American revolution

  • French-Indian War

    French-Indian War

    the North American conflict in a larger imperial war between Great Britain and France known as the Seven Years' War. Conflicting claims between Great Britain and France over territory and waterways. The French and Indian War began in 1754 and ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763.
  • Navigation Acts

    Navigation Acts

    a series of laws passed by the British Parliament that imposed restrictions on colonial trade. The main purpose was to promote the self-sufficiency of the British Empire by restricting colonial trade to England and decreasing dependence on foreign imported goods.
  • Stamp Act

    Stamp Act

    The reason why it was done is to help pay for British troops stationed in the colonies during the Seven Years' War. It taxed newspapers, almanacs, pamphlets, broadsides, legal documents, dice, and playing cards
  • Quartering Act

    Quartering Act

    During the Quartering Act the British parliamentary provision (actually an amendment to the annual Mutiny Act) requiring colonial authorities to provide food, drink, quarters, fuel, and transportation to British forces stationed in their towns or villages.
  • Townshend Acts

    Townshend Acts

    the Townshend Acts initiated taxes on glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea. It was designed to raise revenue for the British Empire by taxing its North American colonies.
  • Boston Massacre

    Boston Massacre

    The Boston Massacre was a street fight that occurred on March 5, 1770, between a "patriot" mob, throwing snowballs, stones, and sticks, and a squad of British soldiers
  • Boston Tea Party

    Boston Tea Party

    The Boston Tea party was an act of protest in which a group of 60 American colonists threw 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor to agitate against both a tax on tea (which had been an example of taxation without representation) and the perceived monopoly of the East India Company.
  • Intolerable Acts (aka Coercive Acts)

    Intolerable Acts (aka Coercive Acts)

    The Coercive Acts were meant to break Massachusetts Bay and to warn the other colonies of the consequences of rebellious behavior
  • Battle of Lexington and Concord

    Battle of Lexington and Concord

    The Battle of Lexington and Concord was the famous 'shot heard 'round the world', marked the start of the American War of Independence. Politically disastrous for the British, it persuaded many Americans to take up arms and support the cause of independence.
  • Second Continental Congress

    Second Continental Congress

    The Second Continental Congress appointed George Washington commander in chief of the army.
  • Olive Branch Petition

    Olive Branch Petition

    The petition purpose was to attempt to convey the “tender regard" the colonists felt "for the kingdom.” The Petition emphasized their loyalty to the British crown and emphasized their rights as British citizens.
  • Common Sense

    Common Sense

    The Common Sense made a clear case for independence and directly attacked the political, economic, and ideological obstacles to achieving it.
  • Declaration of Independence

    Declaration of Independence

    The Declaration of Independence, headed The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, is the founding document of the United States.
  • Articles of Confederation

    Articles of Confederation

    The Articles of Confederation is the written document that established the functions of the national government of the United States after it declared independence from Great Britain.
  • Daniel Shays’ Rebellion

    Daniel Shays’ Rebellion

    Shays' Rebellion was an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts and Worcester in response to a debt crisis among the citizenry and in opposition to the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes on both individuals and their trades.
  • Constitutional Convention

    Constitutional Convention

    The Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia met between May and September of 1787 to address the problems of the weak central government that existed under the Articles of Confederation.