. -
Bill of Rights Adopted
On October 2, 1789, President Washington sent copies of the 12 amendments adopted by Congress to the states, by December 15, 1791, three-fourths of the states had ratified 10 of these, now known as the “Bill of Rights.” The Bill of Rights, were designed to protect the basic rights of U.S. citizens.
