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Zenger Trial
This was the trial of a printer John Zenger who was being sued libel. He won hte case and this marked the official inclusion of freedom of speech in the colonies.
Doug Linder. "Account of Zenger Trial". Law.umkc.edu. Retrieved 2012-08-04. -
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Seven Years War
Conflict in the Mississippi valley led to conflict in Europe. Eventually France was expelled from North America. Thackeray, William M.. The Luck of Barry Lyndon. Giunti Editore; 2001. ISBN 978-88-09-02093-1 -
Albany Congress
This was a meeting to help the colonies unite against the French colonies. It also helped create native american relations. This led to a greater sense of unification and kinship in the colonies.
Alden, John R. "The Albany Congress and the Creation of the Indian Superintendencies," Mississippi Valley Historical Review, Vol. 27, No. 2 (Sep., 1940), pp. 193–210 in JSTOR -
Pontiac's Rebeliion
Native Americans dissatisfied with English control rebelled. This led to policy changes.
Anderson, Fred. Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754–1766. New York: Knopf, 2000. ISBN 0-375-40642-5. (discussion) -
Sugar Act
This was revenue raising duty on sugar that led to increased concern in the colonists.
Daniella Garran (2010-07-19). "Steps to the American Revolution". Lesson Planet. Retrieved 2010-07-21. -
Stamp Act
This was a tax on most documents requiring paper that caused outrage in the colonies that eventuallly led to its repealing. It caused economic troubles, especially for the people of Boston.
The Stamp Act of 1765 – A Serendipitous Find" by Hermann Ivester in The Revenue Journal, The Revenue Society, Vol.XX, No.3, December 2009, pp.87–89. -
Repeal of Stamp Act
Due to united colonial protest the tax was never truly collected and colonial resentment rose. Because of this, the British were forced to repeal it.
Wood, S,G. "The American Revolution: A History." Modern Library. 2002, page 30 -
Declaratory Act
This act was in response to the stamp act, saying that parlaiment had the same control over the colonies as it did in England.
"Benjamin Franklin's Examination Before the House of Commons, 1766". Americana: Brief Inspirational Stories from American History. Archived from the original on March 11, 2009. -
Boston Massacre
British troops fired on violent protesters in Boston who were unhappy with British laws. This led to outrage in the colonies and fueled the revolution.
Allison, Robert (2006). The Boston Massacre. Beverly, MA: Applewood Books. ISBN 978-1-933212-10-4. OCLC 66392877 -
Tea Act
Its objectives were to help the east India company survive and assert Britain's right to tax the colonists. This met much uproar.
Ketchum, Richard, Divided Loyalties, How the American Revolution came to New York, 2002, ISBN 0-8050-6120-7 -
Boston Tea Party
A group of Sons of Liberty dressed as Indians threw a large amount of British tea into the harbour. This led to strict sanctions on Boston and further colonial outrage.
Robertson, John. "Where Was the Actual Boston Tea Party Site?". Retrieved 2009-06-20. -
First Continental Congress
In response to the Intolerable acts, delegates from all the colonies except Georgia met to discuss a response to the English. This marked the first unified meeting between all the colonies.
Bancroft, George. History of the United States of America, from the discovery of the American continent. (1854–78), vol 4-10 online edition -
Intolerable Acts
A series of acts in response to colonial resistance thhat included: closing Boston's port, creating a British government, allowing for more trials and harsher sentencing, quartering of soldiers in private homes.
Middlekauff, Robert (2005). The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763–1789 (Revised and expanded ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-516247-1. -
Lexington and Concord
This was the first engagement between colonists and the British in the colonies and marked the start of the revolutionary war.
Emerson, Ralph Waldo; Curtis, George William (1875). Proceedings at the Centennial Celebration of Concord Fight, April 19, 1875. Town of Concord. OCLC 4363293. -
Fort Ticonderoga
This fort, created during the French Indian War, was captured by an American militia in a surprise attack. Its cannons were then used to capture Boston.
Foster, Margaret (July 3, 2008). "Fort Ticonderoga Rededicates Green Replica of Building Lost in 1759". Preservation magazine. National Trust for Historic Preservation. Retrieved 2009-02-09. -
Second Continental Congress
This congress featured all thriteen colonies and helped move towards independence and start war preperations.
Burnett, Edmund C.. The Continental Congress. Greenwood Publishing. ISBN 0-8371-8386-3. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
It was a battle on the outskirts of Boston that Britain won, but suffered heavy losses. It proved that colonial forces were a match for British forces.
^ Buford, Mary Hunter (1895). Seth Read, Lieut.-Col.Continental Army; Pioneer at Geneva, New York, 1787, and at Erie, Penn., June, 1795. His Ancestors and Descendants.. Boston, Mass.. pp. 167 Pages on CD in PDF Format.. -
Olive Bracnh Petition
This was an attempt to avoid war with the British that failed when King George rejected it and declared the colonies in rebellion.
Bailey, Thomas, David Kennedy, and Lizabeth Cohen. The American Pageant. 11th ed. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998. 8 Oct 2009. -
Common Sense
This pamphlet, published by Thomas Paine, provided reasoning for independence that appealed to the common man. It helped create support for the revolution and shaped American politics.
Gordon Wood, The American Revolution: A History (New York: Modern Library, 2002), 55-56. -
Virginia Declaration of Rights
It denoted what were the fundamental rights of man, including the right to rebel.
Virginia Gazette, Purdie, July 05, 1776 supplement, page 1. -
Declaration of Independence
This listed grievences against King George and provided official reasoning for independence. It was signed by the Continental Congress.
Becker, Carl. The Declaration of Independence: A Study in the History of Political Ideas. 1922. Available online from The Online Library of Liberty and Google Book Search. Revised edition New York: Vintage Books, 1970. ISBN 0-394-70060-0. -
The Battle of Long Island
In this battle the Continental Army was pushed out of Manhattan and eventually forced to flee the state. It helped George Washington create his successful defensive strategy.
Adams, Charles Francis. "The Battle of Long Island," American Historical Review Vol. 1, No. 4 (Jul., 1896), pp. 650–670 in JSTOR -
Battle of Saratoga
This was the most decisive victory in the war and proved the Continental Army could win. It devastated Burgoyne's army.
Bennett, William J; Cribb, John (2008). The American Patriot's Almanac. Thomas Nelson Inc. ISBN 978-1-59555-267-9. -
Valley Forge
Continental Army wintered at this location during 1777 and 1778.
It proved the resilience of the Colonial forces.
Lockhart, Paul Douglas (2008). The Drillmaster of Valley Forge — The Baron de Steuben and the Making of the American Army and moving forward with the revolution". HarperCollins (New York). ISBN 0-06-145163-0. -
Ratification of the Articles of Confederation
Though weak, it provided a necessary link between the thirteen colonies and created central government.
Bernstein, R.B. "Parliamentary Principles, American Realities: The Continental and Confederation Congresses, 1774–1789," in Inventing Congress: Origins & Establishment Of First Federal Congress ed by Kenneth R. Bowling and Donald R. Kennon (1999) pp. 76–108 -
Battle of Yorktown
This marked the victory of the revolutionary war when the British army surrendered after this siege.
Alden, John (1969). A History of the American Revolution. New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-306-80366-6. -
Treaty of Paris
It was a treaty after the Seven Years War that marked Britain's victory and basically gave them complete control of North America
Hoffman, Ronald; Peter J. Albert editor (1986). Peace and the Peacemakers: The Treaty of 1783. University of Virginia Press. ISBN 0-8139-1071-4. -
Land Ordinance of 1785
It provided an explanation of how western land was to be used and divided up. It was used as a way to raise money after the war.
Higgins, Jerome S. (1887). Subdivisions of the Public Lands, Described and Illustrated, with Diagrams and Maps. Higgins & Co. -
Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom
It made it official law that the people had a right to freedom of religion.
"Act for Establishing Religious Freedom, January 16, 1786". Shaping the Constitution. Virginia Memory. -
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
It explained the way the United States would expand westward and provided the Ohio river as a line dividing slave states.
^ Story, Joseph. Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States: with a preliminary review of the constitutional history of the colonies and states before the adoption of the Constitution, p. 228 n. 1 (Little, Brown, 1873): “One party could not change or absolve itself from the obligation to obey them”. -
The Inauguration of George Washington
This marked the first official American President and allowed the first modern government system to form.
Washington, George (1835). The Writings of George Washington : pt. III. American Stationers' Company. pp. 491–492.
