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Treaty of Paris
Offically ends the French and Indian War -
Admirality Courts
Admiralty courts, are courts exercising jurisdiction over all maritime contracts, torts, injuries, and offenses. Admiralty Courts became an issue that was a part of the rising tension between the British Parliament and their American Colonies. Starting with the Proclamation of 1763, these courts were given jurisdiction over a number of laws affecting the colonies. The jurisdiction was expanded in later acts of the Parliament, such as the Stamp Act of 1765. -
Proclamation of 1763
Soon after the French and Indian War, King George III issued this Proclamation to concilate the Indians by limiting the colonists' settling. It closed westward colonial expansion by declaring lands west of the Appalachian Divide off limits to colonial settlers. -
Sugar Act
A tax passed by the British to pay for the French and Indian War. It taxed sugar and decreased taxes on molasses in the colonies and the West Indies. It also restricted smuggling. -
Declatory Act
Passed the same day as the repeal of the Stamp Act. Reaffirmed it ability to pass any legislation it saw fit. -
Stamp Act
Imposed on all American colonists by British Parliament. Required them to pay taxes on printed paper such as legal documents, licenses, newspapers, publications, and even playing cards. It paid for the costs of defending the American Frontier. -
Quartering Act
This act ordered the American Colonies to provide British soldiers with food and housing when they needed it. -
Sons of Liberty
Formed in 1765 after the passage of the Stamp Act. They incited riots and burned the customs houses where the stamped British paper was kept. After the repeal of the Stamp Act, many of the local chapters formed the Committees of Correspondence which continued to promote opposition to British policies towards the colonies. The Sons leaders included Samuel Adams and Paul Revere. -
Stamp Act Congress
Representatives from nine of the thirteen colonies declare the Stamp Act unconstitutional as it was a tax levied without their consent. -
Stamp Act Repealed
Parliament repeals the Stamp Act, due to protests. -
Townshend Acts
The Townshed Acts imposed taxes on glass, lead, paints, paper, and tea imported into the colonies. Americans viewed it as an abuse of power from the British Goverment. -
The Boston Massacre
A squad of British soldiers came to help police an angry mob and let loose a volley of shots. they killed five and eight injured. The soldiers were arrested for mansluaghter and later aquitted. -
Committees of Correspondence established
Committees of Correspondence are established throughout the colonies to coordinate American response to British colonial policy. This represents an important move toward cooperation, mutual action, and the development of a national identity among Americans. -
Tea Act
The act’s main purpose was not to raise revenue from the colonies but to bail out the floundering East India Company, a key actor in the British economy. The British government granted the company a monopoly on the importation and sale of tea in the colonies. The colonists had never accepted the constitutionality of the duty on tea, and the Tea Act rekindled their opposition to it. -
Boston Tea Party
A crowd disguised as Mohawk Indians dump more than three hundred crates of British tea into Boston Harbor. -
Massachusetts Goverment Act
Ended the Constitution of Massachusetts, restricted town meetings and prohibited the election of town officials. -
First Continental Congress
Fifity-six delegates from twelve colonies meet in Philadelphia to consider a coordinated response to the Intolerable Acts. -
New York Assembly Disbanded
New York Legislators agreed not to meet until t= -
The Coercive Acts
The British Parliament passed these laws to punish the Massachusetts colony for the Boston Tea Party. One of the laws closed Boston Harbor until the colonists paid for the destroyed tea. Another law banned the Committees of Correspondence. Still another law allowed Britain to house troops where ever it wanted to, this was called the Quartering Act. The Quebec Act gave the Ohio country to Canada. These Laws were so harsh that the colonist called them the Intolerable Acts. -
Lexington & Concord
A British force from the Boston garrsion attempts to seize military supplies of the Massachusetts miltia, sparking the first military engagement of the Revolution -
Second Continental Congress
Delegates meet to decide whether to seek reconciliation with Britain or not. Congress votes to create a Continental army from the New England forces Boston. -
Capture of Ticonderoga
Benedict Arnold of Massachusetts joined Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys of Vermont in a dawn attack on the fort, surprising and capturing the sleeping British garrison. Although it was a small-scale conflict, the Battle of Fort Ticonderoga was the first American victory of the Revolutionary War, and would give the Continental Army much-needed artillery to be used in future battles. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
Early in the Revolutionary War, the British defeated the Americans at the Battle of Bunker Hill in Massachusetts. Despite their loss, the inexperienced colonial forces inflicted significant casualties against the enemy, and the battle provided them with an important confidence boost. -
Period: to
The American Revolution
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George Washington Appointed Commander of the Continental Army
He was voted to lead the Revolutionary War. He hadn’t before commanded an army that big but since everyone looked up to him, followed him, and a great leader so they chose him. -
Patrick Henry gives speech
In connection with a petition to declare a "state of defense" in virginia in 1775, he gave his most famous speech which ends with the words, "Give me liberty or give me death." -
Attack on Quebec
Amercian forces under generals Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold attack the city of Quebec in a failed attempt to drive the Britsh forces from the province and enlist Candian support. -
Publication of Common Sense
Thomas Paine issues his clarion call for American Independence -
Hessian soldiers land at Staten Island
The Hessians were German soldiers that were hired through the rulers of six German principalities by the British Empire in the 1700's. Over 30,000 Hessian soldiers were hired to fight against the American rebels during the Revolutionary War. -
Battle of Trenton
Washington defeated a formidable garrison of Hessian mercenaries before withdrawing. The victories reasserted American control of much of New Jersey and greatly improved the morale and unity of the colonial army and militias. -
Articles of Confederation adopted
The Articles granted limited powers to the central government, reserving most powers for the states. The result was a poorly defined national state that couldn't govern the country's finances or maintain stability. -
Battle of Saratoga
The British strategy of cutting New England off from the rest of the rebelling colonies end in failure. The British surrender influences France's decision to declare war on Great Britain. -
Franco-American Alliance
The Continental Congress and the French goverment sign a treaty of alliance that faciliates commercial exchange, French recognition of the United States of America, and pledges mutual support in the struggle against Great Brtitain. -
Spain delares war on Great Britain
Spain assists the struggle by joining France in naval and land operations agasint the British, but refuses to recognize American independence or enter a formal alliance. -
Benedict Arnold becomes a traitor
After becoming Commander of Philadelphia in 1778, he went heavily into debt, and in 1780, he was caught plotting to surrender the key Hudson River fortress of West Point to the British in exchange for a commission in the royal army. -
Battle of Yorktown
Last major battle of the American Revolution. Prompted the British government to negotiate an end to the conflict. -
Treaty of Paris
Ended the American Revolutionary War between Great Britain and the United States of America.
