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Stamp Act
"The Stamp Act was passed by Parliament, igniting a major cause of the American Revolution -- taxation without representation. The act levied a tax on all newspapers, legal documents, pamphlets, almanacs, playing cards and dice by requiring that they bear a stamp. The money from the tax was to be used to pay for the defense of the colonies. American opposition was intense, merchants refused to buy British goods, stamp agents were threatened and official stamps were destroyed." -
The Formation of The Sons of Liberty
Despite very little documentary evidence as to the origins of the organization, Boston Patriot Samuel Adams is often credited as being the founder and leader of the Sons of Liberty. The Sons of Liberty was most likely organized in the summer of 1765 as a means to protest the passing of the Stamp Act of 1765. -
Protest on the Stamp Act
Delegates protest the Stamp Act
7 Oct 1765 - 25 Oct 1765 "Delegates from nine of the thirteen colonies gathered in New York City to formally protest the Stamp Act." -
British Troops Arrive
1 Oct 1768
"British troops arrived in Boston to quell the growing unrest in the American colonies." -
The Boston Massacre
Boston Massacre
5 Mar 1770 Building tension between American colonists and British troops came to a head after a day of rioting in Boston. British officers, surrounded by an angry mob, fired into the crowd killing 3 men outright and mortally wounding 2 others. The Boston governor, Lt. Gov. Hutchinson, avoided further confrontation by removing all British troops to islands in Boston harbor. -
the slaves leave
Perhaps the most interesting group of Loyalists were enslaved African-Americans who chose to join the British. The British promised to LIBERATE slaves who fled from their Patriot masters. This powerful incentive, and the opportunities opened by the chaos of war, led some 50,000 slaves (about 10 percent of the total slave population in the 1770s) to flee their Patriot masters. -
The Boston Tea Party
Boston Tea Party
16 Dec 1773 In protest over the Tea Act, members of the Sons of Liberty dressed as Indians boarded three British ships in Boston harbor and threw the valuable tea overboard. -
First Continental Congress
First Continental Congress
5 Sep 1774 - 25 Oct 1774 "Twelve colonies, all but Georgia, sent 56 delegates to Philadelphia to participate in the First Continental Congress. The purpose of the First Continental Congress was to debate and plan a unified response to British policy and actions. It was the first time many of these influential men had met face to face." -
Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
18 Apr 1775 General Gage planned a secret night march on Concord to seize the colonists' store of weapons. Paul Revere immediately rode out over Boston towards Lexington to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams, fellow members of the Sons of Liberty. After Revere reached Lexington, he went to Concord where he was caught and questioned by six British officers.The officers left Revere horseless and stranded near Lexington. -
Thomas Paine's Book Common Sense
Published anonymously in Philadelphia in January 1776, “Common Sense” appeared at a time when both separation from Great Britain and reconciliation were being considered. Through simple rational arguments, Thomas Paine focused blame for Colonial America’s troubles on the British king and pointed out the advantages of independence.
