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The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military fights of the American Revolutionary War. On April 19, 1775, British soldiers marched to Concord, Massachusetts, to take colonial weapons. However, colonists called minutemen were warned and met the British troops in the towns of Lexington and Concord. After shooting broke out, the British were forced to retreat back to Boston. -
hands off approach by Great Britain; British policy of loosely enforcing laws and regulations in the American colonies, allowing them to govern themselves. -
Beginning in 1763 economic policy England followed when it came to the 13 colonies. England saw the colonies as a market for English goods wanted to get money (taxes) natural resources from the colonies. -
aka 7 Years War between France and England. In the colonies, it was called the French Indian War because the colonists fought with British soldiers against France the Indians who were on side of France. Because of the war, England had a massive war debt began to tax the people in the 13 colonies. -
The Quartering Act was a British law that forced American colonists to provide housing and supplies for British soldiers. The colonists were angry because they had to pay for a large army that was supposed to protect them but seemed to be controlling them instead, which was a big reason they started the American Revolution. -
The Townshend Acts were a 1767 British law that taxed imported goods like glass and tea to pay for colonial officials' salaries. This angered colonists, who boycotted the goods and protested against "taxation without representation," fueling the start of the American Revolution. -
The Boston Massacre was when British soldiers shot and killed five American colonists in Boston in 1770. It started as an argument that grew into a big crowd, with colonists throwing things at the soldiers. This event made many colonists even angrier at the British government and became a major event leading to the American Revolution. -
The Boston Tea Party was a 1773 protest where colonists, dressed as Native Americans, threw British tea into Boston Harbor to protest a tax they saw as unfair. This act of defiance was a major step toward the American Revolution. -
The Intolerable Acts were a series of harsh British laws passed in 1774 to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party. They were seen as an attack on colonial rights and were a major cause for the colonies uniting to fight for independence. -
The Olive Branch Petition was a final attempt by the American colonists to avoid war with Great Britain. In 1775, the Second Continental Congress sent a letter to King George III, asking him to help settle their differences and protect their rights. The king refused to even read the letter and declared the colonies in rebellion, which pushed the colonists closer to independence. -
The Second Continental Congress was a meeting of leaders from the 13 colonies that acted as the government during the American Revolutionary War. During its meeting, the delegates managed the war effort, created the Continental Army, and approved the Declaration of Independence. -
The Declaration of Independence was a document approved on July 4, 1776, that announced the separation of the 13 American colonies from Great Britain. Written mostly by Thomas Jefferson, it explained why the colonies wanted to be an independent nation and listed the many ways that Great Britain's king had treated them unfairly. It also famously stated that all people are created equal and have rights like life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. -
Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" was a very popular pamphlet published in January 1776 that encouraged the American colonists to fight for independence from Great Britain. He used simple language to argue that it was only logical for the colonies to rule themselves, rather than being governed by a faraway king. -
The Articles of Confederation was the first government framework of the United States, in effect from 1781 to 1789. The new country created a very weak central government because they were afraid of having another powerful ruler like the British King. Since the states held most of the power, the government couldn't enforce laws, collect taxes, or regulate trade. This led to many problems and showed the need for a stronger federal government, which eventually led to the U.S. Constitution. -
Daniel Shays' Rebellion was a revolt by Massachusetts farmers in 1786 and 1787 who were angry about losing their land due to heavy taxes and debt. The event was stopped by a private army, but it showed America's leaders that the Articles of Confederation were too weak and that a stronger federal government was necessary. -
The Annapolis Convention was a meeting held in September 1786 in Annapolis, Maryland. Delegates from five states met to discuss the problems with trade under the Articles of Confederation. Because so few states showed up, the delegates decided to call for a new, larger meeting to be held in Philadelphia. This meeting became the Constitutional Convention, where the U.S. Constitution was written. -
The Constitutional Convention took place in Philadelphia in 1787. There, leaders from twelve states decided to create a new, stronger federal government by writing the U.S. Constitution, which replaced the weaker Articles of Confederation.