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Stamp Act
First direct British tax on American colonists. Instituted in November, 1765. Every newspaper, pamphlet, and other public and legal document had to have a Stamp, or British seal, on it. The Stamp, of course, cost money. The colonists didn't think they should have to pay for something they had been doing for free for many years, and they responded in force, with demonstrations and even with a diplomatic body called the Stamp Act Congress, which delivered its answer to the Crown. -
Boston Massacure
Shooting of five American colonists by British troops on March 5, 1770. One person, an African-American man named Crispus Attacks, was killed. Nearly every part of the story is disputed by both sides. Did the colonists have weapons? The British say rocks and other such weapons were hurled at them. But the British had guns, and they did open fire. The Boston Massacre deepened American distrust of the British military presence in the colonies. -
Boston Tea Party
Angry and frustrated at a new tax on tea, American colonists calling themselves the Sons of Liberty and disguised as Mohawk Native Americans boarded three British ships (the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver) and dumped 342 whole crates of British tea into Boston harbor on December 16, 1773. Similar incidents occurred in Maryland, New York, and New Jersey in the next few months, and tea was eventually boycotted throughout the colonies. -
Lexington and Concord
First shots fired between American and British troops, on April 19, 1775. The British chose to march to Concord because it was an arms depot. This meant that the Americans had stockpiled weapons there. British troops had occupied Boston and were marching on Concord as they passed through Lexington. No one is still sure who fired first, but it was the "Shot Heard 'Round the World." Both sides opened fire, and the Americans were forced to withdraw. -
Fort Ticonderoga
New York fort on the western shore of Lake Champlain that was originally a French fort, called Carillion, that was seized by the British in the French and Indian War. The fort was later captured by the Americans in their first "official" victory of the Revolutionary War. The fort wasn't garrisoned very well but still held a stock of British weapons. Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys, along with Benedict Arnold, captured the fort on May 10, 1775. -
Bunker Hill
Two-day engagement between British forces under the command of General William Howe and American forces under Colonel William Prescott. The Americans had occupied Breed's Hill in Charlestown on June 16, 1775, in order to protect the shipyard of nearby Boston. The next day, the British attacked. They took the hill but suffered heavy losses. The Americans fired until they were out of ammunition, then quickly retreated. -
The Continental Congress
Two groups of people from all over the 13 Colonies who came together to discuss liberty. The First Continental Congress was a group of 56 delegates from 12 colonies (all except Georgia) who met in Philadelphia in September of 1774. They came together to act together in response to the Intolerable Acts. They met in secret because they didn't want Great Britain to know that they were united. The Second Continental Congress met in 1775, when the Revolutionary war had started. -
Common Sense
Common Sense was a timely work delineating the reasons for the American colonies to declare independence from Great Britain. Many colonists were not convinced that independence was the best route. Thomas Paine's Common Sense was so clear and powerful that it persuaded many colonists that it was time to break the yoke of the King's oppression. It was first published on January 10, 1776, only six months before the Declaration of Independence. -
Declaration of Indendence
Document declaring the 13 American Colonies independent from Great Britain. Written by Thomas Jefferson and declared in effect by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. Many prominent Americans signed it, including John Hancock, John Adams, and Samuel Adams. Great Britain's response was to continue the war. -
Battle of Brooklyn
First real battle between British and American forces, in August 1776. Also called the Battle of Long Island. Redcoats under Generals William Howe and Charles Cornwallis advanced on New York and tried to trap the Americans in Brooklyn. General George Washington responded by holding his ground until nightfall and then retreating under cover of darkness. The troop movements for this battle actually occurred over a number of days. -
Trentom
Famous American victory that began with "Washington Crossing the Delaware." Actually, the whole army crossed the Delaware River, which was frozen in places, on Christmas night, 1776, from Pennsylvania to the outskirts of Trenton, New Jersey. There, the Americans surprised a drunken Hessian force that celebrated the holiday a little too much. The battle lasted about 45 minutes and resulted in 900 Hessian prisoners. The Americans then marched on Princeton and won there, too. -
Princeton
American victory on January 3, 1777, following hard on the heels of General George Washington's great success at Trenton. The victory at Princeton drove the British out of New Jersey, almost for good. -
Saratoga
Turning point of the Revolutionary War in that it convinced France to enter the war on the side of the Americans. British General John Burgoyne came up with a brilliant plan to take all of New York away from the Americans. At the Battle of Saratoga, Burgoyne surrendered almost his entire army to General Horatio Gates on October 17, 1777. -
Valley Forge
In June 19, 1778, the army set out for New Jersey, where they fought the British to a stand-still just nine days later, at the Battle of Monmouth. Among the soldiers who were encamped with Washington at Valley Forge were Generals Nathanael Greene and Benedict Arnold; Alexander Hamilton, Washington's personal aide; the Marquis de Lafayette; and a man named John Marshall, who would go on to become the first famous Chief Justice of the United States. -
Savannah, Georgia
Resounding British victory. The British had seized Savannah a few months earlier. A joint American-French forced tried to take back the city on October 9, 1779. Commanding the American troops is General Benjamin Lincoln. The casualties for the Americans and French are enormous, among them Polish Count Casimir Pulaski, considered the father of American cavalry. His horse was shot from underneath him, and he died of wounds he received in the fall. -
Charleston
British victory in the first few months of 1780 that gave Britain control of much of the Southern colonies. Charleston was an important port and strategic center for the Southern Continental Army, nearly all of which surrendered at Charleston. Under the command of General Benjamin Lincoln, the Americans held out as long as they could, then surrendered to the British, commanded by General Henry Clinton. -
Guilford Courthouse
British victory near a courthouse in North Carolina in March, 1781. Together with the American victory at Cowpens, the engagement at Guilford Courthouse weakened the British forces in the South. General Charles Cornwallis, the commander of the southern British forces, decided to abandon North and South Carolina and march to Virginia. -
Articles of Confederation
Document detailing form of government taken after the Revolutionary War. The focus was on state governments, which had tremendous power. This form of government proved unequal to the task of governing the 13 Colonies, mainly because 9 of the 13 states had to agree to get anything done. The result was the Constitutional Convention. -
Yorktown
American victory that ended the Revolutionary War on October 20, 1781. British General Charles Cornwallis had met defeat in the south, at Cowpens, and his force had been continually weakened, especially by American General Nathanael Greene at Guilford Courthouse. -
Treaty of Paris
Treaty that officially ended the Revolutionary War on September 3, 1783. It was signed in Paris by Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay. Under the terms of the treaty, Britain recognized the independent nation of the United States of America. Britain agreed to remove all of its troops from the new nation. The treaty also set new borders for the United States, including all land from the Great Lakes on the north to Florida on the south, and from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River. -
Paul Revere's Ride
Famous silversmith who rode through the countryside to warn the American colonists that the British were coming. He didn't actually make his destination because he was captured by British "Redcoats," but one of his companions, Dr. Samuel Prescott, got the message through. When the British arrived, the Americans were ready. -
George Washinton
First president of the United States, he also fought (for the British) in the French and Indian War and was the commanding officer of the victorious American forces in the Revolutionary War. He was named president of the Constitutional Convention. He served two terms as president, during which he invented the Cabinet, his advisers, and tried to calm the bickering between the two new political parties, the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans.
