American Revolution Timeline

French and Indian War

May 8, 1756

http://www.history.com/topics/french-and-indian-warThe French and Indian War occured because the French wanted to expand into the Ohio River valley, but the colonists also wanted it. This led to a war and the British helped pay for expenses and they felt that the colonists should have to pay them back for it.

Proclamation of 1763

Oct 7, 1763

http://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/1763-proclamation-ofEngland decided to tighten their control over the colonists. The Proclamation of 1763 said that all lands west of the heads of all the river which flowed into the Atlantic Ocean were off-limits to the colonists. England would not let the colonists expand westward. This led to the Revolutionary War because the colonists felt that they sould be able to decide if they wanted to move westward or not. The decision should not be made by people who weren't even living in the America's

Stamp Act

Mar 22, 1765

http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/stamp-actThe Stamp Act imposed a tax on all paper documents in the colonies. This helped start the Revolutionary War because the colonies wanted freedom from having to tax on things from England. They felt that they should not have to pay taxes on things such as paper.

Townshend Acts

Jun 29, 1767

http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/townshend-actsThe Townshend Acts was when Charles Townshend imposed a tax on lead, paper, paints, glass, and tea imported to the Americas. This led to the Revolutionary War because again the colonists felt that they should not have to pay taxes on lead. paper, paints, glass, and tea.

Boston Massacre

Mar 5, 1770

http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/boston-massacreThe Boston Massacre was when a squad of British troops let loose a volley of shots. It killed three on impact and two later died from wounds. The British captain and eight of his men were then arrested for manslaughter, but were later acquitted. This led to the Revolutionary War because England had killed colonists who were unarmed, and the colonists thought they had definetly gone too far. The colonists decided to retaliate.

Tea Act

May 10, 1773

http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/tea-actThe Tea Act's purpose was not to raise revenue on the colonists but to bail out the East India Company, a key actor in the British economy. When England upped the price on tea, the colonists finally thought England had gone too far. They colonists thought that they should not have to pay taxes on tea just because England needed the money. This led to the Revolutionary War becaue the colonists realized that it was not fair that they had to pay taxes to England, so they decided to take a stand.

Boston Tea Party

Dec 16, 1773

http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/boston-tea-partyThe Boston Tea Party was when the colonists decided to take a stand against the taxation. They decided to dump 342 barrels of tea into Pearl Harbor to show that they weren't going to stand for what England was doing. The Boston Tea Party led to the Revolutionary War because the colonists had finally had enough and did not want anything form England. They did not want to pay taxes on tea and they wanted freedom to govern themselves.

Intolerable Acts

Mar 24, 1774

http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/worldwar1/p/jutland.htmThe colonists felt that the Tea Act, the Stamp Act, and the Townshend Act were all unfair and they should not have to pay tax on them. Because of the Boston Tea Party England gave the colonists a little more freedom with things known as the Intolerable Acts. This led to the Revolutionary War because the fact that they still had little to no freedom at all angered the colonists even more.

Lexington and Concord

Apr 19, 1775

http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/battles-of-lexington-and-concordTension had been rising between the England and the colonists. On April 18, 1775 British troops marched to Concord in order to seize an arms cache. Paul Revere and others sounded the alarm that the British were coming, but the colonial militamen were already ready. The British troops and the militiamen met on the fields in Lexington. This led to the Revolutionary War because it was the first battle that started the American Revolution.

Declaration of Independence

Jul 4, 1776

http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/declaration-of-independenceIn 1776 delegates from the Continental Congress were faced with a vote on the Revolutionary War. In mid-June a five man committee were tasked with the job of forming a formal statement of the colonies intentions. This helped fuel the fire of the Revolutionary War because it showed that the colonies were going to take an even bigger stand against England.