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Mercantilism
This policy was installed in the forming Ameican colonies by the mother country of Britain. The idea of merantilism was to have a favorable balance of trade by exporting more than it imports. This would mean that the colonies would never have a chance to be profitable under this ideology. -
Salutory Neglect
This was a policy of ignoring the strict rules set by the British crown. This made the colonists have a sense of self government and not follow the British rules when they tried to revamp them at a later time. This was the colonists first time tasting self governing. -
The French and Inidan War
This event was a war, started by the English George Washington, that dragged the colonies to war with France because England had gone to war with them. When the English won they had to pay off the war debt so they taxed the colonists, the colonists however felt it wasn't their war and everyone should help pay for it. -
The Proclamation of 1763
King George III issues an order that the colonists cannot settle west of the Appalachians and orders those already settled West to move back. The king did this to control the colonists and to try and prevent conflict with the Inidans. The colonists viewed that they had fought for that land and ignored the proclamation. -
The Stamp Act of 1765
This act required that almost all printed materials be printed on paper that had a stamp to proove it had been taxed. The only people that sold this paper were the British. This made living so much more expensive for the colonists and they felt outraged because they were being taxed without representation. -
The Quartering Act
This act stated that the British army could station troops inside someones house at anytime they needed and you had to provide them with certain things. This outraged the colonists because they didn't think they had to be burdened with someone else when they were scraping by themselves. This is considered one of the Intolerable Acts -
The Stamp Act Congress of 1765
This was the first garthering of elected officials from multiple colonies to devise a protest against the British tax. The congress signed a petition that day urging the British to end the tax. This was to be the first official resitance against the British and made the colonists even angrier. -
The Declaratory Act of 1766
This act stated that the British crown had the same authority in the colonies as it did in mainland England. It also asserted the authority to pass laws that were controlling in the American colonies. This angered the colonists because they no longer viewed themselves as English and didn't want to report to the crown anymore. -
The Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts were a series of acts passed that were made to try to improve the colonists salries so they could pay the judges and officials. This would keep them loal to the British crown. The acts were a failure and eventually repealed. -
The Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was argueably what sent the colonists over the edge when it came to the revolution. It gave people like Benjamin Franklin gold for propaganda and made everyone hate Britain. This was portrayed to the colonists as the British lining up and killing them because they're evil. -
The Tea Act of 1773
The Tea Act of 1773 essentiall gave the British empire a monopoly on tea in the colonies. This outraged the colonists because the price of tea spiked and they felt like they were gettin targeted. This act directly lead to the Boston Tea Party -
The Boston Tea Party of 1773
This was one of the first acts of all out rebellion on the colonists part. They dressed up as Indians and dumped boxes of tea into the Boston Harbor. This lead the British Crown to take out punishments on the colonies, in turn this owuld lead to the revolution. -
The Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts were a series of acts passed by Parliament that were considered insufferable by the colonists. These led directly to people wanting a radical change in government. -
First Continental Congress
This was a meeting of delegates from 12 of the 13 colonies to discuss how to deal with the Intolerable Acts. They ended up boycotting British goods and petitoning the acts and sent it to the crown. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
These were the first 2 battles in the American Revolution, with the British winning one battle and the colonies winning he other. This is where "the shot heard round the world" was fired. This where "the redcoats are coming" came from too. -
The Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress managed the new war effort and slowly moved towards independence. Some big names in the congress are Benjamin Franklin and John Hancock. -
Thomas Paine writes Common Sense
Common Sense was a pamphlet written to explain the benefits plainly to the normal man. It was easily read and understood and made the Revolution gain a lot of public support. It was read in practically every reach of the colonies. -
The Declaration of Independence
This document was an official list of grievances and reasons for seperating from Britain. It also declared the United States of America as its own country and master. -
The American Revolution Ends
The Revolution didn't have an official stop date because there were still many small battles fough theoughout the countryside because word had not been sent that the British lost. The last major battle was the Battle of Yorktown. -
The Treaty of Paris
This treaty officially ended the conflict between Britain and the newly formed United States of America. It was signed in Paris where they also signed treaties with other nations like France, Spain, and the Dutch. This owuld end all conflict betwen the US and Britain until the war of 1812.
