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The French and indian War
After a six year long period of peace between France and Britain, war erupted between them over an arguement that began when france built fort near the Ohio river which was owned by someone else. A militia sent by the governor of Virginia to evict the French. This was the beginning of the war. -
Proclamaiton of 1763
This Proclamation established a line across the Appalachian Mountains. Colonists were not permitted to cross the line. Since the colonists were eager to expand westward from the densely populated Atlantic coastline, they ignored the proclamaiton and traveled through the Native American lands. -
Sugar Act
Great Britain had doubled its national debt during the war. King George the third chose financial expert George Grenville to serve as prime minister. Grenville believed that colonists were smuggling goods because the custom services who collected taxes on imports were losing money. The act halfed the taxes on foreign made molasses in hopes the colonists wouldn't smuggle, it added taxes on imports that didn't have taxes before, and it said that violators would be tried in a vice-admirality court. -
Stamp Act
This act imposed a tax on documents and printed items such as wills, newspapers, and playing cards. Parliament passed this act. Later in October of 1765, merchants in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia agreed to a boycott of British goods until Parliament repealed the act in March 1766 -
Sons of Liberty is formed
Colonist, such as shopkeepers, artisans, and even laborers organized a secret resistance group called the Sons of Liberty to protest law and boycott british taxes. -
Townshend Act
Parliament past this act in 1767 and they named it after the leading government minister, Charles Townshend. The Act put taxes on goods imported from Britain like glass, lead, paint, and paper. The Act also imposed a tax on the most popular drink in the Colonies, tea. -
The Boston Masacre
A mob of Bostonians gathered in front of a Boston Customs House and taunted British soldiers that were standing guard. The soldiers fired shots resulting in the death or mortal wounding of five colonists, including Crispus Attucks. Colonial leaders quickly labeled the confrontation as the Boston Masacre. -
Tea Act
Lord North created the Tea Act in order to save the nearly bankrupt British East India Company. The act allowed the company the right to sell tea to the colonies free of the taxes that Colonials had to pay to sell tea. This way the company could sell its tea directly to consumers. North hoped that the American Colonists would just buy the cheaper tea, unforunately the Americans were outraged and began protesting dramaticaly. -
Boston Tea Party
A large group of Boston rebels disguised themselves as Native Americans and took action against British Tea ships anchored in the harbor. During this incident "Indians" dumped 18,000 pounds of the East India Company's tea into the Boston harbor. -
Intolerable Acts
The infuriated King George III demanded Parliament to act. Parliament responded by passing a series of of measures that colonists called Intolerable Acts. One law shut down Boston Harbor. Another, the Quartering Act, authorized British commanders to house soldiers in private homes and other buildings. In addition to these measures, General Thomas Gage, commander-in-chief of British forces in North America, was appointed the new governor of Massachusetts. He placed Boston under martial law. -
First Continental Congress meets
Responding to Britain's actions, 56 delegates met in Philadelphia after the committees of correspondence assembled the First Continental Congress. These delegates drew up a decleration of colonial rights. They defended thge colonies' right to run their own affairs and stated that, if the British used force against the colonies, the colonies should fight back. -
Battles of Lexington and Cocnord
Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott rode out to spread word that 700 British troops were headed for Concord. When the Redcoats reached Lexington on april 19, only 5 miles from Concord, they were met by 70 minutemen. The British commanded that they drop their arms and leave but someone shot and started a 15 minute battle were 8 were killed and 10 were wounded. When the British reached Concord they fought some rebels and then on their way back to boston they were ambushed by thousands. -
Second Continental Congress
Colonial leaders called the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia to debate their next The loyalties that divided colonists sparked endless debates at the Second Continental Congress. Some delegates called for independence, while others argued for reconciliation with Great Britain. Despite such differences, the Congress agreed to recognize the colonial militia as the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
British general Thomas Gage decided to strike at militiamen on Breed's Hill, north of the city and near Bunker Hill. On June17, 1775, Gage sent 2,400 British soldiers up the hill. The colonists held their fire until the last minute and then began to mow down the advancing redcoats before retreating. By the time the smoked cleared, the colonists had lost 450 men, while the British had over 1,000 casualties. The misnamed Battle of Bunker Hill would prove to be the deadliest battle of the war. -
Olive Branch Petition
Congress sent the king the so-called Olive Branch Petition, urging a return to "the former harmony" between Britain and the colonies. King George flatly rejected the petition. Furthermore, he issued a proclamation stating that the colonies were in rebellion and urged Parliament to order a naval blockade to isolate a line of ships meant for American coast. -
Publication of Common Sense
Thomas Paine wrote and published a widely read 50-page pamphlet titled Common Sense, Paine attacked King George and the monarchy. Paine, a recent immigrant, argued that responsibility for British tyranny lay with "the royal brute of Britain." Paine explained that his own revolt against the king had begun with Lexington and Concord. Paine declared that independence would allow America to trade more freely and a chance to create a better society. -
Declaration of Independence
By the early summer of 1776, the wavering Continental Congress finally decided to urge each colony to formits own government. On June 7, Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee moved that "these United Colonies are, and of a right ought to be, free and independent States." While talks on this fateful motion were under way, the Congress appointed a commitee to prepare a formal Declaration of Independence. Virginia lawyer Thomas Jefferson was chosen to prepare the final draft. -
Early British victories
The British quickly attempted to seize New York City. The British sailed into New York harbor in the summer of 1776 with a force of about 32,000 soldiers, including thousands of German mercenaries known as Hessians. Although the Continental Army attempted to defend New York in late August, the untrained and poorly equipped colonial troops soon retreated. By late fall, the British had pushed Washington's army across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania. -
Early Continental Army victories
Desperate for an early victory, Washington risked everything on one bold stroke set for Christmas night, 1776. In the face of a fierce a storm, he led 2,400men in small rowboats across the ice-choked Delaware River. They then marched to their objective, Trenton, New Jersey, and defeated a garrison of Hessians in a surprise attack. The British soon regrouped, however, and in September of 1777, they captured the American capital at Philadelphia. -
Saratoga
General John Burgoyne didn't realize that his fellow British officers were preoccupied with holding Philadelphia and weren't coming to meet him. American troops finally surounded Bugoyne at Saratoga, where he surrendered on October 17, 1777. The surrender at Saratoga turned out to be one of the most important events of the war. Although the French had secretly aided the Patriots since early 1776, the Saratoga victory bolstered France's belief that the Americans could win so they made an alliance -
Friedrich von Steuben and Marquis de Lafayette
In February 1778, in the midst of the frozen winter at Valley Forge, American troops began an amazing transformation. Friedrich von Steuben, a Prussian captain and talented drillmaster, helped tp train the Continental Army. Other foreign military leaders, such as the Marquis de Lafayette, also arrived to offer their help. Lafayette lobbied France for French reinforcements in 1779, and led a command in Virginia in the last years of the war. Thanks to the help they became an effective force. -
Valley Forge
While this hopeful turn of events took place in Paris, Washington and his Continental Army, desperately low on food and supplies, fought to stay alive at winter camp in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. More than 2,000 soldiers died, yet the survivors didn't desert. Their endurance and suffering filled Washington's letters to the Congress and hid friends. -
British victories in the South
At the end of 1778, a British expedition easily took savanah, Georgia. In their greatest victory of the war, the British under Generals Henry Clinton and Charles Cornwallis captured Charles Town, South Carolina, in May 1780. Clinton then left for New York, while Cornwallis took over land in the south. Colonists continued to slow down Cornwallis effort to take the Carolinas. Cornwallis then took his 7,500 troops to the peninsula between James and York rivers and camped in Yorktown, Virginia. -
British Surrender at Yorktown
After Lafayette and Washington learned of Cornwallis's actions, they began moving their armies south. A French naval force defeated a British fleet and then blocked the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay, thereby obstructing British sea routes to the bay. By late September, about 17,000 French and American troops surrounded the British on the Yorktown peninsula and began bombarding them day and night. Less than a month later, on October 19, 1781, Cornwallis finally surrendered. -
Treaty of Paris
The talk of peace began in Paris 1782. The American negotiating team, including John Adams, John Jay of New York, and Benjamin Franklin, signed the Treaty of Paris in September 1783. This confirmed the U.S.'s independence and the boundries of the new nation. The United States now stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River and from Canada to the Florida border.
