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The French and Indian War
The French and Indian War happened from May 1754-1763. Many battles happened due to the land in the Ohio river valley that everyone wanted (French and British). The French wanted this land because they already had forts there and the British wanted this land because they wanted to expand. The British won. The British were happy about this because it meant they got extra land. But they also had a debt so they started taxing the colonists. -
The Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 was issued by the British because they did not want more fights with the Native Americans. The Proclamation said that the colonists cannot go west of the Appalachian Mountains. But, the colonists did not listen to this rule and went past the Appalachian Mountains anyway. The British got mad and it became hard to make sure that people obeyed their rules. Then later the British started taxing the colonists and they get even more hard to control. -
The Sugar Act of 1764
The Sugar Act of 1764 happened because the British wanted to catch the smugglers so they put an import tax on molasses. The colonists reacted by getting annoyed because many businesses were disturbed. Then the British write even more acts which get the colonists even more angry. -
The Stamp Act of 1765
In 1765, the British created the Stamp act, which taxes all paper products and official documents. The British did this because they needed money for the debt from the French and Indian war and they are also angry at the colonists because of their reactions to other acts. The colonists were annoyed by this act and believed that it is unfair to have no representation in Parliament. In 1766, the British repealed that act, only to replace it with another. -
The Boston Massacre
Before the news that the taxes (except tea) were repealed got to the colonists they protested again. This happened because of the hatred towards the British and taxes. In March 5 1770, The Boston Massacre occurred: a group of colonists cornered and annoyed a small group of British soldiers, who became overwhelmed and fired into the crowd killing five people. The result was that the Committees of Correspondence was formed. -
The Tea Act of 1773
The Tea Act of 1773 was supposed to help the struggling British East India Company which was in debt. Actually, the price in the colonies would go down but the profit would be greater for the British East India Company. It was not this that angered the colonists. It was that the company could choose where to sell their tea and who to sell it to. Also, it reminded them that they didn’t have a say in Parliament. The result was the Boston Tea Party. -
The Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was the most dramatic and illegal act committed by the colonists and it was organized by the Sons of Liberty. This act was to protest against the British Tea Act that helped the struggling British East India Company. Due to this the company created a monopoly in the tea market. On the night of December 16, 1773 one-hundred fifty patriots dressed up as Native Americans and poured 342 chests of tea into the harbor of Boston, MA. The tea was worth 10,000 pounds. -
The Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts were used as a punishment for the Boston Tea Party and the British wanted to crack down on the colonists. In 1774, the British government passed four laws, these laws were known as the Coercive Acts and they effected every colony. These acts were also known as the Intolerable acts because the colonists thought that these laws could not be endured. The Intolerable Acts definitely caused the colonists to get mad, but it also caused them to come together. -
The Shot Heard Round The World
Britain didn’t want to meet the colonies demands for the Intolerable Acts and because of this the colonies start forming minute men, which are men that could be ready at any minute. When the British soldiers heard about this they went to Concord to capture them and the minute men knew that they were coming because Paul Revere and William Dawes told them. When they meet someone fires (nobody knows who) and it was the first shot of the Revolution. It was a big deal for both sides. -
The Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill happened because the British were curious if the Americans could handle a fight with the British. So, they attack Breeds Hill three times, because the first two attacks didn’t work. Finally, the third works because the Americans had run out of ammunition. So, the British won, but lost 1000 men and the Americans lost 400 men. This led to the British leaving Boston and going to New York. -
The Declaration of Independence
The colonists wanted independence, so the committee wrote the Declaration of Independence (Jefferson was the main author). This document had three sections, the preamble(intro), natural rights, and the list of grievances. However, this did not mean that the British accepted their independence and they were quite annoyed, especially with the men that signed it. The impact was that on July 4th, 1776 the congress approved and it was signed, which means that they have committed treason. -
The Battle of Saratoga
In October 1777 the Battle of Saratoga happened, because the British General Burgoyne created a plan that failed because King George ordered that the other troops that were supposed to help Burgoyne’s troops were told to attack somewhere else. The Americans were happy about this and it was a turning point in the war. The Impact is that now the British will not attack New England anymore; they will now focus on the south. After this the Europeans started helping the Patriots. -
Valley Forge
George Washington’s army was forced out of Philadelphia and had to spend the winter of 1777-1778 outside of Philidelphia at Valley Forge. There were terrible conditions that caused many deaths. The conditions were horrible weather, little food and clothing, and disease was everywhere and took many lives. However, the result was that when the Americans heard about this they send help. After this the French and Spanish came and actually started to fight with the Americans. -
The Battle of Yorktown
In 1781, Cornwallis made a horrible mistake and put his troops on a peninsula. They were surrounded by the Americans. A siege occurred that lasts several weeks and then the British were forced to surrender. The British were outraged that they lost this battle, as it was the last main battle of the Revolution. This leads to the war ending and to the Treaty of Paris. -
The Treaty of Paris
In 1783, the two sides (British and Americans) met in Paris and discussed the terms for the treaty. The terms included: the borders for the United States, Florida is given to Spain, and the Americans promised to pay for the Loyalists’ losses (this was rare). Both sides agreed and approved the treaty and the war officially ended.
