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End of French and Indian War
The French and Indian war was a war between Great Britain and France over land dispute in Ohio. The war officially ended in 1763 with the Treaty of Paris and Hubertusburg. Great Britain claimed all of Frances territory in Canada, Spanish Florida, and other French holdings overseas. -
Stamp Act
After the French and Indian war, Great Britain’s win came at a cost. A 60 million pound cost. They were now broke and needed money. And in 1765 passed the stamp act. This act taxed stuff like newspapers and pamphlets. The colonists were furious shouting “no taxation without representation”. They were also mad because they had no seats in parliament so they believed parliament had no right to tax them. Parliament then repealed the stamp act. (Oct. 7-25, 1765) -
Boston Massacre
A troop stationed in Boston started getting heckled. More and more civilians joined in on the heckling and more troops came to support their comrade. The hecklers threw snowballs, the snowballs turned the rocks, the rocks to ouster shells. And in the confusion someone shot. 5 people died in the Boston massacre and the colonists were outraged and it was labeled a national tragedy -
Tea Act
This act passed by parliament made the British East India Company Tea a monopoly for tea in the colonies. This made the colonists pay for the import on tea. Once again the colonists saw this as unfair and were mad -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston tea party was a political protest made by the Sons of Liberty. These men dressed up as natives Americans and sneaked on a British ship importing tea and dumped it all into the harbor in front of a supportive crowd. -
Intolerable Acts
As a result of the Boston Tea Party the British were outraged. They sent 3000 troops to Boston and sent the navy to blockade Boston harbors. Now it was like Boston and the state of Massachusetts was under the direct rule of Great Britain. -
First Continental Congress
Due to the punishment Massachusetts received for the Boston Massacre the rest of the colonies feared they might be next. So they all called a brain trust with 56 delegates from 12 different colonies and all met in Philadelphia. They all had the question what to do about the British. Eventually they all agreed to simply ask the British to stop. And shocker it didn’t work. So then they dude local militia men to start arming and be ready at a minutes notice. (Sept. 5-Oct. 26, 1774) -
Lexington And Concord
The British soldiers were order to March to the rebel countryside in Massachusetts to destroy arms and supplies. The two sides met at Lexington. They faced off against each other and in the confusion somebody shot first. Aka “The shot hear around the world” sparked the beginning of the war. The outnumbered rebels had to retreat to concord. And as the more rebels came the British were forced to retreat all the way to Boston. Surrounded they were forced back to British soil. -
Second Continental Congress
Only a month after the battles of Lexington and Concord delegates from the colonies met again to decide how organize and make a government for the colonies and what to do about the war. George Washington was put in charge of the Continental army and Thomas Jefferson was tasked to write a Declaration of Independence. -
Declaration of Independence adopted
Thomas Jefferson was set to write up a Declaration of Independence saying “All men are created equal”, “with certain inalienable rights”, including “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. On July 2nd congress voted unanimously in favor of independence. And on July 4th the United States of America was born. -
Battle of Saratoga
This battle was the turning point of the war. Up until this point the colonies were getting beaten pretty bad. Congress had asked France to join but they didn’t want to unless it was an assured win. And after this American victory France joined in support of the patriots. -
Winter at Valley Forge
In December of 1777, Washington and his troops set camp at valley forge for the winter. This event is popular because the conditions were brutal and the army coming off of some pretty morale drooping losses to the British. This took Washington all he had to gather his troops will power and strength to fight another day. -
Battle of Yorktown
This battle marked the end of the revolutionary war. As the French and American troops forced Cornwallis army to surrender. (Sept. 28 - Oct. 19, 1781) -
U.S. constitution ratified
The U.S. constitution was written in 1787, ratified between December 7 1787 to June 22, 1788, and finally put into action on March 9 1789. The U.S. constitution contains the framework of the American federal government and state and peoples rights. This is also the longest surviving written charter of government.