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Enlightenment
A European intellectual movement of the 17th centuries in which ideas concerning God, reason, nature, and humanity were synthesized into a worldview that gained wide assent in the West and that instigated revolutionary developments in art, philosophy, and politics. Central to Enlightenment thought were the use and celebration of reason, the power by which humans understand the universe and improve their own condition. -
French & Indian War
Also known as the Seven Years' War, this New World conflict marked another chapter in the long imperial struggle between Britain and France. The Seven Years' War lasted from 1756 to 1763, forming a new chapter in the imperial struggle between Britain and France called the Second Hundred Years' War. -
Stamp Act of 1765
The first internal tax imposed by the British Parliament directly on American colonists was the Stamp Act of 1765. In order to assist pay for British troops stationed in the colonies during the Seven Years' War, the British Parliament passed the "Stamp Act" on March 22, 1765. The act mandated that the colonists place a stamp, which stood in for a tax, on a variety of papers, documents, and playing cards. -
Townshend Act of 1767
A series of measures, passed by the British Parliament in 1767, that taxed goods imported to the American colonies. But American colonists, who had no representation in Parliament, saw the acts as an abuse of power. -
Boston Massacre
On March 5, 1770, a murderous disturbance called the Boston Massacre took place on King Street in Boston. A street fight between American colonists and a lone British soldier turned into a wild, gory massacre very quickly. The war stoked anti-British feeling and helped to spark the American Revolution. -
Sons of Liberty
An organization formed in the American colonies in the summer of 1765 to oppose the Stamp Act. The Sons of Liberty took their name from a speech given in the British Parliament by Isaac Barré, in which he referred to the colonials who had opposed unjust British measures as the "Sons of Liberty." -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a political protest that occurred on December 16, 1773, at Griffin's Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts. American colonists, frustrated and angry at Britain for imposing "taxation without representation," dumped 342 chests of tea, imported by the British East India Company into the harbor. -
Battles of Lexington & Concord
The first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. -
Olive Branch Petition sent to England
The purpose of the Olive Branch Petition was to appease King George lll and prevent the conflict between the colonies and the British government from escalating into a full blown war. -
Articles of Confederation created
The Articles of Confederation were adopted by the Continental Congress on November 15, 1777. This document served as the United States' first constitution. It was in force from March 1, 1781, until 1789 when the present-day constitution went into effect. -
Battle of Yorktown
The American Revolution's turning point came at the Battle of Yorktown. With their capitulation, the British signaled the end of their hegemony over the colonies and the beginning of a new one: the United States of America. -
Treaty of Paris signed
This treaty, which the American colonies and Great Britain signed on September 3, 1783, put an end to the American Revolution and recognized the United States as an independent country. -
Constitution is ratified
When New Hampshire became the ninth of 13 states to ratify the Constitution on June 21, 1788, it established the recognized basis for American federalism. But the road to ratification was a difficult and drawn-out one. -
Bills of Rights adopted
The first ten Amendments to the Constitution are known as the Bill of Rights. It outlines the rights of Americans in regard to their government. Individuals are given civil rights and liberties like freedom of speech, of the press, and of religion. On October 2, 1789, President Washington sent copies of the 12 amendments adopted by Congress to the states. By December 15, 1791, three-fourths of the states ratified 10 of these, now known as the "Bill of Rights."
