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Stamp Act
Britain placed a tax on papers, legal documents, licenses, newspapers, playing cards, and more. This greatly angered the colonists, as it was the first direct tax from England to gain money. -
Protest of Stamp Act
The British announced the Stamp Act. The colonists were outraged and started to protest. They started with petitions, then they began to refuse to pay the taxes, and that led to property of damage and harassment of officials. Many colonists boycotted English products. In 1776, Parliament repealed the act. -
Gaspee Affair
The commander of the Gaspee ship, Lieutenant William Dudingston, greatly enforced trade laws and punished smugglers by unnecessarily stopping ships and confiscating goods without good reason. This hurt trade and angered merchants, who organized a raid where they fired at the Gaspee and burned the ship. This was "a direct challenge to royal authority". -
Committees of Correspondence Established
The colonies created these committees to organize planned action against Britain. -
Boston Tea Party
Bostonians who were upset with the tea tax proposed by the British dumped 342 chests (45 tons) of tea in the Boston Harbor. -
Coercive Acts
In the spring, Parliament decided that punishing Massachusetts was the appropriate next step. The Boston Port Act was passed on June 1st, 1774, and the MA Government Act and Admission of Justice Act and Quatering Act was pass that summer. -
Quebec Act
The Quebec Act was made to deal with any concerns and questions in trying to deal with making the French Canadian colonies part of the British Empire. The act tried to preserve French civil code and the Roman Catholic Church. -
First Continental Congress
Each colony, excluding Georgia, met to discuss the "intolerable acts" passed by Britain. They discussed how to express their unhappiness and wanted to look united, though they did not have the idea of independence yet. They just wanted Britain to restore their rights. -
Paul Revere's Ride
Paul Revere was sent to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock in Lexington that the British troops were coming to arrest them. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
After Paul Revere's ride, Samuel Adams and John Hancock organized a small militia called the Minutemen. However, they were outnumbered by the British; eight Minutemen were killed, and ten were injured in Lexington. Others warned those in Concord, where people hid weapons so they could not be destroyed by the soldiers. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was formed after the Revolution had begun. In 1776, they declared America's independence for Britian. Five years later, the Congress created the Articles of Confederation. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
The British and the colonists fought the Battle of Bunker Hill on Breed's Hill in Boston. The patriots heard through their spies that the British were planning to attack Bunker Hill. General Howe, the British general, sent over 2,000 soldiers to attack. The Americans were able to hold off two attacks, but had to retreat after the third. -
George Washington is appointed General
George Washington was appointed General based on previous military experience. Soon after being appointed, he left for MA to assume command of the Continental Army in Cambridge on July 3. -
Olive Branch Petition
The Continental Congress created the Olive Branch Petition to state their issues and calmly try to work them out with the British government. Unfortunately, King George III refused the petition, and he thought that dealing with the colonies by military force was better. -
Proclamation for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition
Following the battles of Lexington and Concord, King George declared that colonies were subject to brutal punishment in the face of rebellion. -
Common Sense Published
Written by Thomas Paine, this pamphlet convinced colonists to declare independence from Britain. He blamed King George for the colonies' suffering rather than Parliament, as everyone had been doing. -
British Evacuate Boston
The British soldiers evacuated Boston due to General George Washington's system of fortifications and cannons on Dorchester Heights. The British then left for Halifax, Nova Scotia. -
Writing of the Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson began writing this document that expressed the feelings of the American people towards England. -
Declaration of Independence
The colonies issued a document that stated that "all men are created equal" and all men are subject to "unalienable rights...Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness". It gave the colonies a separate country from England and set their own laws and government. -
British Pulled out of Virginia
A British officer waved a white flag signaling surrender. The French and the colonists worked together to outnumber the British.
