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Parliament passed the Sugar Act, taxing sugar and coffee.
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Parliament pass the stamp act which taxed any paper products such as newspaper, playing cards, stamps, ect.
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British soldiers open fired on a crowd that was pelting them with snowballs and rocks. 5 people died, the first one being a black man named Crispus Attucks.
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Some colonists hurled a cargo of British tea into the harbor to protest a tax on tea. The incident led parliament to impose punishment and make the taxes higher causing even more fights.
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Tensions between the colonist and British finally erupted into a war at the battle of Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts.The Continental Congress met again to form an army and George Washington as their commander.
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The Second Continental Congress met and voted to declare independence from Britain.There are many Enlightenment ideas in the Declaration of Independence such as the idea that all people are entitled to certain rights just by virtue of being human. Another is the belief that a government's legitimacy comes from the consent of the governed. Finally, the Declaration of Independence incorporates the idea that a government's main purpose is to protect the rights of the people.
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American troops defeated the British.This caused the French to join the American's side. Over 5, 895 British and Hessian soldiers surrendered their arms.
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The French fleet blockaded Chesapeake Bay causing Washington to force a British surrender.General Cornwallis surrendered his troops.
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Took place in Philadelphia. Discuss improvements to Articles of Confederation
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The U.S. Constitution was adopted and signed, but signing wasn't enough.It had to be ratified by 9 of the 13 states before it became binding. The Enlightenment helped bring a new way of thinking which brought on the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.
