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Navigation Acts
The Navigation Acts were laws passed by the British Parliament that put restrictions on colonial trade. This caused taxes on the American colonists and made the colonists angry because of no representation in parliament -
French and Indian War Ends
The French and Indian War ended with signing the treaties of Hubertusburg and Paris in February 1763. France lost all claims in the new world. Their land went to Britain and Spain, this made the 13 colonies stronger due to less opposition. -
The Stamp Act
The Stamp Act of 1765 was the first ever tax forced directly on American colonists by the Parliament due to the debt from the French and Indian War. The act imposed tax on paper documents in the American colonies, the Stamp Act made the colonists start to revolt against Parliament. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was an event in Boston, where nine British soldiers shot five people out of crowd. The crowd was being abusive both physically and verbally towards the soldiers soon causing the shooting. This outraged citizens and led to the spark of the revolution throughout the colonies. -
Tea Act
The Tea Act was a law in 1773 giving all control of the trade of tea to the East India Tea Company. During that time, the British needed money, so the act also added a tax on tea, outraging colonists and was the building blocks of the Boston Tea Party. -
Boston Tea Party
American colonists were frustrated at Britain for imposing “taxation without representation,” and dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor. The event was the first major act of defiance to British rule over the colonists. It showed Britain that Americans wouldn’t take taxation without a fight, and American colonists across all of 13 colonies to fight for freedom against tyranny . -
Coercive/Intolerable Acts
The Coercive Acts, also known as the Intolerable Acts were four laws passed by Parliament to punish Massachusetts Bay for the Boston Tea Party. The four acts were the Boston Port Act, the Massachusetts Government Act, Administration of Justice Act, and The Quartering Act. These acts ruined peoples lives by giving the Parliament more power, housing soldiers in their homes, and sealing the Boston ports. -
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress, was a meeting of delegates from most of the colonies. They met in 1774 due to the Intolerable Acts, the task and accomplishment of the First Continental Congress was an agreement among the colonies to boycott British goods unless parliament cancels the act. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord kicked off the American Revolutionary War. Tensions had been building for a few years between citizens of the colonies and the British. On the night of April 18, 1775, the British invaded to take an arms cache. This started the war between British and the 13 colonies, eventually leading to the colonies taking independence. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress established a Continental army to fight a war, electing George Washington as Commander-in-Chief. But the delegates also drafted the Olive Branch Petition and sent it to King George III in hopes of reaching a peaceful resolution. The king refused to hear the petition and stated the American colonies are revolting. -
Declaration of Independence Adoption
The 13 American colonies cut ties with Great Britain. The document summarized the colonists’ motivations for seeking independence. With becoming an independent nation, the American colonists were able to confirm an alliance with the French and get assistance in the war against Great Britain. Leading to the war to be won due to extra well trained troops and a navy. -
Battle of Saratoga
The Battle of Saratoga was a turning point in the Revolutionary War. The Americans defeating the British army lifted American hope for independence With this victory Americans persuaded the French to help in the war efforts. Saratoga ended British John Burgoyne's attempt to control the Hudson River Valley. -
Winter at Valley Forge
George Washington moved the Continental Army to the quarters at Valley Forge. The rebel capital, Philadelphia, fell into British hands. By the time the army marched into Valley Forge they were suffering from the cold, hunger, fatigue, and worst of all low morale with all of the losses they suffered beforehand. -
Battle of Yorktown
Joint France and American land and sea campaign that a major British army at Yorktown, Virginia, and forced its surrender. The siege ended military operations in the American Revolution. This was one of the last battles in the war and it left the British Army in shambles. -
U.S Constitution/ Philadelphia Convention
The Constitutional Convention took place from May 14 to September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia. The point of the event was decide how America was going to be governed. Although the Convention had been officially called to revise the existing Articles of Confederation, delegates wanted to rewrite the document that the country should be led by. The effect of convection is still important today because the document they wanted to make is the document we use today. -
Adoption of the U.S. Constitution
On September 17, 1787, after three months of debate moderated by convention president George Washington, the new U.S. constitution, which created a strong federal government with an intricate system of checks and balances, was signed by 38 of the 41 delegates. The constitution still used today is what leads our country.