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Navigation Acts
Parliament passed these acts to regulate colonial trade and manufacturing. The acts were not really enforced. -
French and Indian War Ends
England defeated France and the Native Americans. British treasury drained. Colonists were to pay costs. -
Stamp Act
Newspapers and pamphlets taxed. Colonists resented them as an attack on their rights. -
Boston Massacre
British soldiers shot at a crowd throwing stones and snowballs and killed five people. -
Tea Act
Tea imported from Britain was taxed. -
Boston Tea Party
Colonists threw imported British tea into the harbor to protest the tax. Parliament then passed harsh laws as punishment. -
Coercive/ Intolerable Acts
Laws passed by Parliament to punish Massachusetts. -
First Continental Congress
Representatives from 12 colonies gathered in Philadelphia. They discussed how to respond to Britain’s punishment on Massachusetts. -
Lexington and Concord
War began. Colonists fought British Troops in Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. -
Second Continental Congress
The Congress met and set up a Continental Army with George Washington in command. -
Declaration of Independence Adopted
Congress voted to declare independence from Britain. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. -
Battle of Saratoga
America beat the British. It was the first turning point in the war and persuaded France to join the Americans. -
Winter at Valley Forge
Continental troops suffered from cold, hunger, and disease. Washington held the army together. -
Battle of Yorktown
Washington forced the surrender of a British army, causing the British war effort to crumble. -
U.S. Constitution Written
The nation’s leaders created the Constitution of the United States. -
Adoption of the U.S. Constitution
The leaders adopted the Constitution, It has remained in place for more than 200 years.
