american history timeline

stamp act

Mar 22, 1765

https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/stamp-act the stamp act was a strategy that the king and queen used to tax what people wanted so that they could make money off of it, they used it to fund their army. the British expected their people to be loyal and go by this act, but not everyone was okay with it.

boston massacre

Mar 5, 1770

http://www.bostonmassacre.net/gazette/
the Boston massacre happened because people were rioting against the tea tax. the British were told not to fire but with all the taunts and things being thrown, someone misheard and shot. the British thought people would obey their laws and be loyal to the king and queen. they actually decided to fight back by rioting and trying to anger the soldiers.

Boston tea party

Dec 16, 1773

https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/boston-tea-party
colonists dressed up as Indians during the night, they went aboard a ship and threw tea off of it as a way of protesting the stamp act.
once again, the British didn't expect people to disrespect the king and queen like that, so they didn't bother protecting the tea.

lexington/concord

Apr 19, 1775

https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/battles-of-lexington-and-concord
the battles of Lexington and Concord kicked off the start of the American Revolution. this occurred when paul revere rang the bells and dressed up as a red coat to warn the colonist that the British were coming.
the British didn't expect the colonist to get a warning about them coming, which gave them a little time to figure out some things.

bunker hill

Sep 17, 1775

https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/battle-of-bunker-hill during the battle, the colonists had a limited amount of ammo and the British knew that. they were stationed on top of the hill, they were also told: "don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes." the British didn't expect them to be able to fight so hard, considering they needed to conserve their ammo.

common sense

Jan 10, 1776

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/thomas-paine-publishes-common-sense
Thomas Paine wrote it to advocate for independence. Paine fundamentally changed the tenor of colonists’ argument against the king and the queen.

declaration of Independence

Jul 4, 1776

https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/declaration-of-independence
the declaration of independence showed our independence from Great Britain and made it official. this was the final break for the colonist freedom.

battle of trenton/princeton

Jan 3, 1777

https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/battles-of-trenton-and-princeton
George Washington’s army crossed the Delaware on Christmas Day 1776 and, over the course of the next 10 days, won two important battles of the American Revolution.
the British thought their forces could hold through the battle but they couldn't so the colonists overtook them.

battle of saratoga

Sep 19, 1777

https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/battle-of-saratoga the colonists were successful in winning the battle which made the french recognized what our motives were fighting for. there were two different battles that were fought, the British successfully won the first one but it cost them a lot. the British wanted to control upstate NewYork, which was their goal in this battle. I don't think they expected to lose the second time around.

continental army wintering at valley forge

Dec 19, 1777

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/winter-valley-forge George Washington moved his troops to their winter quarters at valley forge. people there were starving, along with some of the soldier's families and they had to plead for food. I think no one really would guess that the army would allow them to have their wives and children at their camp, it would have been a perfect opportunity for the British to attack them.

war in south/charleston

Mar 29, 1780

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/revolutionary-war/battles/charleston
On April 21, hoping to preserve his army, Lincoln offered to surrender the city if his men were allowed to leave unharmed. Clinton refused to accept these terms and quickly resumed his bombardment. Over the next couple of weeks, the British moved closer to the American lines. By May 8, only a few yards separated the armies.

battle of yorktown

Sep 28, 1781

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-yorktown-begins On September 28th of 1781, George Washington who commanding a force of 17,000 French and Continental troops.
the continental army, led by George Washington won the battle. the British didn't expect the continental army to fight back so hard and they didn't think that the reinforcements would get there so fast.