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Parliament passes The Stamp Act as a means to pay for British troops on the American frontier. Colonists violently protest the measure...
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Stamp Act repealed, but on the same day parliament passes the Declaratory Act asserting its right to make laws binding on the colonies.
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British troops arrive in Boston to enforce customs laws.
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Four workers shot by British troops stationed in Boston. Patriots labet the killings "The Boston Massacre."
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Massachusetts patriots dresses as Mohawk Indians protest the British Tea Act by dumping crates of tea into the Boston Harbor.
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The Privy Council reprimands Benjamin Franklin in London for leaking letters damaging the Royal Governor of Massachusetts.
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Thomas Paine' s Common Sense published. Becomes an instant best seller and pushes the colonies closer to independence.
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Shots fired at Lexington and Concord. "Minute Men" force British troops back to Boston. George Washington takes command of the Continental Army.
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Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence ratified by the Congress.
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Washington crosses the Delaware River and captures a Hessian force at Trenton, New Jersey.
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France signs a treaty of alliance with the United States and the American Revolution becomes a world war.
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British attack Charleston, South Carolina. City falls in May.
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A miraculous convergence of American and French forces traps Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia. He surrenders his British army.
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A peace treaty is signed between Great Britain and the United States.
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Delegates from all 13 states arrive in Philadelphia to rewrite the Articles of Confederation.
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The Constitutional Convention adjurns having passed a National Constitution that needs ratification from 3/4 of the states.
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The crucial state of Virginia becomes the 10th state to pass the Constitution.
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The crucial state of New York becomes the 11th state to pass the Constitution.
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A Bill of Rights passed by the 1st Congress of the United States.
