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The French and Indian War
The French and the British had been fighting for control in America since the 1600’s. The fighting began when both the French and the Virginia colony tried to claim land in the Ohio River Valley. The French surrendered in the end and lost almost all of their North American possessions. The Native Americans were negatively affected because without the French, they could not keep settlers from moving into their land. -
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The French and Indian War
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The Sugar, Stamp, and Quatrering Act
These three acts were passed by the British Parliament. The colonists felt that the British were violating their rights. There were many riots and protests because of these acts. When a group of colonists sent a petition demanding an end to the Sugar and Stamp act, Britain agreed and the acts were repealed. -
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The Sugar (1764), Stamp(1765), and Quartering Act (1765)
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The Boston Massacre
In Boston on March 5, 1770 a group of colonists were harassing a bunch of British soldiers. They were insulting them and throwing snowballs. The soldiers were overwhelmed and frightened; suddenly they fired into the crowd and ended up killing 5 colonists. Although only 5 people were killed many colonists turned it into an extremely dramatic event. The soldiers were tried for murder and two of the soldiers were punished. -
The Tea Act
The Tea Act was passed by Parliament in 1773. One of the purposes of the Tea Act was to help the British East India Company. The price of tea was actually lowered because of the shipping arrangements, however many complained because it gave the British East India Company total control of the product in the colonies. This act also hurt some merchants who smuggled tea into the colonies. -
The Boston Tea Party
On December 16 1773 a group of colonist dressed up as Indians and snuck onto a British East India Company ship in the Boston port. The men who snuck on suddenly started to dump the tea into the ocean. Within three hours 342 cases of tea had been thrown overboard. 90,000 pounds of tea worth thousands of dollars were destroyed that day. The crowd that gathered on the dock cheered for the men dumping the tea. Most of the colonists believed that it was the perfect way to show Britain how they felt. -
The Introlerable Acts
After the Boston Tea Party the British were completely out raged. They could not believe what the colonist had done and they sought a way to put the colonists in their place. That is why Parliament passed the Coercive Acts. These were four laws. The colonists found the laws to be so unfair and harsh they called them the Intolerable Acts. The Americans were enraged and they tried to help Boston whose port had been closed. This is when the Americans began to train militias to stand up to British. -
Battle at Lexington and Concord
The British general sent troops to concord when he learned that minutemen were storing arms there. When the British were coming towards concord Paul Revere and William Dawes went to warn the minutemen. By the time the British troops arrived there were about 77 minutemen waiting for them. When the minutemen and British were facing each other a shot suddenly rang out. It is unknown who shot it, or even which side it was from but that shot was the first shot of the revolutionary war. -
Battle at Bunker Hill
The Americans started the battle with little ammunition. The British attack method failed the first and the second time. The third time it did work but only because the Americans had run out of fire. Although the British won the battle more than 1,000 soldiers were killed or wounded. The Americans had proved to Britain that they could put up a fight. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson, it stated why the colonists were declaring their independence from Brittan. They wanted Independence because they had Grievances against the King. After this Declaration was signed the colonists were not just fighting because they were mad about the taxes, they were fighting for independence from Brittan. -
Common Sense
Common Sense is a 50 page book written by Thomas Paine. It convinced people that further association with the king was undesirable and that we would be better off governing ourselves. This book was based on the idea of natural rights. After selling thousands of copies, making it the best seller of its time Common Sense influenced many people and encouraged them to be more patriotic. -
Battle of Saratoga
The Battle of Saratoga was a major victory for the Continental army. It was very important because it convinced the French and other European countries to side with them. It also encouraged soldiers to keep fighting. The battle of Saratoga showed everyone that the Americans did have a fair chance of winning the war. -
Joining with the French
The help we received from France and other European countries such as Spain and the Netherlands was a very critical aspect to the war. If it were not for the help we received we probably would have had a harder time in the war. Not only did our army gain more support but the British had to spread out their troops to cover more area. -
Valley Forge
The Continental army struggled through a terrible winter at Valley Forge. There was little food, clothing and warmth. Many died from diseases and hunger. When the Americans learned about their state, they sent food, medicine and clothes. Although the winter was hard many people got through it. -
Battle of Yorktown
Cornwallis plan at the Yorktown Peninsula did not go well and he found himself trapped between the French and the Americans .On October 19 1781, with no choice but to surrender, the British army put their weapons into a pile on the ground. The American victory at Yorktown was the last major battle of the war. The British were upset about the battle of Yorktown but they accepted their defeat. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris was the agreement after the war. The British recognized America as its own country and the boundaries were set up for the new nation. The colonies were finally their own country and were completely independent from Britain. The colonists were obviously happy and they agreed to encourage that everything that belonged to the loyalists was returned.
