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French and Indian War Begins
George Washington, commander of the Virginia militia, is defeated @ Fort Necessity. -
Proclamation of 1763
Passed after the end of the French and Indian War to avoid more conflict between British colonists and Native Americans; colonists could not expand West past the Appalachian Mountains -
Sugar Act passed
Tax on sugar, coffee, wine, and molasses in the British American colonies to pay off the British war debt from the French and Indian War -
Stamp Act passed
Colonists had to purchase a special stamp for all public documents produced in the colonies. Colonists reaction is outrage, including: the Stamp Act Congress where the Declaration of Rights and Grievances stated that Great Britain had no right to tax the colonists without representation in Congress Samuel Adams establishes the Sons of Liberty, who then protest, boycott British goods, and harass British government officials -
Stamp Act repealed, Declaratory Act passed
British Parliament repeals Stamp Act in response to colonial protests, but states in Declaratory Act that Parliament has every right within their powers to tax the colonies -
Townshend Acts
British tax on imported materials and tea coming into the colonies Colonial response is more protests and boycotts from the Sons of Liberty, as well as riots in the city of Boston -
Boston Massacre
British soldiers fire on a crowd of colonists in Boston, an event shrouded in controversy; used as a rallying cry and propaganda tool by the colonists against the British Committees of correspondence formed in response -
Tea Act passed
Allows British East India Company to avoid a tax on tea, allowing the company to undersell colonial merchants in the tea trade -
Boston Tea Party
Colonists dressed as Native Americans dump 18,000 lbs. of tea (worth ~$1-2 million) in the Boston Harbor in protest of the Tea Act King George III outraged -
Intolerable Acts passed
In response to Boston Tea Party, British Parliament closes Boston Harbor and Boston is placed under martial law (military rule) First Continental Congress is formed by colonists in response to claim colonial rights and support protests -
Olive Branch Petition issued by 2nd Continental Congress
Rejected by King George III, who then orders naval blockade -
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2nd Continental Congress meets
-Debate independence
-recognize Continental Army, appoint Washington as their commander
-print money to pay troops of Continental Army -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
Colonists, led by Samuel Adams and John Hancock begin stockpiling weapons in Concord, MA outside Boston; British go to capture weapons, Battles result in colonists trying to defend the weapons stockpile -
Battle of Bunker/Breed's Hill
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French begin sending colonists weapons supplies
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Paine's Common Sense published
Argues that United States should be independent from Great Britain, convinces many to favor independence -
Continental Congress adopts Declaration of Independence
Written by Thomas Jefferson, based on ideas of Enlightenment philosopher John Locke -
Battle of Trenton
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Continental Army spends winter at Valley Forge
2,000 soldiers die of cold, starvation, disease, etc. -
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Battles of Saratoga
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France recognizes American independence
Vows no peace until Great Britain recognizes independence as well -
Prussian captain Friedrich von Steuben trains Continental soldiers at Valley Forge
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Marquis de Lafayette lobbies in French government for troop reinforcements in the war
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Battle of Charleston
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Battle of King's Mountain
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Battle of Cowpens
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Battle of Yorktown
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Treaty of Paris signed
-confirms U.S. independence
-sets borders of new nation from southern Canada to northern Florida (north to south) and from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River (east to west)
-ignores Native American rights
-promises repayment of debts
-no date set for British evacuation of forts in U.S.