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Navigation Acts
A series of laws was made to regulate shipping. It increased the revenue of colonies by taxing goods going to and from the British Colonies. -
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American Revolution Timeline
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French and Indian War Ends
Britain ended up winning the war and to pay the war debts off, King George ll started taxing the colonists and installed Army Units to secure borders. The colonists weren’t very fond of this. -
Stamp Act
This act was passed to help Britain repay war debt. It was the first internal tax directly placed on the colonists by parliament. This resulted in angry colonists. -
Boston Massacre
This started as a riot against the King, but it turned into a brawl between colonists and a British soldier. This energized the anti-British ways and paved the way for the Revolution. -
Boston Tea Party
The Americans decided to protest Britain’s tax on tea. They felt there was “taxation without representation”. So they dumped the tea in the Boston Harbor. -
Tea Act
This act was used to save Britain money since they didn’t have to use a middleman. It also helped the the British East India Company survive. Colonists were very opposed to this. -
Coercive/Intolerable Acts
The coercive/intolerable acts were set to reassert authority in the colonies. This made colonists more angry and the Revolution started about a year later. -
First Continental Congress
This served as the government for a while and was made up of delegates from the colonies. They first met to react to the Coercive Acts. -
Lexington and Concord
This marked the beginning of the Revolution. There ended up being more British soldier casualties than American. A large number of people decided to join the war after this. -
Second Continental Congress
The Continental Congress met yet again to declare America’s independence, ratify the national constitution, and to certify the Articles of Confederation and the U.S. Constitution. -
Declaration of Independence Adopted
It was written by Thomas Jefferson and adopted by the Second Continental Congress. It explains why the colonies split from Britain and marks the official separation. -
Battle of Saratoga
There were 2 important battles fought that were 18 days apart, Freeman’s Farm and the Battle of Bemis Heights. The continental Army won and this was a crucial turning point for them. -
Winter At Valley Forge
Valley Forge served as the winter quarters for Washington’s Continental Army. They suffered at first, but then Baron Frederick Wilhelm Steuben helped the army gain power and confidence. -
Battle of Yorktown
This was the last major battle of the Revolution and the British surrendered to the French and American troops. -
U.S. Constitution Written
James Madison wrote the Constitution. It was made because of how weak and ineffective the Articles of Confederation were. It was drafted by the Constitutional Convention of 1787. -
U.S. Constitution Adopted
The delegates signed on this as America’s first governing document. The Bill of Rights was later added to the Constitution.
