history of the united states

  • French and Indian War

    The French and Indian War was the North American theater of the worldwide Seven Years' War. The war was fought between the colonies of British America and New France, with both sides supported by military
  • Stamp Act

    The French and Indian War had been an expensive undertaking for Britain. The national debt had doubled and the cost of military protection for the North American colonies had soared
  • Tea Act

    Parliament passed the Tea Act, which gave the English East India Company a chance to avert bankruptcy by granting a monopoly on the importation of tea into the colonies.
  • 1st Continental Congress

    The idea of an intercolonial meeting was advanced in 1773 by Benjamin Franklin, but failed to gain much support until after the Port of Boston was closed in response to the Boston Tea Party.
  • American Revolution

    The 13 American colonies fought for independence from British rule to become the United States
  • 2nd Continental Congress

    The Second Continental Congress was presided over by John Hancock, who replaced the ailing Peyton Randolph
  • American Independence

    Continental Congress declaring that the thirteen American colonies regarded themselves as a new nation
  • The Yorktown Campaign

    Americans and their French allies in the Yorktown campaign of 1781. The prospects for George Washington and his northern army at the start of the year were not bright. They were keeping a lonely vigil outside of New York City, monitoring the actions of Sir Henry Clinton's vastly superior British forces.
  • George Washington elected president

    Commander-in-chief of the colonial armies during the American Revolution, and later became the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797
  • Lewis and Clark

    Lewis selected William Clark to share command over the crew of 40 soldiers, boatmen, hunters, and a large dog to travel to the pacific.
  • War of 1812

    Fought between the United States of America and Great Britain, its North American colonies, and its North American Indian allies
  • Civil War

    The American Civil War was a civil war fought from 1861 to 1865, to determine the survival of the United States of America as it defeated the bid for independence by the breakaway Confederate States of America.