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John Locke's Social Contract
English philosopher John Locke maintained that people have natural rights to life, liberty, and property. Furthermore, he contended, every society is based on a social contract—an agreement in which the people consent to choose and obey a government so long as it safeguards their natural rights. If the government violates that social contract by taking away or interfering with those rights, people have the right to resist and even overthrow the government. -
French and Indian War
The french and British colonies had differed from each other from the beginning. The war began when French fur traders set up Fort Duquesne, in the Ohio River valley. The Virginia Government sent a small militia to evict the fur traders. However they were defeated quite easily. The British suffered many losses in the beginning of the war. On September 1759, the British launched a surprise attack scaling a cliff and defeating the French fur traders. (1754-1759) -
Writ of Assistance
Writ of assistance was put in place in 1761, by the royal governor of Massachusetts. This allowed British customs officers to walk onto any colonial ship or building that they thought held smuggled goods. The merchants in Boston were outraged. -
Treaty of Paris
The French and Indian war officially ended with the signing of the the Treaty of Paris. The treaty claimed Canada and virtually all of North America east of the Mississippi River Great Britain's. -
Proclamation of 1763
The Native Americans were the most affected group in the French and Indian War. They resented the fact that more British settlers were arriving and driving away the game they depended on for survival. The Indians began to raid 7 British forts, and captured all of them. The British officers deliberately spread blankets contaminated with smallpox which weakened the Indians. After, they made the Proclamation of 1763: establishing a line along the Appalachians which the settlers could not cross. -
Sugar Act
During the French and Indian war, the British borrowed so much money, they nearly doubled the countries national debt. They decided put the Sugar Act in place. The Sugar Act did three things: It made the amount of sugar one could by less, made tax on other goods more, and colonists accused of violating the act would be tried in a vice admiralty court not a colonial court. The colonists complained about the sugar act. The new regulations, however, had little to no effect on the colonists. -
Sons of Liberty
The Sons of Liberty was an activist group that protested the wrongful taxes being placed on the 13 colonies. It began to boycott the Stamp Act, Sugar Act, etc. The Sons of Liberty was led by men such as Samuel Adams, who was founder of the group. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was put into place in 1765 by the British Parliament. This act put taxes on anything that was printed. Such as, newspapers, playing cards, and wills. It was the first tax to actually have an effect on the colonists because it taxed goods and services. In May of 1765, the colonists rallied together to protest the new tax creating a group called the sons of liberty. The boycotting spread to many colonies and eventually it worked. In March of 1766, they repealed the law. -
Townshend Acts
The Townshend acts taxed goods that were being imported into the colonies. Such as, lead lass and paper. -
Boston Massacre
On March 5, 1770, a mob of colonists stood outside the British Customs building and taunted the soldiers posted outside. The soldiers proceeded to shoot into the mob. 5 people died that day. The Colonial leaders quickly labeled the incident the Boston Massacre. -
Boston Tea Party
On the moon lit evening of December 16, 1773, a large group of Boston rebels gathered at the harbor and proceeded to board three British tea ships. They were all dressed as indians and dumped about 18,000 pounds of tea into the harbor. This was an act of rebellion towards the Tea Act and many other acts that placed taxes on goods that should have been enjoyed without tax. -
Tea Act
In 1773, Lord North made the Tea Act. This was a desperate move to save the East India Company from going bankrupt. This led the Sons of Liberty to devise a plan to dump 18,000 pounds of tea into the Boston Harbor. This later became known as the Boston Tea Party. -
Boston Tea Party
Even before this event, Colonists had already refused shipments of the Company's tea to dock at the harbors. In this particular case, Colonists dressed up as Indians and boarded a British vessel, and threw 18,000 pounds of tea into the harbor, resulting in a big financial loss for the East India Company. December 16, 1773 -
Intolerable Act
In response to the Boston Tea Party, the Crown passed a series of laws:
-Court cases dealing with British soldiers would take place in Britain
-Massachusetts would be placed under Military Rule.
-Boston Harbor would be closed -
Intolerable Act
In response to the Boston Tea Party, the Crown passed a series of laws:
-Court cases dealing with British soldiers would take place in Britain
-Massachusetts would be placed under Military Rule.
-Boston Harbor would be closed -
First Continental Congress
12 out of the 13 Colonies meet to discuss the Intolerable Acts and to make sure that the Crown understood how they felt about the new laws. They pledged to meet in 1775 if their needs were not met. -
First Continental Congress
12 out of the 13 Colonies meet to discuss the Intolerable Acts and to make sure that the Crown understood how they felt about the new laws. They pledged to meet in 1775 if their needs were not met. -
Minutemen
Minutemen were civilian soldiers gathered by the First Continental Congress and the pledged to be ready to fight against the British on a minutes notice. The minutemen quietly stocked up on guns and powder. General Thomas Gage heard about this and sent troops to march from nearby Boston to Concord. -
Midnight Ride
Paul Revere rowed across the Charles River out of Boston to a horse waiting for him. He then went about warning the countryside that "The Regulars are out!' He was riding to Lexington to warn Sam Adams and John Hancock that the Redcoats were coming to arrest them. He rode with to other riders, William Dawes and Dr. Samuel Prescott. -
Battle of Lextington
On the morning of April 19, 1775, the British came across a group of the Lexington militia. The militia had been warned by Paul Revere, that the British were coming to seize weapons and arrest Sam Adams and John Hancock. The militia was ordered by their commander to disband. Someone fired a shot, causing the battle to ensue. The minutemen had to retreat after they received 18 casualties. The Redcoats marched on to Concord. -
Battle of Concord
After fighting the Minutemen at Lexington, the Redcoats marched to Concord, unaware that the weapons cache they were looking for had been moved. The Concord minutemen had to retreat over the Old North Bridge due to their low numbers. As they waited on the other side of bridge, more minutemen joined their ranks and around 3,000- 4,000 men ended up unleashing musket rounds upon the British redcoats. The Redcoats suffered 300 plus casualties on their retreat. -
Second Continental Congress
The Colonies met again and sent an Olive Branch Petition to the King, asking for peace. King George refused it and declared the Colonies in a state of rebellion. In response, every colonial leader met in a Philadelphia courthouse and and debated on what to do. They created the Continental army and appointed George Washington as its commander. They also drafted the greatest American document known to date: The Declaration of Independence. -
Continental Army
The Continental Army was created as a response to King George not accepting their olive branch of peace and calling them rebellious. The Continental Army was appointed General George Washington as its commander. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
After retreating to Boston, British General Thomas Gage, decided to attack Breed's Hill. He sent up 2,400 men and they marched until they met colonial gunfire. The colonists held their fire until the last minute and then began to mow down the British redcoats. Finally, the colonists retreated to Bunker Hill and suffered 450 casualties. While the British suffered over 1,000 casualties. -
Olive Branch Petition
On July 8, Congress sent the king the so-called Olive Branch Petition, urging a return to “the former harmony” between Britain and the colonies. King George flatly rejected the petition. Furthermore, he issued a proclamation stating that the colonies were in rebellion and urged Parliament to order a naval blockade to isolate a line of ships meant for the American coast. -
Common Sense
In a widely read 50-page pamphlet titled Common Sense,
Paine attacked King George and the monarchy. Paine, a recent immigrant, argued that responsibility for British tyranny lay with “the royal brute of Britain.” Paine explained that his own revolt against the king had begun with Lexington and Concord.
