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Ben Franklin
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) was a patriot and leader in the fight for independence. He created the unsuccessful Albany Plan for intercolonial government in 1754, and he became one of the monarchy's fiercest opponents. In 1775, he was elected as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress. -
George Washington
George Washington was a patriot who served as a general in the American Revolution. He was born on February 22, 1732, and died on December 14, 1799. Washington was appointed commander and cheif of the United Colonies on June 15, 1775. On this same day, Washington led the Battle of Bunker Hill, which caused a heavy loss on the British. His most famous achievment during the revolution was his surprise attack against the Hessian forces in Trenton. -
Paul Revere
Paul Revere (1735-1818) colonial activist who played a largre role in mobilizing the colonial activism that led to the Revolution. Revere led the anti-British agitation after the passage of the Stamp Act in 1765, was a member of the Sons and Daughters of Liberty, and took part in the Boston Tea Party. Revere's most famous role in history is his midnight ride to Lexinton and Concord to warn the Patriots of the oncoming British forces. -
King George III
King George III (1738-1820), or George William Frederick, was Great King of Ireland and Britain from 1760-1820. King George lll was arguably the biggest driving factor to revolution. He was a flawed ruler himself, and chose many incompetent ministers. These ministers passed the Stamp Act, the Townshend Acts, etc. He also refused to give the colonies representation in parliment. -
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was a patriot born on April 13, 1743. Jefferson helped to found the Virginia Committee of Correspondence in 1773. He was also a delegate to the Second Continental Congress from 1775 to 1776, when he drafted the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson died on on July 4, 1826. -
Stamp Act
The stamp acts imposed by British Parliment outraged colonists by imposing a stamp duty on newspapers and legal and commercial documents within the colonies. The Stamp Act of was the first internal tax levied directly on American colonists. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a fight that occurred on March 5, 1770, between a patriot crowd throwing snowballs and stones, and a squad of British soldiers. Three people were killed immediately and two died later of their wounds, after the British soldiers fired shots into the crowd. This outraged the colonists and was used to spark revolution. -
Boston Tea Party
In December of 1773, the colonists were mad about the passage of the Tea act by Parliment that placed import duties with the passage of tea. On December 16, 1773, Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty boarded three ships in the Boston harbor and threw 342 chests of tea overboard. This pushed the two sides closer to war. -
Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts, also called the the Restraining Acts and the Coercive Acts, were a series of British Laws, passed by the Parliament of Great Britain 1774. Four of the Intolerable Acts were specifically aimed at punishing the Massachusetts colonists for the actions taken in the incident known as the Boston Tea Party. The colonists were greatly angered and this caused them to drove them further from their parent coubtry, Britain. -
Battle of Lextington and Concord
The battle of Lexinton and Concord was the first battle of the American Revolution. Hundreds of British tropps were sent to Concord to confiscate weapons. Patriot, Paul Revere, saw these troops coming and warned the colonist militias, giving them time to prepare to confront the red coats. The colonist minutemen took this battle as a victory after deafeating around 250 red coats. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
On June 17, 1775, the British defeated American forces in Massachusetts. The American forces, however, inflicted large casualties on the British. This was a moral and confidence booster for the Americans. Although the battle is named after Bunkerr Hill, most of the fighting took place on Breed's Hill. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a decree written to King George and the British government on July 4, 1776. This was a statement which announced that the thirteen American colonies regarded themselves as thirteen newly independent sovereign states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. This was a turning point in American history, and possibly the most important part of American history. This document, along with the war, was the biggest strive for American independece. -
Battle of Trenton
General George Washington’s army crossed the icy Delaware on Christmas Day 1776, going on to win two important Battles for the Americans. General Washington and his men surrounded and surprised the Hessian mercenaries. Only a few men on horses escaped. All other Hessians were killed or taken Prisoner--Over 1000 prisoners were captured. This was devastating to the Bristish. -
Battle of Saratoga
The Battles of Saratoga were a turning point in the American Revolution. On September 19th, British General John Burgoyne achieved a miniscule, but expensive victory over American forces. Burgoyne attacked the Americans again at Bemis Heights on October 7th, but this time was defeated and forced to retreat. He surrendered ten days later, and the American victory convinced the French to formally recognize the colonist's cause, and become their ally. -
Battle of Yorktown
On September 28, 1781, General George Washington, commanding a force of 17,000 French and Continental troops, begins the siege known as the Battle of Yorktown against British General Lord Charles Cornwallis and a contingent of 9,000 British troops at Yorktown, Virginia. The French and Patriot forces quickly surrounded Yorktown, and bombarded them until October 19. On this day, the British force surrendered. This battle was extremely important, as it ended the fighting in the Colonies.
