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Comprehensive Slave Codes
The comprehensive slave codes in Virginia, put in place by the House of Burgesses, established that slaves are property, slave marriage is unrecognized, owners have to pay tithe to the Church based on the number of slaves they have, and children born to a slave mother are also slaves, no matter who the father is. -
The Stono Rebellion
A group of slaves from South Carolina raided a store for guns, then marched down to Florida. The Spanish governor of Florida promised freedom to anyone who pledged themselves to Spain and converted to Catholicism, and thus, the slaves were free. -
Sugar Act
The Sugar Act of 1764 replaced the Molasses Act of 1763, taxing anything with sugar in it, in order to raise British revenue. It was passed in opposition to smuggling by the colonists, enforcing higher taxes and laws against smuggling, with vice-admiralty courts established to punish violators. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act of 1765 was the first tax imposed directly on the colonists in the American colonies. It taxed all paper products, like newspapers, wills, cards, and dice, requiring them to have a stamp on them. Violators would be tried and convicted without a jury of their peers in vice-admiralty courts. -
Quartering Act
The Quartering Act of 1765 required colonies to provide food and housing to British soldiers within their borders. It was expensive to accommodate them, and the colonists feared the soldiers living near them. -
Declaratory Act
King George the Third used the Declaratory Act as a way to claim that he had the right to impose any laws or taxes on the colonists that he wanted to. -
Boston Massacre
As British soldiers were patrolling the crowded streets of Boston, shots were fired, killing 5 Boston colonists. This helped further anti-British sentiments and pro-independence feelings. -
Boston Tea Party
A group of colonists, angry about British taxation, dressed up as Mohawk Natives, boarded docked East India Company ships, and dumped tons of tea into the water, all without hurting the crew of the ships. -
Declaration of Independence
Formed by representatives from each of the thirteen colonies, the Declaration of Independence stated that Great Britain and King George had violated the colonists rights and opened the door for revolution. It claimed that the thirteen colonies were now sovereign states, independent of Great Britain. This was a big step on the way to the formation of the United States. -
George Washington Sworn In
In 1789, George Washington was unanimously elected as the first president of the US. He served two four year terms, from 1789 to 1797. He is the only unanimous president of the United States, and his presidency set formal and informal precedents for future presidents to mimic and follow. -
Slater Mill
English immigrant Samuel Slater opened a textile mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, using designs for water frame mills, which is usually considered the start of American industrialization. He also opened other cotton mills later, and is considered the Father of the American Industrial Revolution.