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Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 was signed by King George of England stating that the colonists in North America could not settle West of the Appalachain Mountains. Tensions with the natives of the area were already very high after the long French and Indian War. Any colonists who had already moved into the area were forced to return back East. -
James Otis-No Taxation w/o Representation!
Bostonian James Otis publishes his views on taxation in the American colonies. His views eventually become widespread and people all over the colonies cling to his view of "No taxation without representation". In other words, the Crown had no right to tax a people who did not even have any represenatives in Parliament. -
Quartering Act
First of two Quartering Acts in the American colonies. Per order of King George III, British soldiers were given the authority to claim room in ordinary citizens households. This led to unrest throughout the colonies. -
Sons of Liberty formed
The Sons of Liberty were formed in 1765. This group used violent acts and those of pure intimidation to get what they wanted. Their original goal was to force all of the tax agents in the colonies (those enforcing the Stamp Act) to resign. They succeeded and went on to front more acts of violence in the colonies. -
Mob attacks home of Lt. Gov.
On August 26th 1765 a mob fed up with taxes in the colony of Massachusetts attacks the home of then Lt. Governor Thomas Hutchinson, a Loyalist; burning it down and forcing his family to eventually flee to England. -
Stamp Act goes into effect
On 1 November 1765, per order of the King of England, the Stamp Act went into effect in the American colonies. This was one of the first direct taxes, as colonists had to put said stamp on every single paper product, from officia documents to labels to even playing cards. Almost immeadietly after its commencement, colonists fought tooth and nail to get the act repealed. This was one of the first events where colonists all voiced their grievances when it came to the crown. -
Boycott Spreads
After the Stamp Act went into effect, colonists everywhere began boycotting, or banning the use of any British-made goods. This led to women spinning in their own homes and the non purchase of British tea. -
Stamp Act repealed
After many months of protest and even violence, the British decided to repeal the Stamp Act, to the happy eyes and ears of the colonists in the American colonies. -
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts (named after Charles Townshend, the man who put forth the ideas) were a series of British act aimed at collecting revenue from the American colonists in order to pay the salaries of British officials. The non compliance of the colonists prompted the British occupation of the town of Boston in 1768 and eventually the Boston Massacre in 1770. -
Liberty is siezed
On June 10th, 1768, John Hancock's smuggling ship, Liberty, is siezed by customs officials after he imported wine without paying the necessary duty on it. The customs officials were harrassed by Bostonians and had to flee to an island outside of Boston Harbor. -
Boston Massacre
British soldiers fired on a crowd of Bostonians outside the Old State House on March 5th, 1770. However, these killings were not unprovoed. The Bostonians were hurling ice and snowballs at a sentry. The sentry called for back up but the colonists did not stop the abuse. A few soldiers were even hit with clubs as the crowd turned into a mob. After the "massacre" the soldiers in question were put on trial for murder and represented by prominent Boston Lawyer, John Adams. -
Committee of Correspondence Created
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Tea Act goes into effect
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Boston Tea Party
Angered at the British monopoly on tea and the Tea Act in gereral, on December 16th, 1773, members of the Sons of Liberty dressed (poorly) as indians and marched down to the waterfront in Boston and dumped 342 chests of British tea into Boston Harbor. -
First Continental Congress
On September 5h, 1774, the First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Of the thirteen colonies, twelve were represented at this continental convention. The Congress was called in response to the Coercive Acts (a.k.a. the Intolerable Acts in the colonies). This was the first time the colonies had come together as a congress. -
Patrick Henry's "Liberty or Death" speech
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Battle of Lexington and Concord
The British high command had learned that the colonists were amassing weapons and ammunition in the towns of Lexington and Concord, outside of Boston. Also, rebel leaders John Hancock and Sam Adams were rumored to be hiding in the towns. The British met the colonial militia (minutemen) on Lexington Green and fighting broke out. The minutemen retreated and the Brits moved on to Concord where they fought the militia at the Old North Bridge. The British were forced to retreat back to Boston. -
Ratification of the Declaration of Independence
On July 4th, 1776, the Second Continental Congress ratified the declaration of Independence, a document listing the grievances that the colonists had towards the Crown. Contrary to widespread belief, the document was not signed until later that year, in August of '76. This document was the last tie that needed to be severed before total war between the colonists and the mother country. -
Battle of Saratoga
The Battle of Saratoga was truly the turning point of the American Revolution. British General John Burgoyne's original goal was to isolate New England from the rest of the colonies by marching a force down from Canada through New York and meeting up with another force near Albany. The American army, under the command of gen. Horatio Gates met up w/ the British at Saratoga. The Americans captured or killed 86% of Burgoyne's army. This battle convinced the French to fight on the side of the U.S. -
Battle of Monmouth
On June 28th, 1778, the American and British armies clashed at Monmouth Court House in New Jersey. Gen. George Washington faced British Gen. Charles Cornwallis. The battle was tactically a British victory but a draw from a dtrategical standpoint. The story of "Molly Pitcher" came from this battle -
Battle of Yorktown
The Battle of Yorktown, Virginia was the last major land battle in the American War for independence. Through a combined effort by the Americans and their French allies, they were able to out maneuver the British with the French navy on one side and the American army on the other, completely surronding the British forces, thus ending the American Revolution. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris (one of the many) was signed on September 3rd, 1783, officialy ending the American Revolution with the outcome of an independent United States of America, completely free from the Crown and British rule all together. The United States and Great Britain would not go to war again until the War of 1812 and after that would become allies up into the present day.
