-
Period: to
French & Indian War
The French and Indian War began over the specific issue of whether the upper Ohio River valley was a part of the British Empire, and therefore open for trade and settlement by Virginians and Pennsylvanians, or part of the French Empire -
Sons of Liberty
The Sons of Liberty, a well-organized Patriot paramilitary political organization shrouded in secrecy, was established to undermine British rule in colonial America and was influential in organizing and carrying out the Boston Tea Party. -
Boston Massacre
The 1770 Boston Massacre was a skirmish between colonist rioters and British soldiers that ended with five colonists' deaths. It was the result of a number of factors inciting resentment in the colonists, including: The Sugar Act and the Stamp Act, which were passed without colonist representation. -
Intolerable Acts (Coercive Acts)
The Coercive Acts of 1774, known as the Intolerable Acts in the American colonies, were a series of four laws passed by the British Parliament to punish the colony of Massachusetts Bay for the Boston Tea Party. the Boston Port Act, the Massachusetts Government Act, the Administration of Justice Act, and the Quartering Act -
Battle of Bunker Hill
The American patriots were defeated at the Battle of Bunker Hill, but they proved they could hold their own against the superior British Army. The fierce fight confirmed that any reconciliation between England and her American colonies was no longer possible. -
Battle of Trenton
In late 1776, morale in the Continental Army was at a low after losses at the Battle of White Plains in October and at Forts Washington and Lee in November. Chased by the British, General Washington retreated across New Jersey and into Pennsylvania. His force, in threadbare uniforms and many without shoes, was reduced to a few thousand and enlistments were set to expire. -
Battles of Lexington & Concord
Thomas Gage was appointed Royal Governor of Massachusetts in 1774 and tasked by the British Parliament with stamping out rising unrest caused by restrictive British policies. Gage inflamed tensions between the colonies and the mother country and practiced harsh enforcement of British law. He drafted the Coercive Acts, a series of laws intended to punish colonists for deeds of defiance against the King, such as the Boston Tea Party. -
Battle of Camden
The Battle of Camden was one of several devastating defeats suffered by the Americans in the early stages of the British military offensive in the South. After capturing Charleston in May 1780, British forces under General Charles Lord Cornwallis established a supply depot and garrison at Camden as part of their effort to secure control of the South Carolina backcountry. -
Battle of Yorktown
After six years of war, both the British and Continental armies were tired. The British, in hostile territory, held only a few coastal areas in America. On the other side of the Atlantic, Britain was also waging a global war with France and Spain. The American conflict was unpopular and divisive, and there was no end in sight. For the colonies, the long struggle for independence was leading to huge debt, food shortages, and a lack of morale among the soldiers. -
Great Compromise
The Great Compromise resolved the conflict between large and small states by ensuring that both their interests were represented in Congress.