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The French and Indian War
The French and Indian War began to develop after some competition between Britain and France. Both nations desired land in the Ohio River Valley. Native Americans fought beside French, against the British because they were threatened by colonists that were taking their land. Britain won the war, but at quite a large cost. Britain went into a very large amount of debt, so they taxed the colonies to obtain more money. -
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French and Indian War
The French and Indian War began to develop after some competition between Britain and France. Both nations desired land in the Ohio River Valley. Native Americans fought beside French, against the British because they were threatened by colonists that were taking their land. Britain won the war, but at quite a large cost. Britain went into a very large amount of debt, so they taxed the colonies to obtain more money. -
Sugar Act
In debt from the French and Indian War, Britain decides to create the Sugar Act. This act was when Britain put an import tax on molasses. Britain also began to crackdown on smugglers. Now, the colonists have become upset that their normal ways of business are disturbed. Once Parliament repealed this act, they continued to create several more. -
Quartering Act
Unable to house all of their soldiers, Britain forces the colonists to house and care for British soldiers in their own private homes. Colonists are outraged because they believe the Quartering Act is a hidden tax for them because they now have to buy extra food and other necessities for the soldier, when their already have a scarce and limited supply. The colonies also believe this act violates their privacy. Again, once Parliament repealed this act, more kept on coming. -
The Stamp Act
Still trying to restore their money, Britain forces all the colonists to pay a tax on all paper products and official documents. The colonies believe it is a tax on too many items. Because of their anger, some of the colonists organized a boycott on all paper products. The Stamp Act Congress sent a petition to the king, demanding for him to end the unfair law. Eventually, Parliament does repeal the Stamp Act, but soon passes the Declaratory Acts. -
The Boston Massacre
Before the taxes on the colonies were lifted, several groups of colonists continued to angrily protest. One day, a mob of colonists surrounded and aggravated a small group of British soldiers. The soldiers from Britain panicked and shot into the crowd, killing five people. After this encounter, letters and pamphlets discussing concerns as well as alerts of protests and boycotts were sent to all the colonies. -
Tea Act
This is the last tax of the 1767 Townshend Acts, passed by Parliament. The tax was meant to help get the British East India Company out of their debt. Though the act would lower the tax of tea in the colonies, it would send more profit to the British East India Company. The company as well as British officials could choose which merchants were allowed to sell the tea. All the merchants that weren’t chosen to sell the tea became very angry. Several of the colonists continued to boycott the tea. -
The Boston Tea Party
The colonists were becoming completely fed up with the Tea Act. A shipment of tea was waiting in Boston Harbor to be unloaded. Disguised as Native Americans, a group from the Sons of Liberty raided the ship and dumped all 342 chests of tea into the harbor. Because of this invasion, Britain lost thousands of dollars worth of tea. Britain was so outraged that they shut down Boston Harbor. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
10,000 American soldiers had gathered around Boston and they were trying to gain a strong position against the British troops in Boston. The British and Americans raced over the various hills around the city. Britain was victorious at Bunker Hill, but at a huge cost. There were over 1,000 British soldiers were either killed or injured. The Americans definitely slowed the British down and drove them out of Boston, which gave the Americans a huge advantage. -
Thomas Paine's Common Sense
Most of the colonists were undecided about whether they wanted independence or to stay loyal to Britain. Thomas Paine published the book, Common Sense, which criticizes the king and spoke against the ideas of kings entirely. He believed that Americans deserved to govern themselves and that Britain had only used the colonies to get more money. 500,000 copies were distributed in the first six months. Paine’s book had a very large influence on the public and helped them to lean toward independence. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence is a document stating that the colonies were declaring independence and freedom from Britain. Although several teamed up to write the document, Thomas Jefferson contributed the most out of them all. On July 4th, 1776, Congress officially approves the Declaration. This document influences other nations to fight for freedom. This brings even more motivation to the colonies to defeat Britain. -
Battle of Saratoga
British troop leader, Burgoyne had a very complex plan. But when the battle came, Burgoyne’s plan failed. Instead, they had communication issues and the Americans surround Burgoyne’s men in the village of Saratoga, and Britain was forced to surrender. This battle convinced some European nations that America had a chance to defeat the British, which is why they eventually received help from Europe including France, the Netherlands, and Spain. -
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Battle of Saratoga
British troop leader, Burgoyne had a very complex plan. But when the battle came, Burgoyne’s plan failed. Instead, they had communication issues and the Americans surround Burgoyne’s men in the village of Saratoga, and Britain was forced to surrender. This battle convinced some European nations that America had a chance to defeat the British, which is why they eventually received help from Europe including France, the Netherlands, and Spain. -
Winter at Valley Forge
When Washington’s army was driven out of Philadelphia, they spent a harsh winter outside of Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. There were terrible conditions, which they had to survive an entire winter in and had to build cabins from scratch. There was a lack of food and clothing, and a rapid spread of diseases with little medicine. The Americans sent help and some arrives, including some of the soldiers’ wives to come clean, cook, and care for the ill. The conditions became better in the spring. -
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Winter at Valley Forge
When Washington’s army was driven out of Philadelphia, they spent a harsh winter outside of Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. There were terrible conditions, which they had to survive an entire winter in and had to build cabins from scratch. There was a lack of food and clothing, and a rapid spread of diseases with little medicine. The Americans sent help and some arrives, including some of the soldiers’ wives to come clean, cook, and care for the ill. The conditions became better in the spring. -
Battle of Yorktown
British General Cornwallis moves his troops onto a peninsula in Virginia, to get more supplies from the British Navy. But, soon French ships arrive and block the Chesapeake Bay and Washington’s troops cut him off by land. They now created a siege on the British. The French and the Americans start to assault the troops. The siege lasted many weeks and eventually Cornwallis surrendered since his troops were running out of food and ammunition. The Battle of Yorktown was the last major war. -
1783 Treaty of Paris
Parliament and a small group sent by congress met in Paris to discuss peace between the two nations. The terms of the treaty that were the land the Americans own that belonged to Britain, to return Florida to Spain, and to repay Loyalists for lost property and restore all of their rights. Congress approves the treaty on April 15th, 1783, ending The American Revolution.
