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Treaty of Paris (French and Indian War)
The French and Indian War, also known as the Seven Years War, began in 1754. The cause of this war was that England and Prussia against France, Austria, Russia and Spain were all fighting over land. The war ended with the signing of The Treaty of Paris (French and Indian War) that proclaimed who got what land. -
Proclamation of 1763
At the end of the French and Indian war, there was reason for celebration, but the Proclamation of 1763 put a hold on the celebration. The King and his council presented the proclamation to calm the fears of the Indians, who felt that the colonists would drive them from their lands as they expanded westward. The proclamation also included a list of prohibited activities and also set territiories between the Indians and colonists. -
Sugar Act
The sugar act is a law that was passed by Parliament that placed tax on sugar, molasses, and other products shipped to the colonies. The Parliament passed this law to try and raise money to boost their economy. The colonies had already been in a tough place with money after the war so when the Parliament passed the Sugar Act tension rose. -
Stamp Act
Despite passing the Sugar Act, Britain's financial situation continued to spiral out of control. The act required Americans to buy special watermarked paper for newspapers and all legal documents. This upset many people because they argued that people should not get taxed without representation in Parliament. -
Quartering Act
The Quartering Act requires colonists to house and feed British Soldiers that need somewhere to stay. This act created a strong presence in the colonies and was very protested against. It was actually so disliked that it was stated in the Declaration of Independence. It was also what led to the Boston Massacre. -
Boston Massacre
Tension filled in Boston while the British soldiers stationed their and a riot began with about 50 people throwing rocks, sticks, and snowballs. The soldiers fired into the crowd killing several ccolonists. This was a major symbol in the Revolutionary War even though only 5 people were killed. -
Tea Act
The Tea Act was designed to prop up the East India Company which was floundering financially and burdened with eighteen million pounds of unsold tea. This tea was to be shipped directly to the colonies, and sold at a bargain price. Colonists wouldn't let the ships unload and if they did they let the tea rot on the rocks. This led to the Boston Tea Party. -
Boston Tea Party
As ships came in carrying tea as part of the Tea Act, colonists started to get very upset. Since the colonists wouldn't take their tea the boats sat there and finally the colonists diguised themselves as Indains and borded the ships. They started destroying chests of tea and throwing them overboard. Overall over 340 chests of tea were destroyed. -
Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts were actually named the Coercive Acts by the British. but colonists thought the rules of this act were so harsh that they called them the Intolerable Acts. The Intolerable Act were passed to show the colonies that they can't just get away with anything. The British claimed that they could tolerate boycotts, but they saw the destruction of what The Boston Tea Party had done and decided to put the colonies back in place. -
First Continental Congress
On September 1774, the First Continental Congress was convened in Philadelphia. The natural leaders of every colony managed to be selected except for Georgia who did not participate. A declaration of colonial rights was drafted and sent to London. Much of the debate revolved around defining the colonies' relationship with England. However Parliament chose to ignore Congress. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord kicked off the American Revolutionary War. On the night of April 18, 1775, hundreds of British troops marched from Boston to nearby Concord in order to seize an arms cache. Paul Revere and other riders sounded the alarm, and colonial militiamen began mobilizing to intercept the Redcoat column. A confrontation on the Lexington town green started off the fighting, and soon the British were hastily retreating under intense fire. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia with the major question of how would the colonist meet the military threat of the British. They decided to create a continental army with George Washington to be the supreme commander. They also sent the King The Olive Branch Petiton, but he ignored it and said the colonies were in the state of rebellion. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
The British defeated the Americans at the Battle of Bunker Hill in Massachusetts. Even though the Americans lost, they inflected many casualities on the British. This provided the Americans with a confidence booster. Although commonly referred to as the Battle of Bunker Hill, most of the fighting occurred on nearby Breed’s Hill. -
"Common Sense" by Thomas Paine
Common Sense was published in January 1776 in Philadelphia, nearly 120,000 copies were in circulation by April. Paine argued for two main points: (1) independence from England and (2) the creation of a democratic republic. This book pushed the patroit cause. -
Declaration of Independence
The idea of the Declaration of Independence was to have 13 colonies that were "free and idependent states". A subcommittee of five, including Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were selected to write the Declaration of Independnece. After some tweaking of the document the colonies approved it and on July 4, 1776, the wording of the Declaration of Independence was approved and sent to the printer for publication. -
Battle of Brooklyn
On August 22nd, Howe's army landed on Long Island, hoping to capture New York City and gain control of the Hudson River and on August 27th, the Redcoats went against Patriots position at Brooklyn Heights. On August 29th, George Washington ordered a retreat to Manhattan by boat that saved saved his army from many casualties. On September 15, the British captured New York City. -
American Crisis by Thomas Paine
Thomas Paines book "Common Sense" helped start the revolution. When he wrote this book new book, "American Crisis", Washingtons army was in a bad spot and this helped them to keep pushing. Washington had it to be read aloud to his men and it had the effect that he had desired and his men held onto the hope of victory as they left for New Jersey. -
Battle of Trenton
General George Washington's army crossed the icy Delaware on Christmas Day 1776 and, over the course of the next 10 days, won two crucial battles of the American Revolution. During this battle Washington defeated a fair amount Hessian mercenaries before withdrawing. The victories reasserted American control of much of New Jersey. -
Battles of Saratoga
The Battles of Saratoga have two main results. It convinces European nations that Americans might win the war and Benedict Arnold angry about lack of recognition, betrays his army. The Battles of Saratoga was also fought on October 7th, 1777. The two Battles of Saratoga were a turning point in the American Revolution. The American victory convinced the French government to formally recognize the colonist's cause and enter the war as their ally. -
Winter at Valley Forge
In December, Washington brought his army to Valley Forge to keep an eye on General Howe's British army ensconced in Philadelphia. At Valley Forge, there were shortages of everything. Food to clothing to medicine; they bbarely had anything. Washington's men were sick from disease, hunger, and exposure. While we had men dying right and left the British soldiers ate well, however they did not know that the army that Washington had left was stronger than ever. -
Battle of Yorktown
Washington ordered Marquis de Lafayette and an American army of 5,000 troops to block Cornwallis' escape from Yorktown by land while the French naval fleet blocked the British escape by sea. After three weeks of being trapped, Cornwallis surrendered to Washington, ending the War for Independence. This ended the fighting in the colonies and eventually the Treaty of Paris was signed formally recognizing the United States as a free and independent nation after eight years of war. -
Treaty of Paris (Revolutionary War)
When the Treaty of Paris (1783) was signed after it was negotiated between the United States and Great Britain, it ended the revolutionary war and recognized American independence.
