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French and Indian War
The French and Indian War was aconflict in North America that was part of a world wide struggle between France and Britan. The British wanted the colonists to get out. The colonists wanted to spread past the Appalation Mountians, so they were all for the war. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris ended the French and Indian War. The British were really happy because they claimed all the land east of the Mississippi River. The colonists were glad too becasue they had help from Spain. -
Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 forbade the colonists to settle west of the Appalations because the British saw that defending the Western lands would be costly. The colonists wanted to spread there so this made them mad. The British thought that since the Native Americans were attacking that this would be a good idea. -
Sugar Act
The colonists were very angry about the Sugar Act. The Sugar Act stopped the trade of smuggled goods and taxed sugar, molasses, and other products shipped into the colonies. The British needed the money to support military actions that took place in the colonies. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act taxed all paper. Newspapers, wills, contracts, and diplomas had to carry a special stamp. The colonists got very upset because they had to pay silver coins for these stamps. The Stamp Act Congress scheduled boycotts to protest the act and many colonists burned paper to protest too. The British still needed more money to pay off war debt and to them, this was an easy way to get more money. -
Quartering Act
The Quartering Act forced the colonists to house British soldiers. The British though thtis was a good idea because it was cheaper than housing them in the colonies. They didn't want even more debt and thought this was a good way for the colonists to contribute. The colonists, on the other hand, thought this was a violation of their rights and privacy. Basically, they wanted the soldiers out of their house. -
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts were a series of laws passed by the Parliament that suspended New Yorks assembly and established taxes on goods brought into the British colonies. They made the colonists very upset. The colonists thought that it was a serious threat to their rights and freedoms. Throughout the colonies, they were upset that there were new taxes. The British thought that this was a way to make money and the other acts weren't working and just making the colonists mad. -
Writs of Assisstance
The colonists were not happy at the Writs of Assisstance. They thought that it went agiainst their natural rights. The British used search warrents to enter homes or businesses to search for smuggled goods. The British's purpose was to find smuggled goods and to, I guess you could say, catch them in the act. -
Boston Massacre
The colonists didn't want the "red coats" there, so they shouted at them in the streets snd called them names. The reason the British were there in the first place is because they didn't make that much money so hired themselves out as workers. The British didn't like the colonists so there was a huge conflict. One day, shots broke out and there was a huge fight. Fifteen colonists, including Crispus Attucks, died. -
Boston Tea Part/Tea Act
The British made a tax on tea to show that they still had the power to tax the colonists. This enraged the colonists. They dumped 342 chests of tea into the Boston Harbor to show how strongly they opposed taxation without representation. The Tea Act was created to stop smuggling tea and the British made it to where tea could only arrive in trading ships and be sold by merchants. The colonists were really mad becasue most of their tea was smuggled. -
Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts were a series of laws enacted by the Parliament to punish the Massachusetts colonists for the Boston Tea Party. The British closed the port until all the tea was paid for, and the colonists thought that was very harsh. -
1st Continental Congress
The 1st Continental Congress met in Philadelphia. All of the delegates present agreed to ban all trade with Britian until the acts were repealed. Each colony began to train their troops. They all agreed that they were not ready to call for Independence. -
"Give Me Liberty" Speech
This speech was written by Patrick Henry. He had expected a huge war instead of what others thought- a small fight to make the British change their policies. Patrick gave his speech at the House of Burgesses and said "Give me liberty or give me death." -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first battles of the Revolutionary War. The British went to Lexington with and army of men and found that their was only 70 militiamen. After they had killed 8, they marched to Concord and were very surprised to see 4,000 militiamen aftter they had destroyed all of their supplies. The battle forced the British to retreat. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s poem said it was "the shot heard around the world" about the first shots of the American Revolution. -
2nd Continental Congress
The 2nd Continental Congress met in Philadelphia. The created the Olive Branch Petition to declare their loyalty to Britian but to also ask for the repela of the Intollerable Acts. They also established the Continental Army and made Geroge Washington the comander. -
Fort Ticonderoga
The Americans attacked Britian in New York to capture their large supply of weapons in Fort Ticonderoga. -
Bunker Hill
The militia had built fortifications, so the British attcked them. The militia had expected them to come so they waited ontop of the hill for them and were told by their captain "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes." The British eventually beat them and over came the hill, but they suffered many deaths and casualties. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
In the Battle of Bunker Hill, the Americans got on top of the hill to easily shoot British ships. Unfortunatly, the British marched uo the hill and tried to overtake the Continental Army. The Americans were very low on supplies so they were ordered, "Don't fire until you can see the whites of their eyes." The British had much more amo and soldiers so the colonists were forced to retreat. It showed the colonists willingness to fight. Even thought the British won, they lost over 1,000 troops. -
Common Sense Published
Common Sense was a pamphlet published by Thomas Paine to increase public support for American Independence. He thought it was dumb that America was ruled by an island across the ocean. Paine knew that there were plenty of markets outside of Biritan for colonial goods. Even though he was just an englishman living in the colonies, he made "the call for independence become a roar." -
Common Sense
Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense mainly to gain support for American Independence. He wanted teh colonists to get pumped for independence insead of not being totally for it. They were wondering who they would trade with. His argument was that there are many others to trade with and why are we letting a tiny country control a much bigger country half way across the world. Then America began to realize how important this really was. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson.There were many men that were at the meeting but Jefferson was chosen. He based the declaration on John Locke's philosephy that there are rights the government should not be able to take away. In the Declaration of Independence, it says the unalienable rights are life, liberty, and the persuit of happiness (right to do what makes you happy). -
Battle of New York
In the Battle of New York, the British wanted to capture New York City. The British attacked Washington's army and caused great casualties. George Washington escaped the attack and retreated into Pennslyvania. After the terrible loss, the British stayed in New York for the rest of the war. Washington was humiliated by the loss. -
Battle of Trenton
In the Battle of Trenton, Washington launched a surprise attack on the Hessians. They captured over 800 hessian soldiers without one death. -
Battle of Princteton
Washington and his troops marched to Princeton, New Jersey and captured another 300 soldiers. As a total, Washington captured more than 1,100 Hessian soldiers. -
Battle of Saratoga
The Battle of Saratoga was an extreme turning point in the Revolutionary war. British Gneral Burgoyne wanted to cut off New England from the rest of the colonies. But Daniel Morgan thought differently. General Horatio Gates surrounded Burgoyne's remaining forces. Then, the British general surrendered his entire army to the Americans. After that, Benjamin Franklin helped negotiate the Treaty of Alliance. The Treaty of Alliance caused France and Spain to help America. -
Winter at Valley Forge
The winter at Valley Forge was a hard winter. After the Battle of Saratoga, Washington and his men spent a long winter in Pennslyvania. The soldiers were in diar need of proper clothing and food. Many of them didn't have shoes. Luckly, French volunteer, Marquis de Lafayette, helped train the Continental Army. Prussian, Baron Von Steuben, taught them the essentials of military drill statistics and diciplines. -
Battle of Yorktown
In the Battle of Yorktown, General Lord Cornwallis moved his troops to Virginia, and Washington knew it was time to set a trap for them. James Armistead was a double spy and gave Washington information. Washington was prepared and had 16,000 French and American soldiers ready to fight. Cornwallis was not impressed and tried to escape on a ship. A fleet of French battle ships sailed into the Bay. Cornwallis was trapped. Washington led a 3 week attack on the British. Then Cornwallis surrendered. -
Treaty of Paris
Great Britian recognized America as an independent nation in the Treaty of Paris. Since the war was over, the US had to give all property that was taken (including slaves) from the loyalists back. The US gained all land east of the Mississippi River, from Canada to Flordia.