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French and Indian War
It was in 1754 and it started because of land. The French built Fort Duquesne in the Pennsylvania region despite the Virginia government giving them around 200,000 acres of land in Ohio. The Virginia governor sent a militia to evict the French and this started the war. -
Writ of Assistance
The Writ of Assistance was enacted to allow troops to search colonial ships and homes without a warrant that they believed to have smuggled things in them. -
Treaty of Paris 1763
The Treaty of Paris brought an end to the French and Indian war in 1763 and was brought up by WIlliam Pitt -
Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 was enacted to prevent English and the Native Americans from having any more conflict in the future. This was done by making a line through the Appalachians that the colonists weren't allowed to cross through. -
The Sugar Act & colonists response
The Sugar act was enacted to half the duty on foreign made molasses to try and get the colonists pay a lower tax instead of having them smuggle it in and getting caught. It also put taxes on things that weren't previously taxed and it allowed colonists accused of breaking the act to be tried in a vice-admiralty court instead of a colonial one. The colonist traders and merchants didn't like it and said it would cut down their profit. -
Stamp Act & colonial response
The Stamp Act was enacted to tax all of the colonial products such as newspaper and playing cards. They would put a stamp on it which is why its called the stamp act. -
Sons of Liberty is formed & Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams was one of the founders of Sons of Liberty and they boycotted all British goods. -
Declaratory Act
This was enacted by Parliament to unite all the colonies no matter what -
Townshend Acts & colonists response and why they were repealed
This act taxed all acts coming in from Britain such as paint, glass, etc and the colonists didn't like it. It was repealed due to retaliation from the colonists. -
Boston Massacre
On March 5, a mob gathered outside the Boston Customs and the British troops opened fire killing 5 people. -
Tea Act
The Tea Act was enacted by the British to keep the British East India Company from going bankrupt by taxing tea. -
Boston Tea Party
On the night of December 16, 1773 a group of Boston rebels who were tired of the taxes enforced by the British dressed up as Native Americans anddumped 18,000 pounds worth of tea into the Boston harbor -
Intolerable Acts
After the Tea Party, King George III was angry at what had happened and did a chain of events known as the Intolerable Acts where he shut down the Boston Harbor, allowed soldiers to sleep in colonial houses, and announced a British general as governor of Massachusetts -
First Continental Congress Meets
In September of 1774, committees of correspondence met to have the first Continental Congress meeting where they drew up colonial rights -
Minutemen
Minutemen were civilian troops who were ready to fight the British troops whenever and they stashed guns and weapons in case of a British attack -
Olive Branch Petition
The Olive Branch Petition was enacted by King George III to return the colonies to their peaceful space -
Second Continental Congress
This time continental leaders met up to talk about whether they wanted to be independent or under British rule -
John Locke's Social Contract
This was brought up by John Locke talking about how everyone has the right to life, liberty, and property and also said every society is based on a contract in which the people agree to listen to the government -
Battle of Lexington
This was a battle in Lexington the day after Paul Revere warned of the British and the colonists were ready to fight. They had stashed weapons to prepare for a British attack. 70 minutemen were waiting for the British when they arrived and the battle started. The battle lasted only 15 minutes. -
Battle of Concord
After the battle of Lexington the British went to Concord but were ambushed by anywhere between 3,000 and 4,000 minutemen. This was the second battle of the Revolutionary war and the colonies were now an enemy of the British. -
Continental Army
The Continental Army was a group of militia made by Congress who were led by George Washington -
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775 when British General Thomas Gage sent 2,400 troops up the hill where they were mowed down by the colonists -
Loyalists and Patriots
The Loyalists opposed independence and sided more with the British and many of them thought Britain was going to win. The Patriots supported the independence and saw political and economical opportunity in America. -
Publication of Common Sense
This was written by Thomas Paine to attack King George III and their monarchy and called him "the royal brute of Britain" -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson and was based on John Locke's ideas about freedom and independence and gave the people unalienable rights. It was published on June 7 1776 -
Redcoats push Washington's army across Delaware River into Pennsylvania
The British had pushed Washington's army across the Delaware river into Pennsylvania. He had 2,400 men on small rowboats sail across the icy river during a storm and made it to New Jersey. -
Washington's Christmas night surprise attack
After they crossed the Delaware river they made it to where the British were and ambushed them. This was a success because of the surprise aspect of the attack. -
Saratoga
This was where colonist troops surrounded General Burgoyne and this ended up being one of the most important things about the war -
Valley Forge
This was where Washington's army was where Washington's troops were dangerously low on food and supplies. Over 2,000 soldiers died but the survivors didn't quit and ended up still fighting. -
French-American Alliance
The French have secretly been aiding the Patriots since 1776 but in 1778, the French signed an agreement and the French openly joined the fight to aide the Patriots -
Friedrich von Steuben and Marquis de Lafayette
They were French generals and helped troops who needed help in the war -
British victories in the South
After Saratoga, the British started to move south. Charles Cornwallis ended up capturing Charlestown, South Carolina and also Yorktown -
British Surrender at Yorktown
After they started heading for Yorktown, Lafayette and Washington's armies moved south to Yorktown while the French Navy took out the British Navy. 17,000 troops surrounded British troops and the British surrendered. -
Treaty of Paris
A group of Patriot leaders signed the Treaty of Paris which confirmed U.S. independence and set the boundaries of the new nation -
3 Interesting facts
- The U.S. had 217,000 troops fight but only 4,435 deaths.
- Not all British troops supported the British rule over the colonies
- African American slaves fought on both sides of the war