Events Leading Up to the American Declaration of Independence

By silverrose777

  • King George III ascends to the throne of England.

  • Treaty of Paris

    Ends French and Indian War

  • Proclamation of 1763

    The proclamation,closed off the frontier to colonial expansion.

  • Committees of Correspondence

    Organized by Samuel Adams, these helped spread propaganda and information through letters

  • Currency Act

    Prohibits the colonists from issuing any legal tender paper money

  • Sugar Act

    Revised duties on sugar, coffee, tea, wine, other imports; expanded jurisdiction of vice-admiralty courts

  • Boycott

    Boston merchants begin a boycott of British luxury goods

  • George Grenville

    The British finance minister, decided the American colonists should contribute more toward British expenses in North America. His first step was to take action against smuggling in the colonies.

  • Stamp Act

    The English imposed a tax on most papers involving business transactions, newspapers, playing cards and other items

  • Virginia Resolutions

    Patrick Henry presents seven Virginia Resolutions claiming that only the Virginia assembly can legally tax Virginia residents

  • Quartering Act

    Colonists must supply British troops with housing, other items (candles, firewood, etc.)

  • Sons of Liberty is Formed

  • Violence breaks out in New York City

  • Over 200 Boston merchants refuse to pay the Stamp Tax

  • Declaratory Act

    Parliamentary declares its sovereignty over the colonies "in all cases whatsoever"

  • Stamp Act Repealed

    Ben Franklin argued for repeal and warned of a possible revolution in the American colonies if the Stamp Act was enforced by the British military

  • Townshend Duties

    The English imposed duties on the colonies on imports of lead, glass, paint, paper and tea

  • New York and Boston Boycott

    Merchants in Boston and New York boycott British goods until the Townshend Acts are repealed

  • Boston Non-Importation Agreement

    A formal collective decision made by Boston based merchants and traders not to import or export items to Britain.

  • Boston colonists encouraged to urged to arm themselves

  • British troops arrive in Boston to enforce customs laws

  • Boycott

    Merchants in Philadelphia join the boycott

  • George Mason

    George Mason writes resolutions presented by George Washington to the Virginia House of Burgesses opposing taxation without representation

  • Boston Harbor

    English warships sail into Boston Harbor leaving two regiments of English troops to keep order.

  • Boycott

    Boycott of English goods spreads to Rhode Island, New Jersey and North Carolina

  • The Boston Massacre

    English troops occupied Boston because of American opposition to the Townshend Duties. The hostility of the citizens on March 5, 1770, caused a crowd to pelt the soldiers in the front of the Boston Customhouse with snowballs, sticks, and other things. The soldiers fired killing five and wounding six others.

  • Repeal of the Townshend Acts and the Quartering Act

    Repeal of the Townshend Acts and the Quartering Act by the British. The only duties on imports into the colonies are for tea

  • The Gaspee Affair

    A local vessel was under way to Providence when its captain baited the HMS Gaspee and led into shallow waters near Warwick. The Gaspee ran aground. News of the grounding quickly reached Providence and a party of fifty-five, led by a man named John Brown, planned an attack on the ship. The following evening they surrounded and boarded the Gaspee, wounding Duddington and capturing the entire crew. All were hauled ashore and abandoned, to watch as the Gaspee was looted and then burned.

  • Town Meeting

    Boston town meeting endorses proclamations asserting the rights of the colonies to self-rule.

  • The Tea Act

    The Tea Act ,claiming a threepenny per pound import tax on tea,arrives in the colonies and provides the British East India Company a virtual tea monopoly by selling directly to chosen tea agents, bypassing and underselling American merchants who acted as middlemen.

  • Thomas Hutchinson

    November 30: The Royal Governor of Massachusetts, Thomas Hutchinson, orders harbor officials not to let the ship sail out of the harbor unless the tea taxes have been paid.

  • Boston Tea Party

    American colonists calling themselves the Sons of Liberty and disguised as Mohawk Native Americans boarded three British ships (the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver) and dumped 342 whole crates of British tea into Boston harbor.

  • Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts)

    Closes port of Boston; restructures Massachusetts government; restricts town meetings; troops quartered in Boston; British officials accused of crimes sent to England or Canada for trial.

  • Boston calls for a boycott of British imports

  • General Thomas Gage

    General Thomas Gage replaces Hutchinson as Royal governor and places Massachusetts under military rule

  • English Parliament

    Declares Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion

  • Patrick Henry delivers the "Give me liberty or give me death!" speech

    Patrick Henry delivers the "Give me liberty or give me death!" speech

  • New England Restraining Act

    Requires New England colonies to trade exclusively with England

  • Lexington and Concord

    Shots fired at Lexington and Concord where weapons depot destroyed. "Minute Men" force British troops back to Boston. George Washington takes command of the Continental Army.

  • American Soliders Mobilized

    The Provincial Congress in Massachusetts orders 13,600 American soldiers to be mobilized and volunteers begin a year long siege of Boston which is held by the British.

  • Fort Ticonderoga

    Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold lead the capture Fort Ticonderoga in New York which contains weapons

  • Congress places the colonies in a state of defense

  • George Washington

    George Washington appointed general and commander-in-chief of the new Continental Army.

  • Battle of Bunker Hill

  • Olive Branch Petition

    Olive Branch Petition aimed at reconciliation with Britain which fails

  • Declaration on the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms

    Stated that Americans were "resolved to die free men rather than live as slaves."

  • Phohibitory Act

    Declares Britishintention to coerce Americans into submission; embargo on American goods; American ships seized

  • Dorchester Heights

    American forces capture Dorchester Heights and British evacuate Boston

  • The American revolution gains support from King Louis XVI of France

  • Declaration of Independence

    Thomas Jefferson presents the United States Declaration of Independence