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1492
Columbus Lands in the Americas
Columbus leaves Spain and sails west to find India and China but he lands in the Americas. This opened up exploration and settlement in America. -
Jamestown founded
Europeans sail over to North America to start a new colony. Colonists landed in Jamestown to collect new resources and gain religious freedom. -
Pilgrims land in Plymouth
The Pilgrims landed in Plymouth to start a new colony. The event was important because this was the first permeant European settlement. -
French and Indian War
The French and the English fight over land in the Americas. The winner of the war would get a massive amount of land from the other country. -
Albany Plan of Union
Benjamin Franklin asks the colonies to come together under one government to fight against the French. This made fighting the French more easier while being controlled under one government rather than thirteen. -
Treaty of Paris
The French surrendered their land to the British all the way to the Mississippi River. The French were pushed up to Canada and the British gained more land for new colonists. -
Proclamation of 1763
The British king orders the colonies to not settle farther west of the Application Mountains. The colonies reject and break off of the kings orders which will later lead to a civil war. -
Stamp Act
The British made the colonies buy a stamp for every piece of paper they buy as a form of tax. The colonies got mad and refused to buy any stamps. -
Quartering Act (1765)
The British didn't have enough money to pay for there soldiers in the new world so they made the colonists give them items like candles and other things. The Colonists did not approve of this and said it was the same as taxing them. -
Townshend Act
The British needed money so they put duties on imports for certain goods. Again, the colonists were not happy with this and bought American made goods to go around the duty. -
Boston Massacre
British troops kill many Boston colonists as they get more and more angry with the British government. This made America certain that they could no longer be apart of this country. -
Tea Act of 1773
The tea act of 1773 made tea from the East India Company that the dutch smugglers. Even though the tea was very cheap now and was barely taxed, the colonists didn't want anything to do with it as long as it was taxed. -
Boston Tea Party
Boston citizens dressed up as Indians and boarded the ships that had newly imported and threw the boxes into the frigid water. This sent a very clear message to the British government that they didn't want anything to do with them. -
Intolerable (Coercive) Acts
The intolerable acts punished the colonists for bad behavior. The king felt that he had no control over the colonists so he decided to pass the intolerable acts to punish them and show them that he is in charge. -
First Continental Congress
The first Continental Congress didn't want to go to war. Instead, they decided to place sanctions on nonimportation British goods. -
Second Continental Congress
They wanted to go to war and created the Continental Army. They decided that since he did so good in the French and Indian war, George Washington would be the commander. -
Battle of Lexington
The British soldiers were marching through Lexington when they were met by hundreds of angry colonists. One colonist fired a weapon and the British soldiers immediately fired back starting the battle. The colonists one the battle. -
Battle of Concord
The British looked for the weapons and ammunition in Concord but the colonists had hid them in a new secret place. The British did find three cannons in Concord and destroyed them. -
Olive Branch Petition
The colonists still wanted to be a part of their country with a few changes so they sent a letter to the king with a very kind format. The king rejected which left the colonists with only one choice. -
Period: to
American Revolution
This gave America their Independence from England. -
Common Sense by Thomas Paine
This article stated that they only had one choice which was to go to war. This rallied the colonists and the article stated how bad England was treating them. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was signed because the colonists wanted their independence from England. -
Congress ratifies the U.S. Constitution
They passed the new constitution for the U.S. This would last hundreds of years and is still ongoing today. -
Treaty of Paris
The treaty of Paris officially ended the revolution and recognized the 13 colonies as independent. -
Shay's Rebellion
Shay's rebellion proved that the US government was weak and that the government needed to be stronger. The rebellion exposed the weakness of the government. -
Whiskey Rebellion
Many farmers who were getting taxed for whiskey didn't like the tax so they burned the tax collector's house and planned to attack Pittsburg. Washington decided to send out an army to them and stop the rebellion and he succeded. -
War of 1812
The War of 1812 started because the British and the French were attacking U.S. trade ships and taking the sailors to add to their own navy. The U.S. had enough so they declared war. Nobody won this war, but the U.S. showed its dominance and gained some respect from France and England. -
XYZ Affair
The French were mad at the U.S. because the U.S. broke the treaty by signing a treaty with England. The French are attacking many trade ships between the U.S., and England. Many of the U.S. citizens want war with France.