-
John Locke
He wrote that all human beings have a right to life, liberty, and property and that governments exist to protect those rights. He rejected the theory of the Divine Right of the monarchy, and believed that government was based upon a "social contract" that existed between a government and its people. If the government failed to uphold its end of the contract by protecting those rights, the people could rebel and institute a new government. He was the role model for the founding fathers of America -
Benjamin Franklin
During the Revolutionary War, Benjamin Franklin served as an ambassador to France. Franklin was the oldest delegate to the Constitutional Convention and his advice proved crucial in the drafting of the Constitution. He was a Patriot. Franklin has often been held up as the paradigm of Enlightenment throughout in Colonial America because of his contributions to the fields of science and philosophy. -
George Washington
Initially the commander of Virginia's frontier troops, he was a colonial military leader for the British in the French and Indian War (Fort Necessity). Later, he was Commander of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He was a patriot. His greatest achievements were: (1) his surprise victory at Trenton, (2) holding the army together at Valley Forge, and (3) his major victory at Yorktown. -
Paul Revere
He was a silversmith and a patriot who alerted the colonists that the British were coming before Lexington and Concord. He did this by taking a midnight horse ride to spread the word and to prepare colonists or the minutemen for a fight. -
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743, in Shadwell, Virginia. He was a draftsman of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, and was considered one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. He was the nation's first secretary of state (1789-94); second vice president (1797-1801); and, as the third president (1801-09), the statesman responsible for the Louisiana Purchase.During the American Revolution, Jefferson was elected governor of Virginia,and died Jly 4th, 1826 -
The Battle of Bunker Hill
It was May of 1775, tiny American force under Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold surprised and captured the British garrisons at Ticonderoga and Crown Point in Upper New York.
Gunpowder and artillary for the siege at Boston was obtained. On June 1775, Colonists siezed Bunker Hill (Breed's Hill).
Americans,numbering 1,500 soldiers, slaughtered the advancing redcoats. The Colonists were short on gunpowder and were foced to abandon the hill. -
The Sugar Act
First law passed by Parliament that raised tax revenues in the colonies for the crown. This law cut the tariff on Molasses in half, and levied new taxes on imports of foreign textiles, wine, coffee, indigo, and sugar.It increased duty on foreign sugar imported from the West Indies. The colonists openly turned to smuggling—bringing in sugar and molasses secretly to avoid paying this overpriced taxes from the British. -
The Townshend Act
This was named after Charles Townshend, head of British ministry.He persuaded Parliament to pass these regulations with an import duty on glass, while lead, paper and paint and tea. This was an indirect customs duty payable at American( or Colonist) ports. The extreme taxes were used to pay colonial governors who had previously been paid directly by colonial assemblies. This sparked rebellion and protests against the tax. -
The Boston Massacre
This started a by a ccolonial rebellion against British customs agents (Mostly the taxes) and the presence of British troops in Boston. This ended up violencely flaring up and eventually five colonists were killed by the British troops open fireing. -
The Tea Act
This act allowed East India Company to avoid navigation taxes when exporting tea to colonies and gave them power to monopolize tea trade. This angered the colonists and threatened merchants and the colonial economy. The Colonists felt that it broadsided colonial merchants and smugglers and was an effort to garner support for previous taxes. -
The Boston Tea Party
This act was a reaction by the colonists of the British.In protest of the Tea Act a band of colonists, led by Sam Adams,disguised themselves as Indians and boarded a British ship and threw tea into the harbor. It was generally approved by all of the colonists. -
The Battle of Lexington and Concord
The Battle of Lexington and Concord initiated the Revolutionary War between the American colonists and the British. The British governor Thomas Gage sent troops to Concord to stop the colonists who were loading arms. The next day the very first shots were fired in Lexington, starting the war. The battles resulted in a British retreat to Boston. -
The Battle of Trenton
On Christmas night in 1776 Washington led his troops back across Delaware. He surprised a force of Hessians that were camped at Trenton. The Americans took about 900 prisoners and a large store of supplies. He was successful and this was a pivotal battle for the colonists as it helped to lift their spirits and move on with their quest for independence. -
The Battle of Saratoga
After Burgoyne had captured Fort Ticonderoga in July 1777 his troops ran into trouble and became exhausted, supplies ran short, etc. He then sent an expedition to Bennington to capture American supplies but a force of New England militia met them and defeated them. his men were surrounded near Saratoga by the Continental Army, he surrendered. This battle was the turning point of the war and convinced France to aid the American cause. -
The Battle of Yorktown
(It is October 19, 1781; The last major battle of the Revolutionary War) The American troops under George Washington and Comte de Rochambeau command trapped British troops under Charles Cornwallis and his troops in the Chesapeake Bay, with the help of Admiral de Grasse and the French fleet. Cornwallis was forced to surrender. Although this was not the last of the fighting, this signified the end of the war.
