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Gregorian Calender
Britain and the British colonies switch from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar -
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French and Indian War
Final conflict in the ongoing struggle between the British and French for control of eastern North America. The British win a decisive victory over the French on the Plains of Abraham outside Quebec. -
Sugar Act
Established Vice admiralty courts to enforce the navigation acts. Also replaced the Mollases Act of 1733, except now it encompassed more than just Mollases -
Currency Act
English colonies can no longer use their own currency. They must instead use British money. -
Quartering Act
Colonists had to provide for English soldiers -
Stamp Act
First tax directed towards American Colonies. Items that are to be taxed must bear a stamp on them. Violators will be tried and convicted in Vice Admiralty courts -
Boston Massacre
British troops fire into a mob, killing five men and leading to intense public protests. -
Boston Tea Party
Group of colonial patriots disguised as Mohawk Indians board three ships in Boston harbor and dump more than 300 crates of tea overboard as a protest against the British tea tax. -
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American Revolution
War of independence fought between Great Britain and the 13 British colonies on the eastern seaboard of North America. Battles of Lexington and Concord, Mass., between the British Army and colonial minutemen, mark the beginning of the war. -
Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia.
On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia in the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall), approved the Declaration of Independence, severing the colonies' ties to the British Crown. -
Continental Congress approves the first official flag of the United States.
On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress approved the design of a national flag. ... Resolved, that the Flag of the thirteen United States shall be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the Union be thirteen stars, white on a blue field, representing a new constellation. -
Continental Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation, the first U.S. constitution.
The Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the United States, on November 15, 1777. However, ratification of the Articles of Confederation by all thirteen states did not occur until March 1, 1781. -
Shays's Rebellion
Farmers from New Hampshire to South Carolina take up arms to protest high state taxes and stiff penalties for failure to pay. -
Constitutional Convention Begins
Constitutional Convention, made up of delegates from 12 of the original 13 colonies, meets in Philadelphia to draft the U.S. Constitution.
