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Boston Massacre
March 5, 1770, Towards the beginning of the Revolutionary time period, this event created some tensions between England and the colonies, even more so than before. Bostonians had been throwing snowballs at some british officers. Once an officer was hit, they shot at the citizens and killed five. This event helped ignite the passion as a nation for American independence which continues for many years to come. (Boston Massacre) -
Boston Tea Party
December 16th,1773, enacted by the Sons of Liberty. The East India Trading Company was struggling financially was was permitted to trade directly with the colonies. But this created unfair trade because this company could now monopolize colonial tea trade. Without representation, the colonies were backed into a corner. Therefore, the Sons of Liberty, dressed as Mohawk Native Americans, dumped all of the tea overboard in the harbor in Boston. This set an example for the rest of the colonies that -
Continental Congress
1774-1781, this was a diplomatic group that met and coordinated resistance against Great Britain during the American Revolution. They served as the negotiating party between the colonies and Britain. After many failed attempts of negotiations between England and the colonies, the members of the Continental Congress eventually drafted a Declaration of Independence. This body, of some of the most influential people of this time period, lead the independence movement and politically fought for the -
George Washington
General of the Continental Army and the first president of the United States after his success with the American Revolution. He was appointed General in June of 1775. He had never really had any experience with an army this large, but proved very capable. When he was appointed General, the colonies were given a fighting chance at independence. This was a major gain for the colonies to have a great commander. (Revolutionary War) -
Immunization of Smallpox
In march of 1776, Washington ordered his doctors to inoculate his army. Smallpox had been one of the biggest threats to the Continental Army. Inoculation was an early form of immunization which was exposing small amounts of live virus to a victim. This made his army stronger and they outsmarted the winter, serving as a precursor to how cunning the colonials were.(Riedel) -
Benjamin Franklin
This man was considered one of the first American Diplomats. His first task was from December of 1776-1778, trying to gain the support from the French. The United States knew that they needed the French, and it was all up to Franklin. He eventually did gain their trust and help due to the fact that France was angry about their loss of the Seven Years War. This paved way for an unlikely alliance. Benjamin Franklin continued to spread ideas amongst the upper classes in the colonies and in France d -
Sharpshooters
1777, Otherwise known as riflemen, were used as a strategic tactic by the colonies. The British assembled with structure in a battlefield out in the open and shot across the field, so the winnings were based off of who had more soldiers and a better shot. Now with men who used the landscape, the English were caught off guard. The sharpshooters played dirty by killing officers first so that they could have better chances of winning. For the first time in history the fighting isn’t so uniform, the -
Battle of Saratoga
October 17, 1777 the British surrendered to the colonists. The Americans were small but smart, they used riflemen to disarm the troops of their officers and then could attack the group as a whole because they didn’t know what to do without an officer. This was extremely important because success of this battle proved to the French that the colonies could actually fight. Benjamin Franklin would deliver this news to the French, gaining this ally which later becomes the advantage that the colonies -
Treaty of Alliance with France
February 6th, 1778, the colonies and French found that they both had the same enemy in common, the British. The French decided to exploit the weakness of the British to get revenge for the loss of land with the Treaty of Paris in 1763. In the Treaty it states, “and his Majesty and the said united States having resolved in that Case to join their Councils and efforts against the Enterprises of their common Enemy,” meaning that the colonies and France will team up to defeat a common enemy, being E -
Von Steuben
On February 23, 1778, George Washington enacted the help of Von Steuben, who was a former russian militant. He full-heartedly took the Continental Army and turned them around. Von Steuben said “I made this guard my military school. I drilled them myself twice a day ; and to remove that English prejudice which some officers entertained, namely, that to drill a recruit was a sergeant's duty and beneath the station of an officer, I often took the musket myselt to show the men the manual exercise wh -
Bayonet
A bayonet is a sharp metal on the end of a musket that enhanced the fighting style of Continental Army. They would all fire at once, and then charge with their bayonets. This gave them long range and close range combat skills. This weapon was a turning point in the war because now these soldiers had a tactical advantage that was easy to use for men with less combat experience. This is the point in the war where the Americans begin to outsmart the British because this is the only way the colonies -
Battle of Yorktown
YorkTown- In July of 1781, Washington’s troops and British troops were all in Yorktown. Cornwallis was the general of the British troops. Washington decided to go around and trap Cornwallis and this men, but first he had his troops build big trenches and set up artillery for show, so that the British would never see them coming. Washington then took most of his men and surrounded the 8,300 British men. The French created a blockade at Chesapeake bay so that the troops couldn’t come to assist.
