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The French & Indian War
The French and Indian War was between Great Britain and France. These two countries were fighting over land and resources around the Ohio River Valley. The British purpose behind the war was to get more land and resources and expand their trade market. The colonists living in America joined in the war to help their mother country, Great Britain. -
Treaty of Paris
This treaty resolved the French and Indian War and gave Great Britain almost all of France's land. The British purpose of this was simply to get more land (all of Canada and everything East of the Mississippi River, Spain got everything to the West of the river). The Treaty of Paris allowed colonists to begin to move to the Ohio River Valley, and many colonists did. -
The Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamtion of 1763 was a British proclamtion that prevented colonists from going across the Appalachian mountains. It also stationed British Soldiers to make sure that nobody crossed. The British enforced this because they couldn't protect the colonists from the violent Natives and the colonists didn't want to pay for protection. Being told what to do and the British soldiers' presence angered the colonists. -
The Sugar Act
This act put a tax on any product containing molasses or sugar. Great Britain passed this act because they were trying to pay off various debts from the French and Indian War, so they began taxing various products. The colonists were for the most part okay with the tax, but they didn't like the increasing amount taxes. -
The Stamp Act
The Stamp Act put a tax on paper products, such as legal documents and newspapers. The British created this act for the same reason as the Sugar Act, to help raise money to pay off debts from the war. The colonists were quite angered by the act. So they ended up formed the Stamp Act Congress and organized boycotts the paper products being taxed. -
Quartering Act
The Quartering Act ordered that colonists must house and provide food for the British soldiers. Great Britain did this so that their soldiers would have some sort of refuge. The colonists did not want to house the soldiers so they were very angered by this act. -
Writs of Assistance
This law allowed customs officers to search merchant ships at will. The British purpose behind this was merely to let customs officers commit unlawful searches on ships. The colonists considered this a major invasion of privacy. -
Townshend Acts
These acts put a tax on many household items (glass, lead, and silk). The British passed these acts to pay debts from the French and Indian War. Colonists were furious with these acts and boycotted the products being taxed. -
The Boston Massacre
On this day, a protestant mob of colonists confronted British soldiers and the Soldiers fired upon the colonists, killing five people. The British did this to discourage further protests against Great Britain. The colonists were fuming over this event and used it to spread anti-Britain feelings. -
The Tea Act/ Boston Tea Party
This act cut out tea merchants in the colonies from the tea trade. Great Britain began trading with the British East India Co. because they had lowered their prices. The colonists, in result of this act, dumped thousands of pounds of tea overboard into the Boston Harbor. This protest was known as the Boston Tea Party. -
Intolerable Acts
These acts shut down the Port of Boston andit prevented any town meetings. Great Britain passed these acts to stop future revolts from the colonists. The colonists decided that these acts could not stand so they organized the first Continental Congress. -
First Continental Congress
After the Intolerable Acts were passed in 1774, the colonists were very angry. They knew that they had to find a solution to these acts so representatives from each colony, except Georgia, met in Philadelphia at the First Continental Congress. Delegates at the First Continental Congress agreed that all trade should be banned with Great Britain until the acts were repealed. Each state began training troops in case bad relations with Great Britain escalated. -
"Give Me Liberty" Speech
This was a speech given to the Virginia House of Burgesses concerning the possible war with great Britain. Patrick Henry wrote and delivered this fantastic, captivating speech. The speech got people to start to think about separation from the British. -
Battles of Lexington & Concord
Seven hundred british soldiers marched into Lexington where seventy patriots were waiting for them. This was the battle in which the "shot heard around the world was fired." After winning the battle, the British marched into Concord where they were defeated by 4000 patriots. These battles "kicked off" the Revolutionary War. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress, like the first, met in Philadelphia and delegates from all around the colonies attended. The Second Continental Congress established many things. For instance, the Olive Branch Petition was created, the Continental Army was established, and a committee was assigned to write the Declaration of Independence. -
Ft. Ticonderoga
Fort Ticonderoga was a fort occupied by the British that was captured by the Americans in 1775. Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen joined forces and led an early dawn attack on the fort. Fort Ticonderoga was stocked full of weapons, ammunition, and artillery. Therefore, the capture of this fort gave the Continental Army much-needed supplies. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
This was the battle in which the famous line, "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes" was said. In this battle, the British were trying to take a fortified patriot conrolled hill. The British were eventually able to capture the hill, but they suffered over 1400 casualties. -
Common Sense
Common Sense was an article written by Thomas Paine that gave reasons for separating from Great Britain. The article greatly increased public support for independence. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a document written by Thomas Jefferson and passed by the Continental Congress, that declared the colonies independent from Great Britain. Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Livingston, Roger Sherman, and John Adams made up the committee assigned with writing the document. The colonies had now declared independence from Great Britain. -
Battle of New York
The Battle of New York was a battle in which the British Army wanted to capture New York, which was the economic center of the colonies. The British attacked General Washington and the Continental Army on Long Island and began inflicting heavy casualties. Washington was forced to retreat into Pennsylvania and Great Britain occupied New York for the rest of the Revolution. -
Battle of Trenton
On Christmas day of 1776, Washington crossed the frozen Delaware River and launched a surprise attack on the soldiers occupying Trenton. Washington's men caught the British/ Hessians celebrating the holiday and off their guard. Washington was able to capture Trenton and over 800 Hessian soldiers without losing a single man. -
Battle of Princeton
After capturing over 800 Hessian soldiers at Trenton, Washington marched his men to Princeton. The Battle of Princeton was a somewhat brief battle between General Washington and British soldiers occupying Princeton. Washington and his men won this battle and captured over 300 British soldiers that were occupying the town in the process. -
Battle of Saratoga
After learning that British General Burgoyne planned to cut off New England from the rest of the colonies, General Heratio Gates mobilized his forces to confront Burgoyne. Gates ended up surrounding Burgoyne's forces at the Battle of Saratoga and Burgoyne was forced to surrender his entire army to the Continental Army. While Gates was capturing Burgoyne's army in the colonies, Benjamin Franklin was negotiating an alliance with France. This battle won France and Spain's support for the Americans. -
Winter at Valley Forge
The winter of 1777-1778 was extremely grueling for General Washington and his men. They were spending the winter in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania and were running dangerously low on supplies. Many American soldiers died of disease, frost bite, and starvation during this time period. -
Battle of Yorktown
After recieving information from the spy James Armistead, General Washington decided to spring the ultimate trap on General Burgoyne's men in Virginia. Burgoyne was waiting for British ships to sail to New York and get reinforcements. However, French battleships formed a barricade along the Virginia coast and trapped Burgoyne's forces. It was now General Washington's turn to attack. Washington and his forces came in and surrounded Burgoyne, causing him to surrender an unofficially end the war. -
Treaty of Paris
This historic document officially ended the Revolutionary War between the American colonies and Great Britain. The treaty stated that Great Britain must recognize the United States as an independent nation, that the United States got all land east of the Mississippi River, and that the United States was to return all property taken from loyalists during the revolution.
