-
Required colonial governments to provide housing and food for British soldiers. This was seen by many as an indirect tax and an invasion of privacy. -
A series of laws placed duties on imported goods like glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea. It led to widespread boycotts of British goods. -
A deadly riot that began as a street brawl between American colonists and a lone British soldier quickly escalated. Five colonists were killed, including Crispus Attucks. -
Members of the Sons of Liberty, disguised as Mohawk Indians, dumped 342 chests of British tea into Boston Harbor to protest the Tea Act. -
Also called the Coercive Acts, these were passed to punish Boston for the Tea Party. They closed Boston Harbor and stripped Massachusetts of self-government. -
Delegates from the 13 colonies met in Philadelphia to manage the war effort. They eventually created the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as Commander-in-Chief. -
A final attempt by the colonists to avoid a full-blown war with Great Britain. King George III refused to read it and declared the colonies in rebellion. -
Known as “The Shot Heard Around the World,” this was the first military engagement of the Revolutionary War when British troops moved to seize colonial weapons. -
A pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that used plain language to argue for independence from Britain. It shifted public opinion toward the Patriot cause. -
The first direct tax on the American colonies required a tax stamp on all legal documents, newspapers, and playing cards. It sparked the cry, "No taxation without representation! -
The formal document, primarily written by Thomas Jefferson, announced that the 13 colonies were now independent states and no longer part of the British Empire. -
The first constitution of the United States, which established a weak central government and gave most power to the individual states. -
A meeting of 12 delegates from five states to discuss trade barriers. While poorly attended, it resulted in a report calling for a broader meeting in Philadelphia to fix the national government. -
An armed uprising of debt-ridden farmers in Massachusetts led by Daniel Shays. The rebellion terrified national leaders and proved that the Articles of Confederation were too weak to maintain order. -
Delegates from 12 states met in Philadelphia to "revise" the Articles, but instead drafted an entirely new U.S. Constitution. It established the three branches of government we use today.