-
Treaty of Paris 1763
The Treaty of Paris was signed on February 10, 1763 by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France, and Spain, with Portugal in agreement, after Great Britain stood victorious over France and Spain during the Seven Year's War. Great Britain and France each returned much of the territory that they had captured during the war, however Great Britain gained much of France's possessions in North America. Additionally, Great Britain agreed to protect Roman Catholicism in the New World. -
Proclamation of 1763
Issued October 7th, 1763, by King George III, after Great Britains win over the French territory in North America. Prior to the end of the French and Indian War. This proclamation refused all settlements beyond the Appalachian Mountains, to conciliate the Indians by checking the encroachment of all the settlers on their land. Since then this proclamation has become a cornerstone of Native American Laws, in the United States and Canada. -
Sugar Act 1764
Was a parliament passed that modified the version of the sugar and molasses act, which was about to expire. Under the molasses act the colonial merchants had been required to pay a tax of six pence per gallon for the importation of foreign molasses. -
Stamp Act 1765
Was passed by the British Parliament requiring that all American colonists are to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used. These included ship's papers, legal documents, licenses, newspapers, other publications, and even playing cards. -
Quartering Act 1765
A parliament passed that outlined the locations and conditions where British soldiers are room and board in the American colonies. Required the colonies to house British soldiers in their homes provided by the colonists of the colonies. -
Stamp Act Congress 1765
Meeting held between October 7 and 25, 1765 in New York, consisting of representatives from some of the British colonies in North America. It was the first gathering of elected representatives from several of the American colonies to devise a unified protest against new British taxation. -
Townshend Acts 1767
Imposed a light import duty on glass, white lead, paper, paint, and tea. Was an indirect customs duty payable by American ports. Failed to generate revenue, nearly produced a rebellion, and nonimportation actions hurt the English economy. -
The Boston Massacre 1770
The Boston Massacre was a street fight that occurred on March 5, 1770, between a patriot mob, throwing snowballs, stones, and sticks at a group of British soldiers. Several colonists were killed and this led to the campaign by speech-writers to rouse the ire of the citizenry. -
Committees of Correspondence 1773
The Virginia House of Burgesses proposed that each colonial legislature appoint a standing committee for intercolonial correspondence. Within a year, nearly all had joined the network, and more committees were formed at the town and county levels. -
Intolerable Acts 1774
The Intolerable Acts, also known as the Coercive Acts, were harsh laws passed by the British Parliament. They were meant to punish the American colonists for the Boston Tea Party and other protests. -
First Continental Congress 1774
A meeting of delegates from twelve of the Thirteen Colonies who met from September 5 to October 26, 1774 at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania early in the American Revolution. -
Lexington and Concord, Battle of 1775
The first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The battle were fought on April 19, 1775 in Middlesex Country, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy which is now present-day Arlington, and Cambridge. This occurred when British commander in Boston sent troops to Lexington and Concord to seize stores of gunpowder. -
Second Continental Congress 1775
Selected George Washington to lead the hastily improvised army besieging Boston. Managed the Colonial war effort and moved incrementally towards independence adopting the United States Declaration of Independence. -
Bunker Hill, Battle of 1775
Early in the Revolutionary War, the British defeated the Americans in Massachusetts. Despite their loss, the inexperienced colonial forces inflicted heavy casualties against the British. The battle provided the Americans with an important confidence boost. -
Olive Branch Petition 1775
Drafted by John Dickinson, it was adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 5 and submitted to King George on July 8,1775. It was an attempt to assert the rights of the colonists while maintaining their loyalty to the British crown. -
Common Sense 1776
Written by Thomas Paine in order to convey the American colonists that their true cause was independence rather than reconciliation with Britain, without independence they could not hope for foreign assistance. -
Declaration of Independence 1776
Thomas Jefferson was chosen to write it. The Declaration of Independence formally approved by congress. Jefferson gave his appeal universally by evoking natural rights"" of mankind. He then set forth a long list of the presumably tyrannous misdeeds of George III. The Declaration of Independence soon became an inspiration to countless other revolutionary movement. -
Trenton, Battle of 1776
The battle was fought on the morning of December 26, 1776. The Battle of Trenton was won by the American colonists . The battle pitted approximately two thousand four hundred Continental Soldiers led by George Washington, against about one thousand four hundred Hessian soldiers commanded by Colonel Johann Rall. The colonists captured one thousand Hessians, killed twenty, and wounded one hundred. -
Valley Forge 1777
Continental army encampment during the winter and spring of 1777-1778, situated on the west bank of the Schuylkill River, in Chester County. Occurred December 19,1777-June 18,1778. -
Yorktown, Battle of 1781
The battle took place in Yorktown Virginia from September 28th of 1781 through October 19th 1781. The battle pitted General George Washington, aided by French General de Rochambeau, against British General Lord Cornwallis. The significance of the conflict was that Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington as French and American forces trapped the British at Yorktown. The British surrender at the Battle of Yorktown ended the American Revolutionary War. -
Treaty of Paris 1783
Signed by representative of King George III of Great Britain and representative of the United States of America on September 3, 1783, ended the American Revolutionary War.
