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Free and Slave
Many free African Americans and enslaved people were not on teams. They did participate in the war though. The British offered the enslaved people freedom to run away and join them. Washington at first didn’t want Slaves and free African Americans on his team, but after he found out that the British were allowing it he started to allow it as well. Most southern states refused to accept African American soldiers. Slave owners “feared armed slave revolts.” -
Natural Rights
Natural Rights is in the Declaration of Independence. It is the one right after the preamble, the introduction. Natural Rights states general ideas about the government and society. One of the big points is that “all men are created equal.” This chapter is based on John Locke’s ideas about natural rights. Jefferson says that the government is supposed to protect people’s rights and if they are violated the people have a right to take out the government and make a new one. -
French and Indian War
Since the late 1600’s, the French and the British have been fighting for control in the Americas. They both wanted rich trade and land for expanding settlement. Finally, there was conflict, The French and Indian War which is also known as the Seven Years' War. This war solved the competition between both sides but it led to useful changes in England relations with the colonies. -
Sugar Act
In 1764 the British Parliament passed the Sugar Act which reformed taxes on sugar, molasses and said that the British Government was taking a raise interest in colonial affairs. It affected many which led to colonial protests against the British. -
Stamp Act
On March 22, 1765 the British Parliament put on the Stamp Act which was the first direct tax on the colonies. The Stamp Act was tax that said that the colonists had to put stamps on all paper products. It happened to raise money because the colonies were in debt after the French and Indian War. Colonists did boycotts and refused to do it. -
Quartering Act
In 1765 the Parliament passed a law called the Quartering Act. The Quartering Act said that all colonists had to house and take care of any British soldier that came to their house. Many of the colonists didn't like this so they began to protest and they complained that the Parliament was violating their rights. -
Boston Massacre
Happened March 5, 1770. During the Boston Massacre, colonists were insulting British soldiers, throwing ice at them, throwing other objects and daring them to fire. 5 British soldiers shot into the crowd and killed 5 people while severely hurting others. They went to a trial with John Adams as their lawyer and 2 of them got a punishment. It happened because anxiety over British taxes and later the boycotts of British goods. Nothing really happened after because they had repealed all the taxes. -
Tea Act/ Boston Tea Party
Put a law called the Tea Act in 1773. This act was put for two reasons. One was since the East India Company wasn’t doing well, it helped them to gain more profit on their tea because they play a strong role in Britain’s economy and two because it was a symbolic tax on the disobedient American colonists. Reaction to this by the colonists was they weren’t so happy. Actually started to object the tax and threaten to stop bringing the tea after the ship was docked.Result to this, The Boston Tea Pa -
Intolerable Acts
Parliament passed Intolerable Acts which closed the port of Boston until the colonists paid off all the tea, it gave the governor more power and from then on the colonists wanted to hold more than one town meetings per year they had to get permission. If someone was accused of murder or attack a British official they had to go to trial in Britain and 1765 Quartering Act was made stronger. Colonists got angry when they hear this news. Congress demand for the it to be repealed. Planned a boycott. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
Battle of Bunker Hill was first formal battle of the American Revolution. Battle showed that American forces would face British in an open battle and it also helped convince British commanders that they would have to leave Boston. The British won this war, but they lost on a bad note because the British 1,054 were hurt including 226 killed while the Americans had 140 dead, 271 hurt and 30 captured. This battle helped the Americans show that they were up to fighting against the British. -
Common Sense
1776, 50 page pamphlet called Common Sense by Thomas Paine came out.Inspired the Declaration of Independence and U.S Constitution.Pamphlet “helped remove that obstacle by convincing the colonists that further association with the English king was undesirable.” It was highly influential and they sold about 120,000 copies of it in the first 3 months. Common Sense was based on the idea of natural rights. He was remembered for not only helping to rally colonists to go against the king. -
Valley Forge
During winter of 1777 and 1778, while the British were out partying, the Americans were suffering in the freezing weather. There was bad weather and they had a lack of food and most importantly clothes. Many diseases started to spread quickly and medicine was low. Americans in the colonies find out what was going on and hey send help immediately. -
French Alliance
France was really eager to weaken the British/Britain. The French had kept some money hidden and gave it to the Americans secretly. Although the French didn’t want to get involved until it was possible for the Americans to win. After they won an important war the French were convinced and they agreed to fight along with the Americans. It helped the American cause because the British would spare fewer troops to fight in North America. -
Final Battle
Cornwallis had a plan but it ended up not working out at all. The French troops chased the British and ended up trapping them. He was forced to surrender and on October 19, 1781, the Americans and the French lined up in two lines facing each other and they made the British march down and toss their weapons in a large pile on the ground. “The victory at Yorktown was the last major battle of the war.” -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris was when “Britain recognized the independence of the United States.” U.S. agreed to restore rights and properties taken from loyalists during the war. On April 15, 1783, The Congress approved the treaty. The war was now officially over.
