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Committees of Correspondence Established
Committees of Correspondence were first formed in Boston in 1764 in opposition to the Currency Act. By 1774 all of the colonies had their own Committees of Correspondence. The purpose of later committees was not only to help resist what was seen as unjust acts and proclamations by the British, but to help monitor the activities of the British. This allowed colonists to alert each other when the British were planning to do something that the colonists were against. -
Stamp Act
In order to raise funds in order to pay off debts, the British felt that it needed to generate more revenue from the colonies. They also needed to pay to house nearly 10,000 soldiers in the colonies. Even though the earlier Sugar Act had faced widespread opposition, Parliament passed the Stamp Act which placed a tax on nearly all printed goods included dice and playing cards. -
Protest of Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was passed so that The British could raise money for their 10,000 troops that they had stationed in the Appalachian Mountains to protect the Colonists from Native Americans. In the past taxes were set as a way to show British rule over the Colonies. They did not like that the Stamp Act was passed just to raise money for the British. Protests agaist the act soon broke out and brought out the whole idea of "No Taxation Wiithout Representation." This idea helped shape the revolution. -
Gaspee Affair
Rhode Islanders burned the hated customs ship the HMS Gaspee. They were fed up with the crew both enforcing taxes and taking food from coastal Rhode Island. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party happened directly after the Tea Act was passed by The British in May of 1773. This Act was passed to force the Colonists to pay tax on their tea to support the East India Trade Company. The Colonists did not like the taxes imposed on their tea and on the night of December 16, 1773 a group of men known as the "Sons of Liberty," Dressed up as Mohawk Indians and boarded three British trade ships filled with tea and dumped it all into Boston Harbor. -
Coercive Acts
The Coercive, or Intolerable, Acts were a series of 4 acts passed by parliaments in response to colonial actions such as The Boston Tea Party. They were intended to punish the colonists and to assert the authority of the British government over the colonies. These were met with widespread anger and protest from the colonies and were key to spreading revolutionary thought. -
Quebec Act
This act was basically passed to set up a new govornment in Canada to protect the French Catholics and favored them greatly. Made the Roman Catholic Church the main church in Quebec. Because of this act some colonists even invades Quebec. It was a major cause of the revolution. -
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress met in Philidelphia, PA from September 5 to October 26, 1775. Every colony except Georgia sent elected delegates to represent their views. The point of the congress was to establish some sort of colonial authority to present colonial views and issues to Britain. Although Britain largely dismised the First Continental Congress, it was the first significant attempt to unite the colonies and to have each colonies views represented. -
Paul Revere's Ride
The day before the British raid on the arms cache in Concord, Paul Revere set out first to warn Sam Adams and John Hancock that British troops were planning to arrest them. After warning them, Revere was joined by William Dawes and Samual Prescott. They decided to ride to Concord and warn colonists along the way that British troops were on their way to Concord. All three were arrested by a British patrol, although Dawes and Prescott were able to escape relativly quickly. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
On the morning of April 19th, 1775 British troops were sent from Boston to raid a colonial arms cache in Concord. While en route the British encountered the colonial militia of Lexington on that town's common. There, fire was exchanged by both sides, killing several, and the British continued on to Concord. Once they discovered that the arms had been removed they began marching back to Boston while being fired upon the entire way there. These were the first battles of the Revolution. -
Second Continental Congress
This meeting consisted of a group of people from all of the thirteen colonies who came together to discuss plans for the Colonies during the revolutionary war. At this meeting the Continental Army was established and George Washington was appointed General. -
George Washington Appointed General
George Washington was given this position over many others because he had a previous experience with battle and because he had a way with people and was able to command armies very well. The people wanted an important man from Virginia to win them battles. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
On June 17, 1775 a battle erupted between the British and the American Continental Army who were occupying the Charlestown Peninsula. The battle went on for quite a while and although the British were able to eventually push the colonists out of the peninsula they suffered heavy losses. Although it was considered a loss for the colonists they made a significant dent in the British Army. -
Olive Brach Petition
On July 12, 1775 a bill was passed to try and create peace between the Colonists and the British. Colonists still wanted the Coercive Acts eliminated, but when King George III refused, the Colonists rebeled. -
Proclamation for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition
In response to the fighting in Lexington and Concord and the Battle of Bunker Hill, this proclamation was passed in order to acknowledge the open state of rebellion which the colonies were in. The proclamation stated that any colonists who were supportive of the rebellion were subject to severe punishment, as were any British citizens who withheld knowledge about the rebellion. -
"Common Sense" Published
On January 20, 1776 Thomas Paine's famous pamphlet "Common Sense" was published. In the pamphlet Paine made the argument that it was time to declare independence from Britain and that the old political systems should be replace with new, simple ones. It was published at a time when many colonists were unsure wheter or not independence should be declared, and it was critical in convincing many that the colonies should in fact declare independece from Britain. -
British Evacuate Boston
This happened because Gneral George Washington had captured a couple of cannons from the British Fort Ticonderoga, and had them aimed at British homes and ships. William Howe, the British General did not want to risk losing any men or supplies and agreed to flee Boston and ended up going to Nova Scotia with his troops, winning us one of our first victories in the war. -
Writing of Declaration of Independence
After Thomas Jefferson was requested to write the Declaration of Independence, he wrote a rough draft. This is often called the "fair" copy. After this was submitted by Jefferson to the Continental Congress, several days in early July were spent revising and debating the Declaration of Independence. It was after this debate and revision that the final copy was accepted and passed on July 4th, 1776. -
Declaration of Independence
A document written by Thomas Jerfferson which formally declared the 13 colonies' independence from Britain. The final draft was accepted by the Continental Congress on July 4th, 1776 which is now commememorated with Independence Day. On this day the colonies unanimously chose to become their own country and the Revolutionary War became a full fledged conflict. -
British Pulled Out of Virginia
This happened during the battle of Yorktowm in Virginia. The British were running low on men and on supplies and when their support did not arrive, British General Cornwallis attempted to flee but the Colonists caught them in time. On October 17th 1781, Cornwallis officially surrendered and the British left Virginia
