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The Virginian Slave Codes of 1705
This law passed by the House of Burgesses was the first to extensively regulate the lives of enslaved African Americans. It prohibited certain activities, illegalized certain acts with incredibly harsh punishments, and essentially allowed a slave owner to easily control the life of a slave. -
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The First Great Awakening
The First Great Awakening was an era of revitalization of the faith of many colonists in America, arguably starting in 1711 with the publishing of "Early Piety", but the movement started to ramp up in the 1730s and 40s with preachers like Jonathan Edwards giving powerful sermons like "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God". Thousands of Americans found God in denominations such as Methodism and Baptism, making them individualist and alienated from a powerful government like a monarchy. -
Georgia is Founded
The last colony to be founded, the Georgia Colony was spearheaded by James Oglethorpe as an attempt to help those too poor in England to move to the colonies. The colony originally banned slavery and did not have any legislative body even though every other colony did. This would later change in the 1740s. -
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The Seven Years' War
This was a conflict turned global war that started in America and changed the way the colonies looked towards the British. Despite winning, it was only after a 7 year-long brutal war with constant attacks from the French and Indians, and the colonists got little recompense for it. Veterans were treated poorly, and the newfound debt that Britain had needed to be paid, and so the Crown looked towards the place where it started. -
The Boston Massacre
The first act of bloodshed against the colonists by the British, this (overexaggerated) massacre helped stir anti-British sentiment even further in the colonies. British Parliament repealed all taxes except one as a result from the region-wide boycotts that were taking place. The colonies were less Britain and more American. -
The Battle of Lexington and Concord
A British regiment was marching towards Concord to seize a reported arms cache when they were met by militiamen in Lexington, where the first shots of the American Revolution were fired. The militiamen harassed the Redcoats at every moment, from the march towards Concord, and their retreat. This was the beginning of the colonies' fight for autonomy against Britain. -
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The American Revolution
The 9 year long war between the colonies of Great Britain (later the United States) and Great Britain resulted in the creation of the first democratic republic of the modern world, the USA. -
The Declaration of Independence is Ratified
Although there was lots of hate and now bloodshed against the British, many did not want total independence from them until the Thomas Paine's words of "Common Sense" spread throughout the region. Thomas Jefferson then helped draft the Declaration which disconnected any ties to Britain and claimed the former colonies to be the United States of America. -
The Battle of Yorktown Ends
Trapped between the army of George Washington and the French fleet, General Charles Cornwallis and his army surrendered, marking the unofficial end of the American Revolution. Britain had had it with the war, and 2 years later peace negotiations began. -
The U.S Constitution is put into Effect
After a few years of living under the Articles of Confederation, the states and congress had decided that they wanted to rewrite the Articles and so they all met to discuss it. At the end they had concluded to completely get rid of the Articles of Confederation and instead make a new document to follow called the Constitution. A majority of the states ratified it, and so the new government began. -
George Washington's Farewell Address
After 8 years and 2 terms as president, George Washington decided to step down and let another man be elected. To say goodbye, Washington drafted his farewell address in which he talked about several issues and his gratefulness to the country that he served. He was the setter of precedents for America, and his reluctance to abuse his power certainly shaped America into something great.
