-
french & indian war
france builds a fort called duquesne in the ohio river valley. virginia was upset becuase virginia government had already granted 200,000 acres of land to a wealthy planters. so virginia sent over the militia to duquesne to get rid of the french. -
john locke's social contract
john locke contended every society is based on social contract. an agreement in which the people consent to choose and obey a government so long as its safe guards there natural rights. if those rights are violated the people have the right to resist and even overthrow the government. -
Writ of assistance
The royal governor of Massachusetts authorized the use of the general search warrant that allowed British customs officials to search any colonial ship or building they believed to be holding smuggled goods because many merchants studied out of their residences, the writs enabled British officials to enter and search colonial homes whether there was evidence of smuggling or not. -
treaty of paris
the war ended with the signing of the treaty of paris. britian got canada and virtually all of north america east of the mississippi river. britian also got florida from spain. france retianed control of only a few islands and small colonies closer to newfoundland. -
proclamation of 1763
proclamatioline is along the appalachians, which the colonists are not allowed to cross to avoid further costly conflicts with native americans. -
sugar act & colonists reponse
1) it havled a tax on foreign-made sweet in the hopes that colonists would pay a lower tax instead of risking arrest by smuggling.
2) tax imports not tax before.
3) they would be tried in a vice-admiralty court rather than a colonial court. -
Stamp act & colonists response
The parliament passed the stamp act. This act imposed a duty on documents and printed items such as wills, newspapers, and playing cards. The stamp will place on the items to prove that the duty has been paid. That was the first duty that affected colonists directly because it was levied on goods and services. Previous duties had been indirect, involving taxes on imports. -
Declaratory act
The declaratory act is always asserting parliament's full right "to bind the colonies and people of America in all cases whatsoever." -
Townshend acts & colonists response
It is the leading government minister. It taxed goods that were imported into the colony from Britain, such as lead, glass, paint, and paper. -
Sons of Liberty is formed & Samuel Adams
The parliament passed the Townshend acts, named after Charles Townshend, the leading government minister. The Townshend acts paid goods that were imported into the colony from Britain, such as lead, glass, paint, and paper. The acts also imposed a duty on the most popular drink in the colonies, which is tea. It is led by sambal Adams. He or she is one of the founders of sons of Liberty, the colonists again boycotted British goods. -
Boston massacre
The mob gathered in front of the Boston customs house and taunted the British soldiers standing guard there. Shots are all fired and five colonists, including crispus Attucks, were killed or mortally wounded. Colonial leaders quickly labeled the confrontation. -
Tea act
Lord north devised in order to save the nearly bankrupt British east India company. This act granted the company for the rights to sell tea to the colonies free of the taxes that colonial tea sellers had to pay. -
Boston tea party
On the moonlit evening, a large group of Boston rebels disguised themselves as native Americans and proceeded to take action against three British tea ships anchored in the Harbor. In this incident, the 'Indians" dumped 18,000 pounds of the east India company's tea into the waters of Boston Harbor. -
Intolerable acts - all 3 parts
An infuriated King George III pressed parliament to act. Parliament responded by passing a series of measures that colonists called the intolerable acts. This law shuts down the Boston Harbor. -
First continental congress meets
56 delegates meet in Philadelphia and drew up a declaration of colonial rights. They are defended to the colonies' right to run their own affairs and stated that, if the British used force against the colonies, the colonies should fight back. -
Minutemen
Minutemen-civilian soldiers who pledged to be ready to fight against the British on a minute's notice-quietly stockpiled firearms and gunpowder. General Thomas gage learned about these activities sooner. He order the troops to march from Boston to nearby concord, Massachusetts, and seize illegal weapons. -
Midnight riders: revere, Dawes, Prescott
Colonists in Boston were watching, and at night they rode out to spread the words that 700 British troops were headed for concord. The darkened countryside rang with church bells and gunshots-prearranged signals, sent from town to town, that British were coming. -
battle of lexington
eight minutemen were killed and ten more were wounded, but only one british soldier was injured. the battle of lexington, the first battle of the revolutionary war, lasted only 15 minutes. -
battle of concord
between 3,000 and 4,000 minutemen had assembled and fired on the marchiong troops from beind stone walls and trees. british soldiers fell by the dozen. colonists had become enemies of britain and now held boston and its encampment of british troops under siege. -
second continential congress
the loyalties that divided colonists sparked endless debates at the second continential congress. some delegates wanted independence and others wanted reconciliation with britian. congress agreed to recoginze the continental army and make george washington the commander. -
continental army
congress agreed to recognize the colonial militia as the continential army. the continential army would be under the command of george washington. -
battle of bunker hill
general thomas gage sent 2400 british soldiers up breeds hill to strike at militiamen. by the time the smoke cleared 450 colonists had died while over 1,000 british soldiers had been killed. the misnamed battle of bunker hill would prove to be the deadliest battle of the war. -
olive branch petition
congress sent the king the olive branch petition urging a return to the former harmony between britian and the colonists. king george flatly rejected petition and ordered a naval blockade to isolate a line of ships ment for the american coast. -
publication of common sense
thomas paine wrote a 50 page pamphlet titled common sense attacking king george and the monarchy. george washington wrote "i find common sense is working a powerful change in the minds of many men". -
loyalists and patriots
loyalists were those who opposed independence and remained loyal to the british.
patriots who supported independence and wanted an independent america. -
declaration of independence
a virginia lawyer, thomas jefferson was chosen to prepare the final draft of the declaration of independence. the documents declared the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to be unalienable rights and can never be taken away. the declaration flatly states that all men are created equal. on july 4th 1776 the colonists adopted the declaration of independence. -
redcoats push washington's army across the delaware river into pennsylvania
the british sailed into new york city with a force of 32,000 soldiers which included german mercanaires known as hessians. the untrained and poorly equipped colonial troops retreated and by late fall had pushed washingtons army across the delaware river into pennsylvania. -
washington's christmas night surprise attack
in the face of a fearce storm, washington led 2400 troops in small rowboats across the delaware river on chrismas night. they marched to trenton new jersey and defeated a garrison of hessians in a surprise attack. -
saratoga
general john burgoyne planned on marching through canada to meet up with other british troops thorugh albany. the two regements would join forces and isolate new england. burgoyne didnt realize british officers were preoccupied holding philidalpiha and were not coming to meet him. american troops surrounded burgoyne at saratoga where he surrednered. -
french-american alliance
the battle of saratoga bolstered frances that the americans could win the war. the french signed an alliance with the americans and openly joined them in their fight. -
valley forge
washington and the continental army were despratly low on food and supplies and fought to stay alive at the winter camp in valley forge pennsylania. more than 2,000 soldiers died and yet no survivors deserted. -
friedrich von steuben and marquis de lafayette
fredrick von steuben a prussian captian hepled trained the continential army. other foreign military leaders such as marquis de layfayette also arrived to offer help and lobbied france for french renforcements in 1779. lafayette also let a command in virginia in the last years of the war. -
british victories in the south
at the end of 1778 a british expedetion easily took savannah georgia. in their greatest victory of the war the british captured charlestown south carolina in may of 1780. -
british surrender at yorktown
lafayette and washington moved south to trap the british in york town. a french anabled naval force defeated a british fleet in block the entrance to chesapeake bay obstructing british sea routes to the bay. by late september about 17,000 french and american troops surrounded the british in the yorktown penninsula. on october 19th 1781 the british surrendered. -
treaty of paris
the treaty of paris confirmed the independence of the united states and set the boundaries of the new nation. the united states streched from the altantic ocean to the mississippi river and from canada to flordia.
