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Parliament had pass the navigation acts to regulate colonial trade and manufacturing. For the most part, however, these acts were not rigorously enforced. Therefore, activities like smuggling were common and not considered crimes by colonists. -
The French and Indian war had drain the British treasury. George the third and his advisers insisted that the colonists pay the cost of their own defense, including troops still stationed in frontier posts. -
The Stamp Act text items such as newspapers and pamphlets. Colonist bitterly resented this tax because it presented itself as an attack on their rights. After protesting, Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, but asserted its right to tax the colonists. -
British soldiers in Boston opened fire on a crowd that was pelting them with stones and snowballs. Colonist called for the death of five protesters the Boston massacre. This event intensified British hate in the America. -
The tea act would play a major role in becoming the catalyst for the famous Boston Tea Party. -
A handful of colonist hurled a cargo a recently arrived British tea into the harbor to protest a tax on tea. The Internet became known as the Boston tea party. One parliament passed harsh laws to punish Massachusetts, other colonies rallied to help Massachusetts. -
As tensions rose, representatives from 12 colonies gathered in Philadelphia. At the first continental congress, representatives discussed how to respond to Britain’s harsh moves against Massachusetts. -
The coercive/intolerable acts were a set of reforms which aimed to suppress the retaliating Massachusetts. Instead, these acts merely fueled the American hatred toward the British crown and gave precedence into calling the First Continental Congress. -
Soon after the battle of Lexington and Concord, the second continental Congress met and set up a continental army with George Washington in command. They also took momentous steps in working toward independence from Britain. -
At the battles of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts, colonist clashed with British troops – the opening shots of the American revolution. Soon after, the second continental Congress met and set up a continental army with George Washington in command. -
The document spelled out the political principle of popular sovereignty, the idea that all government power comes from the people. Aware of the risks involved, on July 4, 1776, American leaders signed the declaration. -
The first turning point in the war came in 1777, when the Americans triumphed over the British at the battle of Saratoga. This victory persuaded France to join the Americans against its old rival, Britain. -
In the brutal winter conditions of 1777–1778, continental troops at Valley Forge suffered from the cold, hunger, and disease. Throughout this crisis and others, Washington was patient, courageous, and determined. He held the ragged army together -
Finally, with the help of a French fleet, Washington forced the surrender of a British army at Yorktown, Virginia. With that defeat, the British war effort crumbled. -
The constitution created a federal republic, with power divided between the federal, or national, government and the states. It provided for both an elected legislature and an elected president. The constitution set up a series of checks and balances for which each branch of the government has the right to monitor and limit each of the other branches. -
During the hot summer of 1787, the constitution of the United States was hammered out. This framework for a strong, flexible government has remained in place for more than 200 years.