-
Navigation Acts
Acts of Parliament intended to promote the self-sufficiency of the British Empire by restricting colonial trade to England and decreasing dependence on foreign imported goods. -
French and Indian War ends
England and her colonies defeated France and Native American allies. British treasury drained. Britain thought colonists should pay their share. -
Stamp Act
Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which imposed a direct tax on the British colonies in America -
Boston Massacre
A group of nine British soldiers killed three people of a crowd of three or four hundred who were abusing them verbally and throwing various missiles. -
Tea Act
An act granted the company the right to ship its tea directly to the colonies without first landing it in England -
Boston Tea Party
A group of Colonists destroyed a large British tea shipment in Boston harbor. -
Coercive/Intolerable Acts
The laws were meant to punish the Massachusetts colonists for their defiance in the Tea Party protest in reaction to changes in taxation by the British Government. Ends in June 22, 1774. -
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates from 12 of the 13 British colonies that became the United States. -
Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies in America that united in the American Revolutionary War. -
Declaration of Independence adopted
The 13 American colonies severed their political connections to Great Britain. The Declaration summarized the colonists' motivations for seeking independence. -
Battle of Saratoga
The American defeat of the superior British army lifted patriot morale, furthered the hope for independence, and helped to secure the foreign support needed to win the war. Ended October 17, 1777 -
Winter at Valley Forge
Valley Forge functioned as the third of eight winter encampments for the Continental Army's main body, commanded by General George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. Ended June 19, 1778 -
Battle of Yorktown
Franco-American land and sea campaign that entrapped a major British army on a peninsula at Yorktown, Virginia, and forced its surrender. Ended October 19, 1781 -
U.S. Constitution written
Established America's national government and fundamental laws, and guaranteed certain basic rights for its citizens. -
U.S. Constitution adopted
Established America's national government and fundamental laws, and guaranteed certain basic rights for its citizens.