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Sons of liberty
The Sons of Liberty was a loosely organized, clandestine, sometimes violent, political organization active in the Thirteen Colonies founded to advance the rights of the colonists and to fight taxation by the British government. -
Stamp act of 1765
It required colonists to pay taxes on every page of printed paper they used. The tax also included fees for playing cards, dice, and newspapers. The reaction in the colonies was immediate -
Townshend Act of 1767
To help pay the expenses involved in governing the American colonies, Parliament passed the Townshend Acts, which initiated taxes on glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea -
Boston Massacre
On March 5, 1770, seven British soldiers fired into a crowd of volatile Bostonians, killing five, wounding another six, and angering an entire colony -
Boston Tea Party
It showed that the Sons of Liberty identified with America, over their official status as subjects of Great Britain. That evening, a group of 30 to 130 men, some dressed in the Mohawk warrior disguises, boarded the three vessels and, over the course of three hours, dumped all 342 chests of tea into the water -
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 -
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 -
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
The Battle of Trenton is significant because it was the first victory the colonials had for a long time. This helped Washington convince his soldiers to keep fighting when they were ready to give up and go home -
Articles of Confederation created
Adopted by the Continental Congress on November 15, 1777, and ratified by the states in 1781, the Articles of Confederation created a weak central government—a “league of friendship”—that largely preserved state power (and independence). -
Battle of Camden
It was the worst American defeat in the field and left the British in temporary control of the southern colonies. While enhancing the reputation of Cornwallis, the battle ruined the career of Gates, who was replaced. The victory opened the way to a subsequent British invasion of North Carolina -
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Battle of Yorktown
Outnumbered and outfought during a three-week siege in which they sustained great losses, British troops surrendered to the Continental Army and their French allies. This last major land battle of the American Revolution led to negotiations for peace with the British and the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris was signed by U.S. and British Representatives on September 3, 1783, ending the War of the American Revolution -
3/5 Compromise
It determined that three out of every five slaves were counted when determining a state's total population for legislative representation and taxation. Before the Civil War, the Three-Fifths Compromise gave a disproportionate representation of slave states in the House of Representatives -
Great Compromise
The Connecticut Compromise (also known as the Great Compromise of 1787 or Sherman Compromise) was an agreement reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that in part defined the legislative structure and representation each state would have under the United States Constitution. -
Constitution is ratified
The Constitution Is Ratified by Nine States. On June 21, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the new Constitution, making its adoption official. -
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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.