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French and Indian War Ends
England and the colonies defeated France and Native American allies. The British treasury was drained. The British thought the colonists should pay their share. -
The Stamp Act
This allowed Parliament to tax the colonists on goods such as newspapers and pamphlets. This caused them to protest with the slogan "No taxation without representation." -
Tea Act
Parliament wanted to reduce the massive amount of tea held by the British East India Company, who struggled financially in their London warehouses by taxing the colonists. -
Boston Tea Party
After Britain imposed “taxation without representation,” the American colonists were extremely upset. They dumped 342 chests of tea that were imported by the British East India Company into the harbor off of Griffin's Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts. -
First Continental Congress
Representatives from each of the 13 colonies except for Georgia (which was fighting a Native American uprising and was dependent on the British for military supplies) congregated in Philadelphia to organize colonial resistance to Parliament's Coercive Acts. -
Battle of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord signaled the start of the American Revolutionary war on April 19, 1775. The British Army set out from Boston to capture rebel leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock in Lexington as well as to destroy the Americans store of weapons and ammunition in Concord. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress assumed the normal functions of a government, appointing ambassadors, issuing paper currency, raising the Continental Army through conscription, and appointing generals to lead the army. The powers of the Congress were still very limited, however. -
Declaration of Independence Adopted
After issuing this docuhe 13 American colonies severed their political connections to Great Britain. The Declaration summarized the colonists' motivations for seeking independence. -
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Battle of Saratoga
In the spring of 1777, the British ordered three of their armies to merge in Albany, New York. Only one army, however, commanded by General John Burgoyne, made the final push to its destination. Waiting for them was the heavily-fortified Northern Department of the Continental Army, commanded by General Horatio Gates. -
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Winter at Valley Forge
General George Washington moved the Continental Army to their winter quarters at Valley Forge. Though Revolutionary forces had secured a pivotal victory at Saratoga in September and October, Washington’s army suffered defeats at Brandywine, Paoli, and Germantown, Pennsylvania. The rebel capital, Philadelphia, fell into British hands. -
Battle of Yorktown
The outcome in Yorktown, Virginia marked the conclusion of the last major battle of the American Revolution and the start of a new nation's independence. It also cemented Washington’s reputation as a great leader and eventual election as first president of the United States. -
U.S. Constitution
The Constitution was written during the summer of 1787 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by 55 delegates to a Constitutional Convention that was called ostensibly to amend the Articles of Confederation, the country's first written constitution.
