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French and Indian War
The British fought against the French and Native Americans because both nations wanted to control North America. The British won and France had to give up most of their North American territories. -
Sugar, Quartering and Stamp acts
For the sugar act, Parliament put taxes on sugar and molasses. During the quartering act, people were forced to house and feed soldiers. And for the stamp act required all the colonists to buy special tax stamps for all types of activities and products. This happened because Britain needed money. Colonists protested -
Writs of Assistance
Writs of Assistance: Since many people smuggled things, customs officers were allowed to use the writs of assistance to search for illegal things. The officials had the right to search and not say what they were searching for. Many colonists thought this was a violation of their rights and privacy. -
Boston Massacre
About 60 mad townspeople surrounded some British soldiers throwing rocks and snowballs at them. The British fired and killed a few people. It happened because people were mad about the taxes so they formed boycotts on British goods. The Committees of Correspondence happened next so the colonist could stay aware of British actions. -
Committees of Correspondence
Committees of Correspondence: Samuel Adams established a Committee of Correspondence. Its goal was to keep colonists aware of British actions. Later, committees were starting in other countries too. The Committees of Correspondence is what started the First and Second Continental Congress. -
Tea Acts and Boston Tea Party
The British Parliament passed the Tea Act. It helped the East India Company and it also raised taxes on tea. This tax got the colonists mad and that led to the Boston Tea Party. Boston Tea Party was organized by the sons of liberty to protest against the Tea Act. The consequences were the Intolerable acts. -
Intolerable Acts
There were 4 acts: the Boston Port Act, which closed the port of Boston, the Massachusetts Government Act, which gave the royal governor more power and didn’t allow town meetings, the Justice Act, that allowed the governor of a colony to move a trial to other colonies or England and an act the enforced the Quartering Act. These were the consequences of the Boston Tea Party. Later, congress demanded an end to the Intolerable acts and said that the colonies had a right to tax and govern themselves -
Shot heard around the World
It happened during the Battle of Lexington. It marked the start of the war for independence. Nobody really knows why and who fired. The British and the colonists reacted by fighting against each other. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
Col. William Prescott and his troops attacked the bigger British force. The Americans won the first two battles. Since the Americans didn't have any more ammunition, the British won the third battle. -
Declaration of Independence
A piece of writing that declares independence. It happened because the Americans wanted independence from Britain. People still celebrate this day as Independence Day. After that, the Declaration got signed and America got independence. The actual signing of the Declaration was August 2, 1776. -
Battle of Trenton
On Christmas night, Washington led 2,400 men across the river in small boats. On December 26, they attacked Trenton and captured about one thousand Hessian mercenaries in a surprise attack. Washington used a smart tactic to escape. His soldiers made a camp and campfires near Trenton. After it got dark, most of the men left silently. -
Battle of Saratoga
This was a battle between the Americans and the British. This American victory ended British threats to New England and didn’t let the British think that they could win easily. It also helped convince Europe that the Americans had a chance at winning. -
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Valley Forge
Washington’s Continental army lived at Valley Forge for the winter during a battle. The soldiers were not well fed, clothed or housed. A lot of them didn’t have sock, shoes or pants. When Americans heard about what the soldiers were going through, women came in and brought food, medicine, warm clothes and ammunition. Some went to help the people that were sick or hurt. -
Battle of Yorktown
After 21 days of fighting, the British troops surrendered to the Americans and the French. The British had to surrender because they were surrounded. This battle leads to the Treaty of Paris which ended the war. -
Peace treaty (Treaty of Paris)
The Treaty of Paris in 1783 ended the American Revolution officially. Britain saw that the Americans really wanted independence. On April 15, 1783, Congress approved the treaty.
