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The French and Indian War
was the beginning of open hostilities between the colonies and Gr. Britain. England and France had been building toward a conflict in America since 1689. The colonies were wholly interested in overcoming the French in North America and appealed to the King for permission to raise armies and monies to defend themselves. George II was suspicious of the intentions of the colonial governments and declined their offer. He deny colonials the right to fight in defense of the Empire, a right which they -
The Albany Congress
Though these petitions were offered, repeated attempts to organize the colonies met with jealous resistance. In June of 1754, representatives from seven colonies met with 150 Iroquois Chiefs in Albany, New York. The purposes of the Albany Congress were twofold; to try to secure the support and cooperation of the Iroquois in fighting the French, and to form a colonial alliance based on a design by Benjamin Franklin. The plan of union was passed unanimously. But when the delegates returned to thei -
Proclamation of 1763
The proclamation of 1763 was issued by King George III and it closed lands North and West of the Appalachian mountains to settlement. The French and Indian war spurred on many conflicts between the Native Peoples and the Colonists. The proclamations purpose was to reduce the conflicts. It was an attempt to stop the encroachment on Indian lands. Many of the colonist opposed this action because they were given their settlement plots in that area in exchange for their prior military service. -
The Sugar Act
Act that put a three-cent tax on foreign refined sugar and increased taxes on coffee, indigo, and certain kinds of wine. It banned importation of rum and French wines. These taxes affected only a certain part of the population, but the affected merchants were very vocal. Besides, the taxes were enacted without the consent of the colonists. This was one of the first instances in which colonists wanted a say in how much they were taxed. -
Stamp Act
Seeking to defray some of the costs of garrisoning the colonies, Parliament required all legal documents, newspapers and pamphlets required to use watermarked, or 'stamped' paper on which a levy was placed. -
Quartering Act
Colonial assemblies required to pay for supplies to British garrisons. The New York assembly argued that it could not be forced to comply. -
Virginian Resolution
The Virginian assembly refused to comply with the Stamp Act. -
Stamp Act Congress
Representatives from nine of the thirteen colonies declare the Stamp Act unconstitutional as it was a tax levied without their consent. -
Declaratory Act
Parliament finalises the repeal of the Stamp Act, but declares that it has the right to tax colonies -
Townshend Revenue Act
Duties on tea, glass, lead, paper and paint to help pay for the administration of the colonies, named after Charles Townshend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer. John Dickinson publishes Letter from a Philadelphian Farmer in protest. Colonial assemblies condemn taxation without representation. -
British troops arrive in Boston
British troops arrive in Boston in response to political unrest. -
Boston Massacre
Angered by the presence of troops and Britain's colonial policy, a crowd began harassing a group of soldiers guarding the customs house; a soldier was knocked down by a snowball and discharged his musket, sparking a volley into the crowd which kills five civilians. -
Repeal of the Townshend Revenue Act
British parliamentary measures to tax the American colonists. The series of four acts imposed duties on imports of lead, paint, glass, paper, and tea and established a board of customs commissioners to enforce collection. Colonial quartering of British troops was also revived. The colonists protested the new measures as taxation without representation and resisted compliance. Nonimportation agreements among colonial merchants cut British imports in half. -
Burning of the Gaspee
The revenue schooner Gaspee ran aground near Providence, Rhode Island and was burnt by locals angered by the enforcement of trade legislation. -
Tea Act
In an effort to support the ailing East India Company, Parliament exempted its tea from import duties and allowed the Company to sell its tea directly to the colonies. Americans resented what they saw as an indirect tax subsidising a British company. -
Publication of Thomas Hutchinson letters
In these letters, Hutchinson, the Massachusetts governor, advocated a 'great restraint of natural liberty', convincing many colonists of a planned British clamp-down on their freedoms. -
Boston Tea Party
Angered by the Tea Acts, American patriots disguised as Mohawk Indians dump £9,000 of East India Company tea into the Boston harbour. -
Intolerable Acts
Four measures which stripped Massachusetts of self-government and judicial independence following the Boston Tea Party. The colonies responded with a general boycott of British goods. -
Continental Congress
Colonial delegates meet to organise opposition to the Intolerable Acts. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
First engagements of the Revolutionary War between British troops and the Minutemen, who had been warned of the attack by Paul Revere. -
Continental Congress appoints George Washington commander-in-chief of Continental Army
Continental Congress appoints George Washington commander-in-chief of Continental Army; issued $2 million bills of credit to fund the army. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
The first major battle of the War of Independence. Sir William Howe dislodged William Prescott's forces overlooking Boston at a cost of 1054 British casualties to the Americans' 367. -
Olive-Brach Petition
Congress endorses a proposal asking for recognition of American rights, the ending of the Intolerable Acts in exchange for a cease fire. George III rejected the proposal and on 23 August 1773 declared the colonies to be in open rebellion. -
Invasion of Canada by Benedict Arnold
Americans invaded Canada in a two-pronged attack against Montreal and Quebec that has been described as having "the improvised character of a raid." In defense the British called out the primarily French Canadian militia but most of the men refused to serve because they regarded the war as a British family quarrel of no interest to them. -
Thomas Paine's Common Sense published anonymously in Philadelphia
Common Sense was an instant best-seller. Published in January 1776 in Philadelphia, nearly 120,000 copies were in circulation by April. Paine's brilliant arguments were straightforward. He argued for two main points, independence from England and the creation of a democratic republic.
Beside attacks on George III, he called for the establishment of a republic. Even patriot leaders like Thomas Jefferson and John Adams condemned Paine as an extremist on the issue of a post-independence government. -
France provides covert aid to the Americans
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Continental Congress issues the Declaration of Independence
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Battles of Long Island and White Plains
British forces occupy New York after American defeats. George Washington sent part of his small army to defend Brooklyn Heights, on Long Island. After several unsuccessful peace overtures, Sir William Howe landed at Gravesend while the British fleet under his brother, Richard Howe, shelled New York. After Sir William's troops defeated an American force under John Sullivan and William Alexander (Lord Stirling), Israel Putnam, the corps commander, prepared for the main attack. -
Battle of Trenton, New Jersey
This battle is best known for General George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River north of Trenton, NJ. The river crossing was icy and dangerous. Two groups of soldiers were unable to make it across the river. Only Washington and his 2,400 men were able to cross the river for the assault. After a 9 mile march south to Trenton, the colonial soldiers met the Hessian soldiers and pushed them back into the city. -
Battle of Princeton, New Jersey.
General Washington broke camp at Trenton to avoid a British advance, attacking the British rearguard and train near Princeton and then withdrawing to Morristown. -
Battle of Brandywine
When the British appeared on the American right flank, Washington realized that he had been outmaneuvered. He ordered his army to take the high ground around Birmingham Friends Meeting House as a last defense. Unfortunately, in the confusion caused by the surprise, the Americans were unable to successfully defend their position. The Americans fought valiantly, but they had been outwitted on the rolling hills along the Brandywine. -
British surrender of 5,700 troops at Saratoga.
Lacking supplies, 5,700 British, German and loyalist forces under Major General John Burgoyne surrender to Major General Horatio Gates in a turning point in the Revolutionary War. The Battle of Saratoga, comprising two significant battles during September and October of 1777, was a crucial victory for the Patriots during the American Revolution and is considered the turning point of the Revolutionary War. The Battle was the impetus for France to enter the war against Britain. -
France recognises US Independence.
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Battle of Monmouth
General George Washington moved his army across the Delaware River with goal of attacking General Sir Henry Clinton as his troops marched from Philadelphia to New York. On June 28, Washington dispatched Major General Charles Lee with 5,000 men to assault the British rear guard near Monmouth Court House, NJ. Lee mismanaged the fight and was forced to retreat with the British in pursuit. As Lee feel back, Washington advanced with the main army and rallied the troops. -
Capture of Savannah
The British sent an expedition that captured Savannah, Georgia. At first, the British concentrated on taking territory with regular army forces, then organizing loyalist militia bands to hold the territory while the army moved on. This strategy largely succeeded in Georgia, but broke down in the Carolinas. The British scored a major victory with the capture of Charleston, S.C., and its 5,500 defenders in May 1780. -
US Defeat at battle of Camden
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The battle of Cowpens
The Battle of Cowpens, took place in the latter part of the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution and of the Revolution itself. It became known as the turning point of the war in the South, part of a chain of events leading to Patriot victory at Yorktown. There were Colonel Daniel Morgan against Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton. The Cowpens victory was one over a crack British regular army and brought together strong armies and leaders who made their mark on history. -
Battle of Guilford Court House
Brig. General Daniel Morgan's victory over Lt. Colonel Banastre Tarleton at the Battle of Cowpens, both Morgan and Maj. General Nathanael Greene retreated to Virginia, while Lt. General Charles Cornwallis vainly chased them. In March, Greene returned to North Carolina and began manuevering against Cornwallis. He finally chose to stand at Guilford Courthouse. Cornwallis took at Guilford Courthouse were the final straw in a series of setbacks. He abandoned the Carolinas and marched for Viginia. -
Ratification of the Articles of Confederation
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Battle of the Capes, denying British reinforcements or evacuation.
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Surrender of British forces under Cornwallis at Yorktown.
General George Washington, commanding a force of 17,000 French and Continental troops, begins the siege known as the Battle of Yorktown against British General Lord Charles Cornwallis and a contingent of 9,000 British troops at Yorktown, Virginia, in the most important battle of the Revolutionary War. -
British Government authorises peace negotiations.
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Treaty of Paris, formally ending the Revolutionary War
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Shays’s Rebellion
Massachusetts rebellion led by the Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays against high taxes. -
Constitutional Convention
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Adoption of the American Constitution
