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The French and Indian War Ends
While the British had owned almost all of North America east of the Mississippi River, the Native Americans living west of the Appalachian Mountains wanted to keep their lands. Throughout the war, the Natives had fought to keep their lands, and the French wished for the same thing. The British tried after the war ended to keep colonists from settling on their lands and causing another dispute. -
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Revolutionary Timeline
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Proclamation of 1763
After the Seven Years War, the British introduced the Proclamation of 1763 to the colonists, stopping any people from settling beyond the Appalachian Mountains. The British made this Proclamation to further stop any conflict with Native Americans and the issue of colonists on their lands. The colonists disagreed with the Proclamation and refused to move, ignoring the treaty. -
Sugar Act
With the Sugar Act, Britain began to put an import tax on molasses. This act taxed colonists to pay for the French and Indian War. Colonists disliked this act, having the tax disrupting their normal businesses. This act also further stopped smugglers throughout the colonies. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act held new duties on products like wills, diplomas, marriage papers, dice, newspapers, almanacs, and more. Britain issued this act to help pay for its debt from the French and Indian War. All of these items had to have a stamp on it, showing that the tax was paid. This tax was considered differently among colonists, because although this method of taxation was used in different countries, the colonies had never had such a tax, and it wasn’t a country of its own. -
Quartering Act
The Quartering Act of 1765 made colonial governments recognize the request for housing, feeding, and supplying British troops in the colonies, which colonists disliked. Colonists feared that the British troops would invade their privacy, but the act never called for colonists taking care of troops in their own houses. -
Townshend Act
The Townshend Act placed a tax on imported goods, such as glass, paper, paint, lead, tea, and many more things. The British also began to use Writs of Assistance with this act, which were documents used to find smugglers through any information of colonial property. Colonists began boycotting the taxed goods, and soon Parliament took away all of the taxes, except the one on tea. -
Tea Act, Boston Tea Party
The Tea Act was the last tax left from the Townshend Acts, and Parliament made it stronger by passing a new Tea Act, meaning to help the British East India Tea Company get out of its debt. The colonists still continued to boycott tea, though, going against the prices and the British choosing only specific sellers of tea. The Boston Tea Party was a raid on a ship carrying tea, and all of the tea onboard was tossed into the Boston Harbor. Britain punished the colonies by passing the Coercive Acts. -
Shot Heard Round the World
The Shot Heard Round the World was heard at Lexington and Concord, when the American’s had faced the British, who wanted to find the colonists’ stash of weapons. When the British were heading over to Concord, the Sons of Liberty warned the American minutemen that the British troops were heading their way. When the shot was fired, 8 colonists were killed and the British went on through Concord, only to be faced with more resistance and were forced back to Boston. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle began when the British started taking their places around the base of Breed’s Hill, and further marched up the hill, heading toward the Americans. The Americans were not trained soldiers, but with little ammunition, the Americans fought strong. The Americans fought through two attacks, but the British won the third attack. Over 1,000 British troops were killed or wounded. The British soon left Boston and never returned. The British, hoping to reclaim Boston, had failed. -
Invasion of Canada
In the middle of the Battle of Bunker Hill, two other American armies led by Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold led their men to invade Quebec, Canada. When they arrived, the Americans attacked Quebec, but the battle was turned back. Montgomery was killed and Arnold was wounded, and the Americans left Quebec when the British placed forces nearby, leaving Canada to the British. -
Approval of the Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was meant to explain why the Americans broke away from the British and became their own country. The Declaration consisted of four parts, having an introduction, an explanation of the rights that the Americans deserved, what the British had done to them, and declaring independence to finish. This declaration further held all of the members of the Congress for treason, and later became something that influenced further nations to fight for their freedom. -
Crossing the Delaware, Attack on Trenton
The Americans planned an attack on mercenaries in Trenton, New Jersey, and had to cross the frozen Delaware River overnight to surprise them. The Americans then travelled several miles to Trenton and surprised the mercenaries, then captured or killed all of them. This victory was needed to convince men to join the Continental Army, because they were running out of troops to fight the British. After this victory, more colonists began to join the army, convinced that the Americans could win. -
Battle of Saratoga
The British wanted to isolate New England from the other states, but their plan failed. The Americans cut off troops coming from the west meaning to join the rest of the British army. The Americans ended up surrounding all of the troops in the village of Saratoga and the British were forced to surrender.This American victory stopped the British from attacking New England again, and futher convinced European countries that the Americans could win the war, and that other countries could help them. -
Battle of Yorktown
When the British moved their forces to a peninsula near Yorktown, they became trapped and surrounded by the French and Americans. The French had blocked the Chesapeake Bay and the Americans had blocked the British by coming in from the south. The siege lasted for several weeks, and the British surrendered due to food shortages and ammunition shortages. This was the last battle of the war. -
Treaty of Paris
When Parliament voted to begin peace with the Americans, the British and Americans met in Paris to sign a treaty between them. The Americans had convinced the British that they needed to become their own country. The treaty stated that the borders for the U.S. would be from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River and the Canadian border to Florida. Florida was returned to Spain, and Congress approved the treaty on the 15th of April, 1783.
