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The Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris ends the French and Indian War. The British take control of the Ohio River Valley. -
Pontiac’s Uprising
Ottawa chief Pontiac laid siege to Detroit, and eventually overran all but three British posts in the Appalachians, killing around 2,000 soldiers and settlers. -
The Navigation Laws
Prime Minister George Grenville ordered that the navy must reinforce the navigation laws were set in place to maintain order in the colonies, and their trades. -
Sugar Act
First law passed by parliament to raise revenue for the crown from colonies. It increased the duty on sugar from the West Indies. -
Stamp Tax
The Stamp tax mandated the use of stamped paper, or affixing of stamps, certifying tax payment for everyone. It was started to raise revenue to support the new military force. Stamps were required on bills of sale for about 50 trade items. People in England paid a higher stamp tax. -
Quartering Act
Required colonies to provide food and quarters for British troops. It caused much anger and trouble in the colonies. -
Sons of Liberty
The Sons (and Daughters) of Liberty were a group of people who took the law into their own hands and were rebelling the certain taxes and laws that were unfair. Their boycotts hurt the English economy. -
Stamp Act Congress
The Stamp Act Congress informed Parliament of the grievances of the colonists based on the Stamp Act. It beseeched the King and Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act. It was ignored in England, and a significant step toward intercolonial unity. -
Townshend Acts
These laws imposed a light import duty on glass, white lead, paper, paint, and tea. It was required for all citizens to pay this tax, but there was a lot of backlash and criticism for this. This caused the slogan “No taxation without representation” talking about representation in Parliament to secure their rights. -
The Boston Massacre
To maintain order in the colonies, the British founded two regiments of troops in Boston. This led to a clash that left some people fatally wounded, leading to bad blood between colonists and British troops. Both sides shared the blame for this accident, but only two British soldiers were Found guilty of their crimes. -
Committees of Correspondence
Samuel Adams organized the first Committees of Correspondence in Massachusetts in order to assert some knowledge into the British situation dooming their economy. This started a trend that continued into around 80 towns, who set up similar committees. They would go on to send letters back and forth to oppose the British policies. These committees later formed Intercolonial correspondence committees, which evolved into the first American congresses. -
The Boston Tea Party
The British East India Company was about to go bankrupt. They had lots of unsold tea, which meant they could sell it for a very low price. The colonists that they were trying to trick them into accepting taxes. So around 100 Boston residents, disguised as Indians, boarded ships with mass numbers of tea on them. They destroyed 342 chests of tea and dumped them into the harbor. -
Intolerable Acts
Parliament passed a series of rules to chastise colonists, most of which were in Boston. The most drastic of these rules, or acts, was the Boston Port Act, which closed all ports until taxes were paid. Some examples of other intolerable acts are restrictions on town meetings and the quartering act. -
The First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress was a group of leaders that met in Philadelphia who gathered from 12 out of the 13 colonies. Their were 55 men all together, some of which were Samuel Adams, George Washington, Patrick Henry, and John Adams. They were not a legislative body, but a consultative body. Contrary to the name, they were a convention, not a Congress. With John Adams as their leader, they created a Declaration of rights To the text king and the British people. -
The Association
The Association called for a complete boycott of British goods, like nonimportation, nonexportation, and nonconsumption. The delegates were not calling for inde -
Lexington and Concord
The British commander in Boston had sent troops to Lexington and Concord, in order to seize stores of gunpowder. At Lexington, the “minutemen” refused to disperse out. Shots were fired, and casualties were increasing. Britain now had a war to handle. -
The American Revolution Begins: The British
The British had a bigger population, more money, and many men in their army. King George III would go on to hire foreign soldiers from Germany. Although, the British we’re weaker than it appeared. France was not an ally in this war, and the London government was weak. -
The American Revolution Begins: The Americans
The Americans were not prepared for the strength of the British army. By the time the war started, the population in the colonies was only 2.5 million people compared to the 7.5 million people in Great Britain. The American militias were underprepared. Some advantages that they had were good leaders, foreign aid, defensive fighting and self-sufficient food. Although, they were poorly organized, leading to unorganized colonists. -
Valley Forge
At Valley Forge in Pennsylvania, some soldiers went without food for 3 days in the harsh winter. One campaign led to men fainted because of the lack of food. Manufactured goods, or any kind, were in small supplies and very scare. -
The Articles of Confederation
On March 1, 1781, the Articles of Confederation were finally created. The Articles were signed by Congress and sent to the individual states for ratification on November 15, 1777, after 16 months of debate. Bickering over land claims between Virginia and Maryland delayed final ratification for almost four more years.
