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Stamp Act/Quarter Act
The stamp act was the first direct tax the British put on the colonists, then a few days after the was the quarter act which colonists had to temporarily house British soldiers. -
The Boston Massacre
DescriptionThe Boston Massacre was a confrontation on March 5, 1770, in which British soldiers shot and killed several people while being harassed by a mob in Boston. The event was heavily publicized by leading Patriots such as Paul Revere and Samuel Adams. -
Intolerable Acts
the British Parliament passed a series of laws known as the Intolerable Acts, with the intent to suppress unrest in colonial Boston by closing the port and placing it under martial law. In response, colonial protestors led by a group called the Sons of Liberty issued a call for a boycott. -
Lexington and Concord
British and American soldiers exchanged fire in the Massachusetts towns of Lexington and Concord. At the North Bridge in Concord, the British were confronted again, this time by 300 to 400 armed colonists, and were forced to march back to Boston with the Americans firing on them all the way. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence, made by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, the 13 American colonies declared their political connections to Great Britain. The Declaration summarized the colonists' motivations for seeking independence. -
Battle of YorkTown
General George Washington, commanding a force of 17,000 French and Continental troops, begins the siege known as the Battle of Yorktown against British General Lord Charles Cornwallis and a army of 9,000 British troops at Yorktown, Virginia. -
Treaty of Paris
A treaty between the United States and the Kingdom of Great Britain is signed in Paris, ending the war and formally granting the United States independence from Great Britain. -
The constitution
The Constitution of the United States established America's national government and fundamental laws, and guaranteed certain basic rights for its citizens. It was signed on September 17, 1787, by delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.
