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Treaty of Paris (end of French and Indian War)
This treaty ended the French and Indian War. It gave Canada to Britian. Britian also gained all French lands east of the Mississippi River except the city of New Orleans and two small islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Britian got Flordia from Spain. The Treaty of Paris changed the balance of power in North America. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act forced colonists to pay for a official stamp, or seal, when they bought any paper product. This included legal documents, licenses, newspapers, pamphlets, and even playing cards. -
Boston Massacre
The tensions about all the different taxes finally exploded on March 5, 1770, when the colonists broke out in fighting against the British soldiers that were guarding the Commons House, where the taxes were collected. Finally, someone threw a snowvall at the British soldiers and they started firing into the crowd, killling three people. -
Tea Act
The Tea Act allowed the British East Indian Company to sell tea directly to the colonists. Many colonial merchants and smugglers feared that the British East Indian Company's cheap tea would put them out of business. -
The Boston Tea Party
On that night, some colonists that were disguised as indians snuck into three different tea filled ships and dumped over 300 chests into Boston Harbor. -
Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts, or the Coercive Acts, were a series of laws that restricted the colonists further. It added many different laws like it closed Boston Harbor until Boston paid for the ruined tea from the Boston Tea Party, the Massachusetts's charter was canceled, royal officials accused of crimes were sent to Britian for trial, a new Quartering Act required colonists to house British soldiers, the Quebec Act gave a large amount of land to Quebec and Gage became governor of Massachusetts. -
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress was a gathering of colonial leaders who were deeply troubled about the relationship between Great Britian and its colonies in America. They met at Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia, and the leaders remained locked in weeks of intense debate. Some believed that violence was unavoilable, but some said that they should try to seek peace. They came up with the Declaration of Rights and sent it to the King of England (see Declaration of Rights). -
Declaration of Rights
The Declaration of Rights was a list of ten resolutions to be presented to King George III. One of the things that were included were the colonists' rights to "life, liberty, and property." The goal of it was to state the colonists' concerns and ask the king to correct the problems. Before they left the First Continental Congress they planned to meet again in case the King refused the it, which he did. -
Battle of Lexington and Concord
The Battle of Lexington only lasted a few minutes with only a few shots fired. When the smoke cleared, eight minutemen were dead and ten were wounded. Only one British soldier was wounded. At Concord, most of the weapons that the British were after were hidden, and the British troops became frustrated. They set fire to a few buildings. Then the minutemen charged forward. The Brithish were forced to retreat to Boston, suffering many casualties along the way. -
The Second Continental Congress
Because King George III refused to read tthe Declaration of Rights, the delegates met again in May of 1775 represented the first attempt at a republician government for the colonies. They took a bold step by authorizing the Massachusetts milita to become the Continental Army, which was led by none other than George Washington. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
The British forces advanced while the Patroits waited. When they arrived, the British were cut down by the Patroits. They ended up retreating twice. But when they returned for a third time, the Patroits retreated this time because they ran out of amo. Even though this is called the Battle of Bunker Hill, it was actually fought on Breeds Hill. -
The Olive Branch Petition
The Olive Branch Petition was a last ditch effort to restore harmony between America and Great Britian. It was signed at the Second Continental Congress. King George refused to read it. Instead he looked for new ways to punish the colonies. -
Common Sense
Common Sense was a 47 page pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that was distributed in Philadelphia. It said that citizens, not kings and queens should make laws. It sold about 500,000 copies. It made a strong case for economic freedom and for the right to military self defense. His words in Common Sense still ring true in America today. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence formally announced the colonies' break form Great Britain. Thomas Jefferson, the document's main author, argured that all people have unalienable rights, including the rights of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Then Jefferson said that the King of England passed unfair lawsand interfering with a colonial governments. Lastly he said that the colonies had the right to break from Britian. The act broke all ties with Britian and the U.S.A. was born. -
Battle of New York
In a series of battles, the British kept pushing the Patroits away from New York. They captured Patroits as well as supplies. Eventually Washington and his army were pushed across the Hudson River into New Jersey. -
Battle of Trenton
Washington and his army rowed across the icey Delaware River on Chirstmas night. When morning broke, the men marched in the snow, without shoes, to reach the enemy camp. The British were fast asleep after celebrating Christmas when they attacked. American soldiers took more than 900 prisoners. The Battle of Trenton was an important Patroit victory. -
Battle of Saratoga
British General John Burgoyne wanted to cut off New England from the other colonies. They were planning to do this by pushing through New York. Then General Howe, in New York, would sail up the Hudson River to meet Burgoyne and strangling New England. But, that plan didn't work because the Patroits cut down large trees and dammed rivers to creat obstacles. Then they swarmed out of the forest to attack the British. Burgoyne was forced to surrender. This was the turing point in the war. -
Winter at Valley Forge
In December of 1777, Washington settled his 12,000 men at Valley Forge, about 20 miles north of Philadelphia. The men suffered shortages of food and clothing. Even though no battles occured here, it still is a place of great suffering and courage. When winter came, Washington's men built crude shelters to try to have some protection from the bite of winter. During that winter, about 2,000 soldiers died of disease and malnutrition. -
Battle of Yorktown
For many weeks, the fighting wore down the British defenses. In early October, Geroge Washington prepared for a major attack on the weak British troops. Then British General Cornwalls sent a drummer and a soldier with a white flag of surrender to Washington's camp. The Patroits took more thatn 8,000 British prisoners. The Battle of Yorktown was the last major battle in the American Revolution. -
Treaty of Paris (end of Revolutionary War)
Because of the Treaty of Paris, Great Britian recognized the independence of the United States. The treaty also set America's borders. A separate treaty between Britian and Spain returned Flordia to the Spanish. British leaders also accepted American rights to settle and trade west of the original thirteen colonies.