-
Stamp Act
During the French and Indian War things got expensive for England and a lot of debt started to build up. This was why they instated new laws around paper and other documents. The Stamp Act made it so that all documents and papers were taxed and when the tax had been paid the document would receive a stamp. This generated revenue to try and make up the debt from the French and Indian War. -
Protest of the Stamp Act
This was in result of the stamp act, where the colonists refused to follow anything part of the Stamp act. The colonists refused to pay the tax or simply smuggled the goods with out allowing them to pass through customs. They continued this until the act was repealed in 1766. -
Gaspee Affair
The Gaspee affair was a large group of British ships that were sent out to intercept and catch smugglers. The Gaspee a lead ship in the mission ran aground at one point and was attacked by the colonists who pillaged the ship and then set fire to it. This caused the British to send a group of officers to the colonies to find and punish those responsible. -
Committees of Correspondence Established
Thomas Jefferson set up committees of Correspondence in order to communicate with the other colonies. There was a committee in each colony and they all communicated about British activities. This benefited the colonies greatly, being able to know all about what the British were doing and to show everyone how the British were behaving. The Committees of Correspondence also helped unify the 12 colonies into one, America. -
Boston Tea Party
The East India trading company was in trouble and needed help from England. The British refunded taxes and sent 1253 chests of tea to the colonies. When the tea hit Boston, around 150 people stormed the ships and threw 342 chests full of tea into the Boston Harbor. This lead England to implement the Coercive acts. -
Coercive Acts
The Coercive Acts were a series of laws placed on the colonists by the British after the Boston Tea Party. These laws included, Shutting down the Boston harbor until the tea was paid for, the banning of town meetings, and taking away the right to vote for council members, judges, and sheriffs. The Coercive acts also allowed British red coats to have a trial instead of facing harsh American juries. Along with these new laws came 2,000 soldiers to enforce these laws. -
Quebec Act
The Quebec act was an act to make reforms on the area in Canada that was recently won by England. The act placed new governors to govern in Quebec. The Quebec act also increased the boundaries and made Roman Catholic the church of Quebec. -
First Continental Congress
This was when a group of delegates got together and discussed what to do to become independent from the British. They decided that they needed to act as one colony rather then 13 and that they need to be able to communicate with everyone. -
Paul Revere's Ride
Paul Revere's Ride was an extremely important event that took place shortly before the revolutionary war broke out. Paul Revere had got word of how the British army was coming whether by land or by sea. Once he found this out he rode through the colonies warning everyone that the British were coming and which way. Without the midnight ride of Paul Revere the colonists would have been slaughtered in a surprise attack. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The battle of Lexington and Concord was the first real fight between the colonists and the British. The British army came Lexington trying to capture high colonist leaders; they then went to concord to search for guns and weaponry. That is where they met the colonists, who faced them with rifles ready to fight. Soon a fight was started, the colonists firing upon the British and British on the colonists. This was the first time the British army was met by a colonist force and this was the start. -
Second Continental Congress
All of the colonies except Georgia sent delegates to meet and discuss the problems of the colonies. There were 56 delegates in total. This meeting helped the colonies unite as one nation. An accomplishment of the congress was creating plans, and committees to ban British goods. -
George Washington Appointed General
The Continental Congress decided to appoint George Washinton the general, and leader of the revolution against Britain. He later became a very successful leader that really pushed the revolution forward. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Colonists learned of the British plans to take Dorchester Heights near Boston. They would not stand for that so they decided to form a resistance and met the British around Bunker Hill. -
Olive Branch Petition
The Olive Branch Petition was created to avoid a full-blown war with Great Britain. The Petition showed the loyalty to Britain that some of the colonists still felt, except it was rejected and the rebellion became official. -
Proclamation for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition
The Proclamation for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition, was written by King George III. He was very mad about the Battle of Bunker Hill. It said that British citizens or officials in the colonies were to report traitors to stop the rebellion. Even in Britain they were encouraged to report rebellion. -
Common Sense Published
Thomas Paine writes a document that argues for American independence, by talking about colonial life from government to religion. -
British Evacuate Boston
The Colonists managed to block off the British from Boston. After being defeated at Bunker Hill the colonists positioned cannons at Dorchester Heights to stop the British when they came back with reinforcements. When the British came back they saw the cannons from their ships and left. -
Writing of Declaration of Independence
The Founding Fathers began writing a document to set some basic rights and freedoms for their new nation. The delegates chose Thomas Jefferson to write it. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson was approved, and copies were sent out across the colonies so they could be read publicly. -
British Pull Out of Virginia
After many battles between the colonist's militia, and the British, the British pulled their troops out of Virginia.
