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Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was the first direct tax on the colonies passed by parliament. It taxed all documents and anything that was printed such as newspapers, wills, playing cards and more. The Stamp Act was put into place to help pay for the 7 year war. The colonists were upset because they were being taxed without representation. This is not symmetrical to what the British thought the colonists would do because they fought against it. (https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/stamp-act) -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a riot that broke out between the colonists and some British soldiers. It was said that one soldier was guarding the King's money and a group of colonists came up and threatened and taunted him. He fought back and before long there were more colonists and soldiers that arrived at the scene. The colonists then knew it'd be bloody so they told the soldiers not to fire, but 5 colonists ended up being killed.
https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/boston-massacre -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was the first planned defiant act against the British tax acts. The Sons of Liberty dressed up like Native Americans and opened chests of tea and dumped them in the water. They destroyed 342 crates of tea from the British East India company. This is asymmetrical to what the British thought the colonists would do because they expected them to just continue trying to smuggle tea or pay the tax.
https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/boston-tea-party -
Lexington and Concord
This battle happened because the British troops wanted to take an arms cache. The 700 British troops were met by 77 colonists in Lexington. No one knows who fired first. The British reached Concord but most of the weapons had already been moved. As the British left Concord 2,000 minute-men were there and a battle broke out. This is symmetrical to what the British thought the colonists would do because they wouldn't expect them to just hand over their guns.
https://www.history.com -
Bunker (Breed's) Hill
William Howe led the British troops to Breed's Hill to take over the high ground. Prescott and his men were there waiting but were low on ammunition. they waited to fire until the British were close and they caused significant casualties. The British regrouped two different times and ended up winning the battle, but had more casualties. The picture is of the Bunker Hill monument in Massaschusets. https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/battle-of-bunker-hill -
Common Sense
Common Sense was a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine. He supported American independence and spread the idea to the colonists. The pamphlet was 47 pages long and 500,000 copies were sold. It was considered one of the most influential pieces of writing because it stirred the colonists up for war. This is symmetrical to what the British thought the colonists might do because they had written against the colonists also.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/thomas-paine-publishes-common-sense -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a formal statement about what the colonists wanted. They wanted to have their own government and freedom. The declaration was written by Thomas Jefferson and adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4th, 1776. This is asymmetrical to what the British thought the colonists would do because they expected them to stay with them for trade, and support.
https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/declaration-of-independence -
Battle of Trenton/Princeton
The Battle of Trenton was an attack on the Hessians led by Washington. The Hessians were unprepared and surrendered. Washington sent men to Princeton to destroy a bridge when they met British soldiers. Fighting broke out but the Americans made it through the line. This is asymmetrical to what the British thought would happen because they thought the colonists would keep peace over Christmas but they didn't.
https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/battles-of-trenton-and-princeton -
Battle of Saratoga
On September 19th, the British slowly went to go attack the Americans. The colonists were hiding in the woods and the British were struggling. They went back to regroup and attacked again on October 7th. The British were forced to retreat and surrender.
https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/battle-of-saratoga -
Continental Army wintering at Valley Forge
The winter of 1777-1778 was going to be bitter cold. Washington decided to set up camp at Valley Forge on December 19th after suffering major defeats. Many died from diseases. They were kept busy by Fredrich von Steuben with drills. The men left Valley Forge stronger and well rested.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/continental-army-enters-winter-camp-at-valley-forge -
War in the south/Charleston
The British began attacking the southern colonies more and more in early 1780. They attacked Charleston, South Carolina and captured thousands of colonists. Then they moved on to the rest of South Carolina and Georgia.
https://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h688.html -
Battle of Yorktown
The British and the Americans met in Yorktown on September 28. The Americans started to fight them there. The Americans and French began to dig trenches and move towards the British. They were surrounded on 3 sides and tried to fight back once more but then on October 19, they surrendered.
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/revolutionary-war/battles/yorktown
