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French and Indian War
Britain and France both owned large land but they wanted to expand their boarders. The French began building forts in the Ohio River Valley, this alarmed the Virginia colony. The Virginia governor ordered George Washington to go to the French and tell them to leave, France refused. The Washington traveled back to the Ohio River to build a fort where the rivers met, but France had already placed a fort there. Washington returned to Virginia saying that France would never surrender the Ohio River -
The Albany Congress
: A meeting in Albany, New York, was held by Britain at the beginning of the French and Indian War to help get colonies against France. The Iroquois were invited to the meeting. The Iroquois refused to form an alliance with Britain. The Albany Plan of Union was a new idea. It would call for a representative council elected by colonial assemblies. The council would look over colonial relations and problems. The Congress approved of the plan but colonists disapproved. -
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French and Indian War
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Proclamation of 1763
King George III of England issued a royal decree forbidding colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains. King George made this decree to give territory to the Native Americans. Colonists were angry at this notion and thought that it was unjust and that they had a right to live anywhere they wanted. Colonists ignored the proclamation and it was almost impossible for the British to enforce. -
Stamp Act
A tax that Britain passed to colonists. The tax required colonists to buy special tax stamps for products and activities. Many colonists resented this tax and made a plan to boycott all British goods. The boycott protest spread around the colonies. Nine colonies sent a petition to King George asking to repeal the tax. The boycotting and protesting worked, the act got repealed, but at the same time the British parliament passed the Declaration Act that declared that Britain had total control. -
The Boston Massacre
All of the Townshend acts, taxes on goods brought in the colonies, were repealed, except the tax on tea. The tea tax remained because Britain wanted to show that they had the right to tax the colonists. Angry colonists surrounded a group of British soldiers and harassed and threw snowballs at them. The soldiers, feeling threatened, fired shots into the crowd. They killed five people. Two soldiers got charged; they had to have their thumbs branded. This was used to motive against the British -
The Boston Tea Party
Britain passed a tax on tea to help the British East India Company. Their company sold tea to the people of Britain and the colonies but when the colonists started boycotting the tea it hurt their business. A group of angry colonists called the Sons of Liberty disguised themselves as Native Americans on December 16, 1773 and climbed aboard a tea ship. They dumped 342 cases of tea into the harbor, destroying 90,000 pounds of tea, while onlookers cheered them on. -
Intolerable Acts
After the Boston Tea Party, the British government was furious. They passed a set of four laws so harsh that they got called the Intolerable Acts. The first act was to close the port to Boston. The two other acts involved increasing power towards the royal governor. The final law strengthened 1765 Quartering Act. Parliament set up the Quebec Act, an act which made government in the territories that were taken by France. Colonists were displeased and demanded the repeal of the acts. -
The Shot Heard Round the World
Britain wasn’t planning on repealing the Intolerable Acts and chose to enforce them more. Colonists prepared and armed new units called Minute Men. 700 British troops went to Concord upon hearing the Minute Men were storing arms there. Miles away from Concord 77 Minute Men waited for the British. Britain told the minute men to leave but they refused. A shot rang out, unknown which side it came but it was the first shot of the American Revolution – called, The Shot Heard Round the World. -
The Second Continental Congress
Even after battles with Britain, most colonists didn’t want independence though many of them were ready to use force to defend their rights. As the people began to worry about Britain, the second Continental Congress gathered in Philadelphia. The Congress was split between declaring independence and making amends but they all agreed they should prepare for war; they needed to form an army. Congress also printed paper money to pay for the army. They started acting like a real government. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
Most Patriots fighting were farmers and workers, and people were unsure if they could stand against British troops. British General William Howe decided they should attack straight up Breed’s Hill. Americans waited until soldiers were 150 feet away and then opened fire. Hundreds of British soldiers fell dead and wounded. Only the third attack on the patriots succeeded because they were out of ammo. The battle proved that the American soldiers could fight against the British. -
Colonists Divided
Patriots and Loyalists were both in minority. Many colonists were neutral choosing neither independence nor loyalism. Only one third of the Continental Congress supported independence. John Adams found that loyalists were using independence to scare people in to giving up. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence has three main sections natural rights, list of grievances, and dissolving the bonds. Natural rights states ideas about society and government. It says that the government should be protecting people’s rights and if it violates the rights, the people should create a new government. The list of grievances was statements on how the Britain violated the rights of the colonists. Dissolving the bonds was stating that the colonies should abolish the British government. -
Valley Forge
Washington’s army was suffering through a cold winter. The British were 22 miles away. Eleven thousand American soldiers were not sufficiently fed, clothed, or housed. About a fourth of the soldiers were sick and some were so hungry they took food from each other. Women collected food, medicine, warm clothes, and ammunition to help; even Washington’s wife came to help care for the sick. The Americans used the harsh winter to toughen themselves for further battles. -
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Valley Forge
Washington’s army was suffering through a cold winter. The British were 22 miles away. Eleven thousand American soldiers were not sufficiently fed, clothed, or housed. About a fourth of the soldiers were sick and some were so hungry they took food from each other. Women collected food, medicine, warm clothes, and ammunition to help; even Washington’s wife came to help care for the sick. The Americans used the harsh winter to toughen themselves for further battles. -
War at Sea
Congress voted to make a navy. American shipyards were able to build few warships. The Americans became skilled at hit-and-run attacks on British ships. The British navy was still large and dominating. The American ship Bonhomee Richard, commanded by John Paul Jones, fought against the larger British ship, Serapis. Cannons ripped the sails and blew holes in both ships. Jones refused to give up saying he had not even begun to fight. With dozens of sailors dead, the Serapis surrendered. -
Final Battle
The British being weakened by previous battles, General Cornwallis headed his troops to Virginia. Patriots took this opportunity, and over a five-month period they went through the Deep South and left Britian with Charlestown and Savannah. Cornwallis moved his army to the Yorktown peninsula. The French fleet arrived and chased off British ships. The British army started heading back to Virginia, the patriots and French troops rushed to meet them. The British, being surrounded had to surrender.
