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The Sugar Act
The first British tax imposed on the AMerican colonies to support Britain's mercantilist policy. -
The Stamp Act
The act levied directly on American colonists by the British government that imposed a tax on all paper documents in the colonies. -
British Parliament adopts the Coercive Acts
Upset by the Boston Tea Party and other blatant acts of destruction of British property by American colonists, the British Parliament enacts the Coercive Act. -
Declaration of Inependance
On this day in 1776, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence, which proclaims the independence of a new United States of America from Great Britain and its king. -
The Battle of Saratoga
British General John Burgoyne launches a three-column attack against General Horatio Gates and his American forces in the First Battle of Saratoga, also known as the Battle of Freeman’s Farm. -
Battle of Yorktown
On this day in 1781, General George Washington, commanding a force of 17,000 French and Continental troops, begins the siege known as the Battle of Yorktown against British General Lord Charles Cornwallis and a contingent of 9,000 British troops at Yorktown, Virginia, in the most important battle of the Revolutionary War. -
Treaty of Paris
The American Revolution officially comes to an end when representatives of the United States, Great Britain, Spain and France sign the Treaty of Paris. -
Constitutional Convention
The peaceful overthrow of the new American government as it had been defined by the Article of Confederation.
