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Video Link The French and Indian war started in 1754 and lasted until 1759. The conflict started because British Colonists wanted additional land that the French had in North America. The war was fought over land in the Ohio Valley. The British defeated the French, and the French gave up their land in North America to the British. -
The Proclamation of 1763 was a result of the British wanting to tighten their control of the colonies. This prohibited colonists from living on the west side of the Appalachian mountains. The point of this was to reduce the conflicts among the colonists and Native Americans. It was issued by King George III -
The British wanted to end the smuggling trade of sugar and molasses. The British Legislation passed the sugar act in 1764. This act put a strongly enforced tax on sugar and molasses. This caused a lot of protests to stem in the American Colonies. -
After the French and Indian War there were a lot of war costs that needed to be met. The British looked to colonists to help pay these costs. The stamp act taxed things like newspapers, legal papers, pamphlets, and more. While American colonists disliked the new prices that were being forced to pay, they really hated that this act was passed without representation from the American Colonies. The Committee of correspondence was how the colonists communicated about how they wanted to handle this. -
The Quartering Act was passed to require colonial authorities to provide food, shelter, transportation, and anything else that British forces may need while they are stationed in the villages and towns. It was originally passed to counteract the rise in empire defense costs in America following the French and Indian War. Secondly, it was a way to assert British power over the colonies. -
The Townshend Act was another way King George III and British Parliament to pay for war expenses from the French and Indian War. These taxes were placed on imported items like paint, tea, led, and more. Colonists disliked this law and many revolted and rebelled against the act. This continued to add to the growing tension between the American Colonists and the British. -
Video Link In 1770, the British and American Colonists had so much tension that sometimes arguments would result in boycotts, and even violence. The British would try to compensate by sending more soldiers and troops into the colonies, because of the violence. One day a group of soldiers were attacked by a group of colonists. Crispus Attucks was one of them. The soldiers fired into the crowd and killed 5 colonists. -
As a result of the protests of the acts being passed by the British Parliament, they repealed a majority of the taxes, though not all. The tea tax was one of those. In rebellion of the tea tax, they boycotted British imported tea. Britain took the hint, and passed the tea act so they could sell tea at a lower cost, but they were still taxing it. The colonists were not happy because of the lack of representation they had in Parliament so they dumped a shipment of British tea into the harbor. -
Video Link The Tea act in 1773 was one of the first acts that was passed not to gain money to pay off war debt but to help out the East India Company. The East India Company played a huge role in the British economy. The East India Company was floundering and the Tea Act was a way to help them out so they could get back to raising the British Economy. -
Video Link In 1774, after the Boston Tea Party Britain closed the Boston Harbor, the governing board was replaced so it was no longer an elected position but an appointed one by the British government. This act was passed by King George and the British Parliament. This excelled the tension between the British and American Colonies to the point of Boston becoming the center of resistance against the British. -
Video Link The First Continental Congress met for the first time in 1774. The point of their meetings was to make decisions about the revolution and the colonies. They were the leaders at this time. Some of the people that were there were George Washington, John Adams, Ben Franklin, and many more. -
Video Link The Second Continental Congress met in May of 1775. They were the ones trying to make the decisions if they were going to break off from England. They met to make decisions about appointing ambassadors, printing currency, and appointing military generals and leaders. This congress consisted of George Washington, John Adams, and many more. They took on the normal functions of the government. -
The battle of Lexington and Concord was the spark that started the revolutionary war. It came from a long time of tension and hatred towards the British that the colonists finally took a stand and fought back. The British ended up firing first and starting the battle but they were defeated by the American colonists. This event took place on April 19th 1775. -
Video Link The Battle of Bunker Hill occurred on June 17th 1775. The battle was lost by the patriots. Though it proved to everyone involved that the patriots had a fighting chance. While the British one, it cost them dearly in many lives. The British forces were lead by General William Howe. -
The Olive Branch Petition was a letter sent by the American Colonists to King George III as a means to avoid going to war. The petition conveyed many things as an attempt to accomplish this and one of those was how many tender regards they have for the kingdom. As a new country they didn't have the money or funds to give them a good advantage making them wary of going to war. This was written by John Dickson who was part of the second continental congress. -
Video Link Common Sense was written by Thomas Paine. It was published on January 10th 1776. It was the outline on what the Americans wanted for independence. It helped promote the revolution and give good arguments to the reasons behind the revolution. -
video link deceleration of independence was signed on July 4th, 1776. It was the formal deceleration to King George III that we were our own country now. Thomas Jefferson drafted the deceleration. It included all of the violations held against the King, including all the reasons for their independence. -
Video Link On August 27th, 1776 the Battle of New York occurred. It was the biggest battle of the revolution. This battle stemmed from George Washington wanting to fortify and protect New York City from a British attack. The Americans lost and it allowed the Britain to hold very valuable port to the war until the end of the war. -
In late December of 1776 the Battle of Trenton occurred. The continental army was led by George Washington to fight against the British which included German soldiers called Hessian's. While there were some losses Americans won a crucial victory in this battle. The battle was nearly completed in only about an hour of time. -
In the fall of 1777 the Battle of Saratoga took place. This was considered a turning point for the revolution. This battle was a turning point because the French now allied with the Americans. Two figures who were involved were Benedict Arnold, and Daniel Morgan. General John Burgoyne was the one who led this battle. -
Valley Forge was where the American soldiers held camp during the different battles. They used this site for the winters of 1777-1778. George Washington led his soldiers to this camp. It was ambushed by British soldiers. They burned the camp, and stole supplies. Freiherr von Steuben arrived at Valley Forge and helped to train and do correspondence with soldiers. He was a big role in helping George Washington win battles and eventually the revolution itself. -
The Battle of Monmouth was the longest and largest battle that lasted one day during the entirety of the revolution. George Washington originally sent a small army to engage soldiers until George Washington could join with the larger army. Americans won this battle even with the large casualties both sides went home with. This battle led to George Washington being recognized as a great leader. Mary Ludwig supplied the men with water on the battlefield and earned the nickname Molly Pitcher. -
The Battle of Yorktown started on September 28th 1781 and ended on October 19th 1781. This is the battle where George Washington's Army defeated General Cornwallis and his British army. This battle ended the American Revolution. It took place in Yorktown Virginia. -
This was the article that formally recognized America as a country and ended the war. It was named the Treaty of Paris because this is where the treaty was negotiated and signed. The treaty was signed on September 3rd in 1783. John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay were the negotiators for the Americans.