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Period: to
American Revolution
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Sugar Act Passed
Merchants were required to pay a tax of six pence per gallon on the importation of foreign sugar and molasses. -
Stamp Act Passed
The Stamp Act was imposed on all American colonists and required them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used. Ship's papers, legal documents, licenses, newspapers, other publications, and even playing cards were taxed. -
Boston Masacre
The Boston Massacre was the killing of five innocent colonists by British regulars on March 5, 1770. -
Tea Act Passed
East Indian Company wasn't doing so well, and the British wanted to give it more business. The Tea Act lowered the price on this East India tea so much that it was way below tea from other suppliers. American colonists thought this was another means of "taxation without representation" because it meant that they couldn't buy tea from anyone else without spending a lot more money. -
Boston Tea Party
Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty boarded three ships in the Boston harbor and threw 342 chests of tea overboard in result of the Tea Act. -
Quartering Act Passed
American colonies had to provide the British soldiers with any needed accommodations or housing. -
First Contenintal Congress Meets
A meeting of delegates from twelve of the thirteen colonies that met to discuss their freedom and the revolution. -
Rides of Paul Revere
Paul Revere met with Patriot leaders in Charlestown and agreed on a plan to provide notice about the route the British would take to reach Concord.Revere agreed to arrange for the placement of signal lanterns in the belfry of Old North Church where they could have been easily seen across the Charles River. If one lantern were displayed, the British would be advancing by land over the Boston Neck, then north and west to Concord. If two lanterns were hung, the redcoats would have chosen to cross t -
Shot Heard Around the World
A confrontation on the Lexington town green started off the fighting, and soon the British were quickly retreating under the intense fire. -
Second Continental Congress Meets
Was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that started meeting in the summer of 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon after warfare in the American Revolutionary War had begun. -
Congress Adopts Declaration of Independence
Congress began to consider the Declaration. Adams and Franklin had made only a few changes before the committee submitted the document. The discussion in Congress resulted in some alterations and deletions, but the basic document remained Jefferson's. The process of revision continued through all of July 3 and into the late morning of July 4. Then, at last, church bells rang out over Philadelphia, the Declaration had been officially adopted. -
Crossing the Delaware
At about 11 p.m. on Christmas, Washington’s army commenced its crossing of the half-frozen river at three locations. The 2,400 soldiers led by Washington successfully braved the icy and freezing river and reached the New Jersey side of the Delaware just before dawn. Washington’s remaining force, separated into two columns, reached the outskirts of Trenton and descended on the unsuspecting Hessians. Washington’s men quickly overwhelmed the Germans’ defenses and the town was surrounded. -
French Alliance
Formed during the American Revolutionary War, which promised military support in case of attack by British forces indefinitely into the future. -
Cornwallis Surrenders
British General Charles Cornwallis formally surrenders 8,000 British soldiers and seamen to French and American forces at Yorktown, Virginia, bringing the American Revolution to a close. -
Treaty of Paris
Signed in Paris by representatives of King George III of Great Britain and representatives of the United States of America on September 3, 1783, ended the American Revolutionary War. -
US Constitution Signed
The members of the Constitutional Convention signed the United States Constitution on September 17, 1787 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
