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After several peaceful years, the French-British conflict began again. France and Great Britain fought over the Ohio River Valley, but in the end the British took the victory at Quebec in 1763.
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The proclamation of 1763 created a proclamation line along the Appalachian Mountains, where the colonists could not expand their land. However, the colonists were eager to expand and disrupted the agreement by crossing over the line anyway.
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The sugar act decreased the duty of foreign made molasses in the hopes that colonists would pay a lower tax rather than smuggle goods. It also forced duties on certain imports that had not been taxed before. Lastly, it ensured that colonists accused of violations would be tried in a vice-admiralty court instead of a colonial court.
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The Stamp Act charged a tax on documants and printed items such as newspapers and wills. This was the first tax that directly affected colonists because it was imposed on goods and services.
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Led by Saamuel Adams--one of the founders of the Sons of Liberty--the colonists boycotted British goods. This group was formed to protect the rights of the colonists and to fight taxation by the British parliament.
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in 1767, Parliament passed the Townshend Acts, taxing goods imported into the colonies by Britain, such as lead, glass, paint, and paper.The acts also charged a tax on tea, affecting the daily lives of the colonists.
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On March 5. 1770, passionate colonists gathered in Boston to copnfront and taunt the British soldiers. Against orders, shots were fired and five colonists were killed or mortally wounded.
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The tea act granted the British East India company the right to sell tea to the colonies free of the taxes that colonial tea sellers had to pay. Lord North hoped colonists would simply buy the cheaper tea, but they protested dramatically.
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A large group of Boston rebels disguised themselves as natives and began to take action against British tea ships in the harbor. That night, later kniown as the "Boston Tea Party," the colonists dumped thousands of punds of East India company's tea into the Boston harbor.
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56 delegates met in Philladelphia and created a declaration of colonial rights. They defended the coplonies' right to run their own affairs and stated that if the British used force against the colonies, the colonies have the right to fight back.
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Parliament responsed to the Boston Tea Party by implementing the Intolerable Acts. One law shut down Boston Harbor. The Quartering Act authorized British commanders to house soldiers in vacant private homes and buildings. Lastly, Boston was placed under martial law.
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The redcoats reached Lexington and were met by 70 minutemen lined up to fight. Someone fired and the American Revolution began. After the British victory at Lexington, The British marched to Concord and were slaughtered when met with between 3,000 and 4,000 minutement firing on them.
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Colonial leaders called the second Continental Congress to discuss their next move. Some delegates called for independence, while others argued for reconciliation with Great Britain. Congress agreed to redcognize the colonial militia as the continental army and appointed George Washington as its leader.
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Gage sent 2,400 British troops up the hill, and the colonists waiteed to fire and then moweed down the redcoats before they retreated. The colonial victory marks the deadliest battle of the war.
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Congress sent the king the "Olive Branch petition," urging for the reform back to the peaceful relationship between Great Britain and the colonies. King George rejected the petition and urged parliament to order a proclamation that the colonists were in rebellion and implemented a naval blockade, isolatting the colonists' trade.
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Thomas Paine published a pamplet called Common Sense, attacking King George and the monarchy. Paine urged for independence and convinced people to fight againt the "tyranny" of Britain.
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The delegates voted unaminously that the American colonies were free and declared their freedom from Britain.
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With the help of their experienced army and well-equipped soldiers, the British siezed New York City as part of a plan to stop the rebellion during the summer of 1776. The British also captured Philadelphia in September of 1777 after regrouping from Trenton.
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American troops surrounded the British at Saratoga, where the redcoats surrendered on October 17, 1777.
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Valley Forge was the site of the military camp of the American Continental Army over the winter of 1777–1778 during the American Revolutionary War. Starvation, disease, malnutrition, and exposure killed nearly 2,500 American soldiers by the end of February 1778.
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British General John Burgoyne led a large invasion army from Canada to New England, hoping to meet a similar force marching northward from New York City; the southern force never arrived, and Burgoyne was surrounded by American forces in upstate New York. The British surrendered and the Battle of Saratoga marked a climax for the war and a defining moment that the Americans could actually win the war.
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He served as inspector general and Major General of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He is credited with being one of the fathers of the Continental Army in teaching them the essentials of military drills, tactics, and disciplines.
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Lafayette was a French aristocrat and military officer who fought for the United States in the American Revolutionary War. In 1781, troops in Virginia under his command blocked forces led by Cornwallis until other American and French forces could position themselves for the Siege of Yorktown.
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After their defeat at Saratoga, the British moved south and easily took Savannah, Georgia in 1778. They moved on to capture Charlestown, South Carolina in May 1780. They were able to sweep the south so easily because of thei weapons and well trained and large amount of soldiers.
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By September, about 17,000 French and American troops surrounded the British on the Yorktown peninsula and began bombarding them at all times. Less than a month later, Cornwallis finally surrendered and was defeated by the Americans.
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The delegates signed the Treaty of Paris, confirming U.S. independence and set the boundaries for the new nation.
