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The Sugar Act
The Sugar Act is also known as the American Revenue Act which was passed by the Parliament of Great Britain. The goal was to raise revenue to help defray the military costs of protecting the American colonies at the time when Great Britain's economy was saddled with the hugh national debt accumulated during the French amd Indian war. -
The Stamp Act
Imposed by the British Parliament all American colonists were required to pay a tax on every piece of paper they used. The purpose of the tax was to help pay for troops stationed in North America after the British victory in the French and Indian war. -
The Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was an incident that occured on king street. It was a fight between British soldiers and a mob of American colonists which resulted in the death of five colonists. The fight started when the colonists went infront of the customs office in Boston Massachusetts and started to throw things and insult the soldiers. Because of the so-called harassment the soldiers fired on the crowd. -
The Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a protest against taxation tyranny where in Boston Harbor a group of colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians board three British tea ships and dump 342 chests of tea into the harbor. -
The First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates from twelve of the thirteen colonies that met at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They met in reaction to the coercive acts, a series of measures imposed by the British government on the colonies in response to their resistance to new taxes. -
The Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the Revolutionary war. Tensions had been building for many years between residents of the 13 colonies and the British authorities. In the night hundreds of British troops marched from Boston to nearby concord in order to seize an arms ache. Paul Revere and others sounded the alarms and soon colonial militiamen began mobilizing. A confrontation on Lexington started of the fighting and soon the British were retreating. -
The Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress met in the summer of 1775 and had officially declared that the Ameriican war had begun. They also managed the colonial war effort and moved incrementally towards Independence. -
George Washington named commander in chief
George Washington was serving in the Virginia House of Burgesses when he was unanimously voted to lead the revolutionary war. He had earlier distinguished himself in the eyes of his contemporaries as a commander for the British army in the French and Indian war. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
On June 13, the leaders of the colonial forces besieging Boston learned that the British were planning to send out troops out of the city to fortify the unoccupied hills surrounding the city. Under command 1200 colonial troops stealthily occupied Bunker Hill. When the British were alerted of their presence they mounted an attack against them and after 2 attacks the colonials ran out of ammunition and retreated. -
Thomas Paine's Common Sense published
Published in 1776, Common Sense challenged the authority of the British government and the royal monarchy. Written by Thomas Paine the pamphlet inspired people in the thirteen colonies to declare and fight for Independence from the British. This presented the American Colonists with an argument for freedom from British rule at a time when the question of whether or not to seek Independence was the central issue of the day. -
Declaration of Independence was adopted
The Declaration of Independence was not signed on July 4, 1776. On July 1, 1776 the second continental congress met in Philadelphia and on the following day 12 of the 13 colonies voted in favor of Richard Henry Lee's motion for Independence. -
Declaration of Independence was signed
Independence was formally declared on August 2, 1776; a date which John Adams believed would be the most memorable epocha in the history of America. 56 delegates to the second continental congress in Philadelphia signed the declaration which stated that the 13 colonies which were then at war with Great Britain were now independent states and no longer part of the British empire. -
Battle of Saratoga
The Battle of Saratoga marked the climax of the Saratoga campaign giving a decisive victory to the Americans over the British. The battle was between British and German troops against the Americans. In the end the Americans forced the surrender of Burgoyne's force. -
The French Alliance
The French Alliance was an defensive alliance between France and USA which promised America of French military support in case of attack by British forces indefinitely in the future. Delegates of King Louis xvi of France and the Second Continental Congress who represented USA at the time signed the treaty. -
John Paul aboard the Bonhomme Richard
John Paul was an American Naval hero who was famous for captaining the Bonhomme Richard. He fought in the battle of Serapis and although he was fighting with two British ships that had 72 guns he somehow outwitted the captains and gained victory. -
Benedict's Arnold plans
He was a brillant general who won several battles against the British but he then joined them. He had played a major part of the victory of the Saratoga battle but yet he had joined the British and tried to help them win. He had planned to deliver his own keys to Weat point which is the site of the US army to Britain's Major, John Andre. Andre was captured and hanged and Arnold escaped amd actually commanded British troops later in the war. -
Battle of Cowpens
The Battle of Cowpens was a decisive victory by continental army forces under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan in South Carolina over the British army led by colonel Banastre Tarleton, during the southern campaign of the revolutionary war. It was a turning point in the patriots' reconquest of Soth Carolina from British control. -
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation served as the written document that established the functions of the national government of the United States after it declared Independence from Great Britain. -
Battle of Yorktown
The battle of Yorktown is considered the mahor battle of the revolution. The continental army led by George Washington won against the British led by lord Charles Cornwallis. -
The Treaty of Paris
When the treaty of Paris was signed it finally brought the revolutionary war to its final conclusion.
