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Period: to
Colonial Times
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Founding Jamestown
Jamestown was the first successful English settlement on the mainland of North America. Named for King James of England, Jamestown was founded in the Colony of Virginia on May 14, 1607. -
The First Thanksgiving
A Native American named Sqanto, brought the Pilgrims seeds of native plants (Corn, beans, pumpkins) and showed them how to plant them. He also taught the settlers how to catch eels from nearby rivers. -
Antislavery Law
Rhode Island passed the first antislavery law. Georgia had a ban on slavery until 1750's. -
Penn's "Holy Experiment"
Willian Penn arrived in his colony in 1682. To attract settlers, he printed pamphlets in several languages and distributed them in England and on the European continent. Soom, new settlers began arriving to many different places in search for freedom of religion. -
English Bill of Rights
King WIllian and Queen Mary signed the English Bill of Rights. A bill of rights is a written list of freedoms that a government promises to protect. -
The Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation banned colonial settlements west of a line drawn among the Appalation Mountains. Settlers were told they had to move to a location east of that line. It angered many colonists who believed they had the right to reside wherever they wanted. The proclamation was widely ignored and proved impossible for the British to enforce. -
The Sugar Act
The Brittish effort to impose new taxes on the colonies began is 1764 when Parliament passed the Sugar Act, which put a duty, or import tax, on several products, including molasses. It also called for a harsh punishment on smugglers. Colonial merchants, who sometimes traded in smuggled goods, protested. -
The Stamp Act
The Stamp Act required that all colonists buy special tax stamps for all kinds of products and activities. Protests againt this were widespread. -
The Quartering Act
The purpose of the Quartering Act was to save money. To enforce the Proclamation of 1763, Britian kept about 10,000 soldiers in the colonies. The act required colonists to quarter, or house, British troops and provide them with food and other supplies. -
The Boston Massacre
An angry crowd of workers and sailors surrounded a small group of soldiers. They shouted at them and threw snoballs and rocks at them. The frightened soldiers fired into the crowd, killing five people, and also wounding 6 people. -
The Boston Tea Party
A group of colonists called the Sons Of Liberty organized in port cities to stop the East India Company tea from being unloaded. A large crowd gathered in the harbor. Suddenly, a large group of men disguised as Native Americans boarded the tea ship. For three hours, they threw 342 cases of tea into the harbor! -
Common Sense
A fifty page pamphlet titled Common Sense was published in Philidelphia. The pamphlet stimulated broad support for independence. Paine ridiculed the very idea of rule by kings. He said Americans would be better off if they governed themselves. 500,000 copies were sold, through January to July! -
Virginia's Resolution
Richard Henry Lee introduced a resolution, or formal statement of opinion, to Congress. The Virginia Resolution proclaimed that "these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States." -
Declartion of Independence
The Declaration of Independence is a brilliant piece of writing building on the ideas of the Enlightment, it uses step-by-step logic to explain why the colonist wanted to break away from British rule. -
Treaty of Paris
The Peace talks led to this agreement, The Treaty of Paris. Britian recognized the independence of the United States. The United States agreed to "earnestly recommend" that the states restore rights and property taken from the Loyalists during the war. However, most states ignored this pledge.
