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Treaty of Paris.
Now that the fighting was over, the British and the British Americans could enjoy the fruits of victory. Harsh to a losing France, the terms of the Treaty of Paris included a loss of all French territory on the mainland of North America, including Quebec and the Ohio River Valley. The port of New Orleans and the Louisiana Territory west of the Mississippi were ceded to Spain for their efforts as a British ally. -
The Royal Proclamation of 1763
Despite acquiring this large amount of land, the British tried to discourage American colonists from settling within it. The British had had enough difficulty . Americans moving west would stretch British administrative resources thin. Just because the French government had yielded this territory to Britain did not mean the Ohio Valley's Native American inhabitants would readily give up their claims to land. -
Townshend Acts
The British put a small import tax on glass, paper, paint, and tea. The colonists wouldn’t pay for these taxes because they didn’t have representation in Parliament. To protest the taxes, the colonists would smuggle in items to avoid the taxes. -
The Boston Massacre
On March 5, 1770 a mob of about 60 angry townspeople descended upon the guard at the customs house. The crowd became more unruly, hurling rocks and snowballs at the guard and reinforcements that had been called. In the heat of the confusing melee, the British fired out of fear without command. English bullets took the lives of five men, including a former slave. -
The Boston Tea Party
Boston Tea party: The Boston tea party was led by the sons of liberty to protest the Townshend act. The sons of liberty dressed up as native americans and boarded a ship. They dumped 342 chests of tea into the Boston harbor. -
First Continental Congress
The purpose of the First Continental Congress was to redress grievances to the king. The meeting was in Philadelphia and all of the 13 colonies, except Georgia, went. People like George Washington, John Adams, Sam Adams and 52 other men were in attendance at the First Continental Congress -
The Intolerable/Coercive Acts
While the colonists preferred to call them the Intolerable acts, the British called their responsive measures to the unruly events in the colonies(events like Boston Tea Party) the Coercive Acts. Boston Harbor was closed to trade until the owners of the tea were compensated. Only food and firewood were permitted into the port. Town meetings were banned, and the authority of the royal governor was increased. -
The French Alliance
France had interest in the American fight for independence. It had stemmed from the humiliating defeat during the Seven Years War at the hands of its ancient enemy, England. In 1774 France's Foreign Minister had sent secret messages to explore the Patriotic commitment and how willing the colonists were to revolt, making France an ally throughout the war. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
British troops were sent to Concord to seize weapons. Paul Revere saw the redcoats coming and alerted the minutemen with his famous phrase “The British are coming”. These battles at Lexington and Concord were a start to the American Revolutionary War. -
Olive Branch Petition
The Continental Congress adopted this petition pledging loyalty to the crown to prevent any further violence. King George lll ignored the request for reconciliation due to the battle of Bunker Hill. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
The colonist seized Breed’s Hill and the colonists were slaughtering the 3,000 British soldiers pushing up the hill. The colonists were winning, but they had to retreat due to a lack of ammunition. -
Thomas Paines's Common Sense
The book was written by Thomas Paine to express his radical and influential ideas. Paine’s main idea in his book was that the colonies should be independent, instead of reconciling with Britain. -
The Declaration of Independance
On July 4, 1776 the colonies approved the document. New York abstained from voting for the document to be sent, but the other colonies all voted for the Declaration of Independence. John Hancock, being president of the Continental Congress, scrawled his famous signature across the bottom and off it went across the Atlantic where King George III declared the colonies in a state of rebellion -
Valley Forge
Washington's army had spent the summer of 1777 fighting losing battles one after another. In December, Washington marched his tired, beaten, hungry and sick army to Valley Forge, a location about 20 miles northwest of British-occupied Philadelphia. An important location for Washington because he had a close eye on General Howe's British army who had settled in Philadelphia -
Treaty of Paris 1783
This treaty officially ended the war and had Britain accepting defeat. Britain also recognized the independence of the United States and gave them generous boundaries. With the United States signing the treaty, could no longer persecute loyalists.
