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French and Indian War
From the start the French colony in North America called New France, differed from the British. THe typical french colonists were young, single men who were engaged in the fur trade and catholic priests who sought to convert Native Americans. The French usually enjoyed better relations with Native americans because they needed the locals as partners in the fur trade. Several military alliances developed out of the French-Native American trade relationship. -
John Locke's Social Contract
Locke maintained that people have natural rights to life, liberty, and property. He said that every society is based on a social contract- an agreement in which the people consent to choose and obey a government so long as it safegaurds their natural rights. If the government violets it, people have the right to resist and even overthrow the government. -
Writ of Assistance
the royal governer of Massachusetts authorized the use of writ of assistance, a general search warrant that allowed British customs officials to search any colonial ship or building that they believed to be holding smuggled goods. Because many merchants worked out of their residences the writs enabled British officals to enter and search colonial homes, whether there was evidence of smuggling or not. The merchants were outraged because of this. -
Treaty of Paris
Great Britain claimed Canada and virtually all of North America east of the Mississippi river. Britain also took France from Spain to keep possessions of its lands west of the Mississippi and the city of New Orleans which it gained from France in 1762. FRance gained control of only a few islands and small colonies near Newfoundland in the West Indies and elsewhere. -
Sugar Act & colonists response
Great Britain had nearly doubled its debts by the end of the war, King George the third hoped to lower that debt.Its did three things, 1)its halved the duty on foreign-made molasses in hopes that colonists would pay lower taxes than risk arrest by smuggling 2) It placed certain duties on certain imports that had not been taxed before 3) It provided the colonists accused a fair trial. Colonial merchants complained that the parliment had no right to tax the colonists. -
Stamp Act & colonists response
This imposed a tax on documents and printed items. A stamp would be placed on items to prove the tax had been payed. It was the first to affect colonists directly because its leived on goods and services. -
Sons of Liberty is formed & Samuel Adams
Boston shopkeepers, Artisians, and laborers organized a secret resistance group. The colonial assemblies declared that parliment lacked the power to impose taxes on the colonies because the colonists were not represented in parliment. Merchants in Boston, New York, Philadelphia agreed to a boycott until the act was repealed. In March of 1766 the parliment was repealed -
Declaratory Act
The same day the Stamp Act was repealed, parliment the Declaratory Act. The asserted parliments full right to "to bind the colonies and people of America in all cases whatsoever." -
Publication of Common Sense
Thomas Paine, in a 50 page pamphlet, attacked King George and the monarchy. He argued that responsibility for British tyranny lay with "the loyal brute of Britian." He explained his own revolt against the king had began with lexington and Concord. -
Townshed Acts & colonists response & Why they were repealed
These acts were named at Charles Townshed, the leading government minister. These acts taxed goods that were imported to the colony from Britain like lead and glass. It also imposed a tax on tea, the most popular drink in the colonies. The colonists again boycotted the british goods, this being led by Samuel Adams, one of the founders of the sons of liberty -
Boston Massacre
On March 5, 1770 a mob gathered infront of the Boston Customs house and taunted the British soldiers standing gaurd. Five colonists including Crispus Attucks, were killed or mortally wounded. -
Tea Act
Britain gives the East India Company special concessions in the colonial tea business and shuts out colonial tea merchants. -
The Boston Tea Party
On December 16, a large group of Boston rebels disguised themselves as Native Americans and proceeded to take action against the three British tea ships anchored in the harbor. The "Indians" 18,000 pounds of East India Company's tea into the water of the Boston Harbor. -
First Continental Congress meets
56 delegates met in Philadelphia aand drew up a declaration of colonial rights.They defended the colonies right to run their own affairs and stated that, if the British used force against the colonies, the colonies should fight back. -
Intolerable Acts
An infuriated King George the third pressed Parliment to act and Parliment responded by passing a series of measures. One law shut down Boston Harbor, another the Quartering Act, authorized British commanders to house soldiers in vacantprivate homes. In addition, General Thomas Gage, commander and chief, was appointed the governor of Massachusetts, he placed Boston under martial law, or rule imposed by military forces. -
Minutemen
After the first continental congress met, colonists in many eastern New England towns stepped up military preparations. Minutemen-civilian soldiers who pledged to be ready to fight against the British on a minute's notice-quietly stockpiled firearms and gunpowder. General Thomas Gage soon learned about these activities, in the spring of 1775 he ordered troops to march from Boston to Massa. to seize illegal weapons. -
Midnight Riders:Revere, Dawes, Prescott
On the April 18, Revere,Dawes,and Prescott rode out to spread word that 700 British troops were headed for Concord. The darkened countryside rang with church bells and gunshots-prearranged signals sent from twon to town that the Brtish were coming. -
Battle of Lexington
Frist battle of the revolutionary war, only lasted 15 minutes. Someone fired and the British soldiers sent a valley of shots into the departing militia. Eight minutement wee killed and ten mmore were wounded, bot only one British soldier was injured. -
Battle of Concord
The British marched on to Concord where they found an empty arsenal. After a brief skirmish with minutemenlined up to march back to Boston. Between 3000 and 4000 minutement had assembled and fired on the marching troops from behind stone walls and trees. The british fell by the dozen, the remaining soldiers made their way back. Colonists had becom enemies of Britain and held Boston under seige -
Second Continental Congress
Colonial leaders met in Philadelphis to debate their next moce, The loyalists that divided colonists sparked endless debates. Some delegates called for independence while others argued for reconcilation with Great Britian. Despite such differences they agreed to recognize the colonial militia as the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander. -
Continental Army
Despite such differences the congress agreed to recognize the colonial militia as the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander -
Battle of Bunker Hill
British General Thomas Gage decided to strike at militiamen on Breed's Hill, north of the city and near Bunker Hill. Gage sent 2400 soldiers, the colonists held their fire until the last minute and then began moving advancing redcoats before finally retreating. The colonists lost 450 men, while the british suffered over 1000 casualties. This battle would prove to be the deadliest battle of the war. -
Olive Branch Petition
Most of the delegates, like most colonists, felt deep loyalty to George the third and blamed the bloodshed on the kings ministers. On july 8, congress sent the king the petition, urging a return to "the former harmony" between Britian and the colonies. The king rejected it and issued and proclomation that the colonies were in rebellion and urged parliment to order naval blockade to isolate a line of ships meant for the American coast. -
Declaration of Independence
jefferson begins the declaration by attempting to legally and philosophically justify the revolution that was already underway. Locke argues that if a government does not allowits citizens to enjoy certain rights and freedoms, the people have a right to replace the government. Jefferson condems the bahvior of King George listing his many tyrannical actions that has forced americans to rebel -
Loyalists and Patriots
Americans found themselves on different sides. Loyalists -thos who oppsed independence and remained loyal to the British king-included judges and governers as well as people of modest means. Many loyalists that the british were going to win. Patriots-the supporters of independence-drew their numbers people who saw political and economic opportunity in an independent america. Many remind neutral. -
Redcoats push Washington's army across the Dela River into Pennsylvania
The British sailed into New York as part of a plan to stop the rebeellion by isolation new england. The untrained and poorly equipped colonial troops soon t=retreated. BY late fall the british had pushe washington's army across the Delaware river into Pennsylvania -
Washington's Christmas night surprise attck
desperate for an early victory, washington risked everything on one bold stroke set for christmas night. he led 2400 men in a small rowboat across the ice-chocked delaware river. they then marched to their objective-trenton,new jersey-and defeated a garrison of hessians in a surprise attack -
Valley Forge
Washington and his Continental Army desperately low on food and supplies fought to stay alive at winter camp in vally forge, pennsylvania. more than 2000 soldiers died yet the surviviors didnt desert. their endurence and suffering filled washingtons letters to the congress and his friends. -
French-American Alliance
The saratoga victory blostered France's belief that the americans could win the war. As a result the French signed an alliance with the Americans in Feb. and openly joined them in their fight -
British victories in the south
the british captured charles town, south carolina, -
British surrender at Yorktown
a fench naval force defeated a british fleet and then blocked the entrance to the chesapeake bay thereby obstructing british sea routes to the bay. by late september french and american troops surrounded the british on the yorktown peninsula and began bombarding them day and night. the americans had shocked the world and defeated the british. -
Treaty of Paris
peace talks began in paris in 1782. in september of 1783 the delegates signed the treaty of paris which confirmed u.s. idependence and set boundaries of the new nation. The united states now stretched from the atlantic to the mississippi river and from canada to the florida border. -
Proclomation os 1763
To avoid further conflicts with Native Americans the British government prohibited colonists from settling west of the Appalacian Mountains. The Proclomation of 1763 established a proclomation line along the Appalacian, which the colonists were not allowed to cross. However the colonists were so eager to expand westward that they ignored the proclomation and continued going onto Native American lands. -
Saratoga
General John Burgoyne planned to lead an army down a route of lakes from Canada to Albany where he would meet British troops as they arrives from New York City, the two would then join forces and isolate new england from the rest of the colonies. he didnt realize that his fellow british officers were preoccupied with holding philadelphia and werent coming to meet him, so he surrendered. -
Friedrich von Steuben and Marquis de Lafayette
fredrick- a prussian captain and talented drillmaster helped to train the continental armry. Marquis also arrived and offered help, he lobbied france for french reinforcements and led a command in virginia in the last years of the war. with the help os such military leaders the raw continental army became an effective fighting force.
