-
Albany Plan of Union
In Response to french attacks on the frontier, in 1754 Benjamin Franklin proposed a plan for uniting the colonies. The colonies rejected the plan, however because it gave up too much power to an assembly made up of representatives from all thirteen colonies. -
French and Indian War
The French and Indian war started as a struggle between the French and the British over lands in western Pennsylvania and Ohio. By 1756, several other European countries became involved. Great Britain won the war in 1763 and gained complete control of the eastern third of the continent. -
Stamp Act
The stamp Act of 1765 imposed the first direct tax on the colonists. It required them to pay tax on legal documents, pamphlets, newspapers and even dice and playing cards. Parliament also passed laws regulating colonial trade in ways that benefited Great Britain but not the colonies. -
George III becomes King of Great Britain
He had a different ideas about how the colonies should be governed.He determined firmly to deal with the American Colonies. To help pay for the war the king and his minister levied taxes on tea, sugar, glass, paper, and other products. -
Stamp Act Congress
In 1765 nine colonies sent derogates to meeting in New York called the Stamp Act Congress. This was the first meeting organized by the colonies to protect King George's actions. Delegates to the congress sent a petition to the king to the king, arguing that only colonial legislatures could impose direct taxes such as the Stamp Act. -
Boston Tea Party
A group of colonists, dressed as Mohawk Indians, dumped 342 chests of British tea into the Boston harbor. This protest became known as the Boston Tea Party. This closed the Boston Harbor. -
Committees of Correspondence
They were urging resistance to the British. These committees consisted of the colonies who wanted to keep in touch with one another as events unfolded. Samuel Adams established the first committee in Boston. The idea spread quickly with in a few months, Massachusetts alone had more than 80 such committees. Virginia and other colonies soon joined in this communication network. Two prominent members of the committee of correspondence wee Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry. -
Coercive Acts
In retaliation to the Boston Tea Party, Parliament passed the Coercive Acts, which the colonists called the intolerable acts. This withdrew the right for the Massachusetts colony to govern by itself. -
First Continental Congress
The intolerable Acts prompted Virginia and Massachusetts to call a general meeting of the colonies. Delegating from all colonies except Georgia met in Philadelphia on September 5, 1774, for the first Continental Congress. Key colonial leader are Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, Richard Henry Lee, George Washington. They finally imposed an embargo, an agreement prohibiting trade, on Britain and agreed not to use British goods. -
Second Continental Congress
The Continental congress immediately assumed the powers of central government. It chose John Hancock of Massachusetts as president. Hancock was a well known colonial leader, but he is also a wealthy merchant and thus well placed for helping to raise funds for an army. The next critical steps were to organize an army and navy, to issue money, and to appoint George Washington as a commander of the Constitutional Army. -
Lexington and Concord
The first blow fell early on the morning of April 19, 1775. British Redcoats clashed with colonial minutemen at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. This skirmish was the first battle of the Revolutionary War. -
Resolution of Independence
On July 2, 1776, the congress approved lee's resolution. The colonies officially broke with Great Britain. the Congress then turned its attention to Jefferson's draft. After considerable debate, a few passages were removed and some editorial changes were made. -
Declaration of Independence
On July 4, the congress approved the final draft. John Hancock, the president of the congress, was the first to sign the document, which eventually held the signature of all 56 delegates. It explained the reasons for declaring independence. It actual title was "The unanimous declaration of the thirteen United States of America.
