-
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was a tax enacted by Parliament and required the American colonists to pay a tax on paper documents. The money raised help pay the debt for the French and Indian War. -
Boston Massacre
The British soldiers and the Boston residents had rising tension. A disagreement between an apprentice Wagonmaker and a British soldier lead a crowd of 200 colonist to surround seven British soldiers. The colonist taunted and teased the soldiers and threw things at them. The soldiers fired in the crowd. Three men died including African-American sailor Crispus Attucks. The massacre was used as propaganda to support the revolutionary war. -
Boston Tea Party
The British started a new law called the Tea Act to help support the struggling British East India Company. The British said the American colonies had to buy tea from them and no one else. The American colonist weren’t happy with this because they wanted to buy tea from whoever they chose to. So the American colonist dressed up as Native Americans and dumped all the tea into the Boston Harbor. This made the British mad. -
The Coercive Acts
In response to the Boston tea party the British government decided I had to stop the rebellious colonist in Massachusetts. Parliament passed the Coersive Acts which close the Boston Harbor until the colonist paid back the money for the destroyed tea. Parliament also shut down the colonies elected council and replace the council with a British military governor named general Thomas Gage. Parliament also did not allow town meetings without approval. -
The Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson during the Second Continental Congress. The Declaration of Independence announced why The colonies we’re breaking away from Britain and why they were going to war Britain. Thomas Jefferson used most of locks ideas in enlightenment when writing the Declaration of Independence by saying that all men are created equal, we have an inalienable rights and the right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness -
Battle of Yorktown
George Washington’s American army and the French army had surrounded British General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown. Yorktown was the last major battle of the American revolution and started America’s independence. The Battle of Yorktown ended on October 19, 1781. -
Treaty of Paris
The treaty of Paris was signed by the United States and the British on September 3, 1783 and ended the American Revolution. The the treaty recognize the United States as an independent country and granted the United States territory to the Mississippi river. -
The US Constitution
The US Constitution was saying September 17, 1787. The constitution laid the groundwork‘s for the new government. The constitution split the power between the federal government and the state governments. It created three branches of government between the legislative, judicial and executive branches so no one person had too much power. The founding fathers used Montesquieu’s idea of checks and balances.