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John Locke's Death
John Locke died October 28, 1704. John Locke was a huge philosopher, so much so that the founding fathers in the American Revolution used a few of his ideas in the Declaration of Independence. Locke had the belief that all humans were equal. He believed that God was the only being who had a higher value than any other individual.
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Germans fight alongside Great Britain in the War for Austrian Succession
Before the American revolution, the Germans fought alongside with Great Britain in the War for Austrian Succession. Once the American Revolution started, the British gathered 34,000 Hessians (Germans) to fight in North America. They were feared and admired for their work. -
Charles Montesquieu Publishes The Spirit of the Laws
Charles Montesquieu was another influential philosopher for the founders of the American Revolution. In 1748 he released a book on political theory, which was published in English in 1750. A copy of it was found in many large figure's offices, including Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin.
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Sameul Adam's is elected to the House of Representatives
Sameul Adams, a cousin of John Adams, is known for his constant oppositions. Once he was in the House of Representatives, he made an opposition to the Stamp Act. He was also known for helping coordinate the Boston Tea Party. -
The French and Indian War
The Seven year war started when France started going into the Ohio River Valley, bringing conflict to the British until they finally declared war. Both sides sought help from natives. The British brought down French after a large amount of funding, giving them Canada. This also ended in the signing of The Treaty of Paris. George Washington also decided to not side with the British after seeing their technique. The war ended 1763.
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Martha Washington becomes first lady
After her former husband died, along with all of her children whom she outlived, Martha had a growing interest for George Washington, despite courting someone else at that time. On January 6th, 1759. She was married at 27 years old. -
Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 was made after the French and Indian War. This proclamation stated that colonist could not expand west of the Appalachian Divide. This was only temporary, but many colonist went over the border and broke the law anyways. This was also one of the things all the 13 colonies had in common; The promise of land across the New World was not delivered. -
John Adams gets married.
In 1764, John Adams became wed to Abigail Smith. Together, they raised 6 children and a farm.
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The Sugar Act
The Sugar Act was a continuation of the Molasses Act, and all imported goods from the Caribbean were taxed with 3 cents instead of 6. However, this was enforced more than before and made smuggling harder.
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The Currency Act
The Currency Act prohibited colonies from having their own paper currency. This was mostly made so the colonies didn't pay of debt with currency with no value.
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The Stamp Act
After the French and Indian war, Britain was in a huge amount of debt. Since the war was beneficial to America, Britain decided to place more taxes. After the Sugar Act, they released the Stamp Act. This made it so all paper goods must have a stamp, which, of course, cost money. The colonist were extremely angry, and eventually got it repealed. However, the British then released the Declaratory Act.
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The Quartering Act
The Quartering Act was an act that forced colonist to home British soldiers. If there was not enough room in the barracks, inn keepers were ordered to allow British Soldiers to stay in their inn.
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The Townshend Act
The Townshend Act was an act adding taxes to any imports to the American Colonies. Townshend chose a selection of items to tax (glass, lead, paper, tea, paint, and paper) that would be hard for the colonist to recreate. He believed they would make the most revenue off of the tea tax. After much protesting, the repealed it and made it so only tea was taxed.
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Massachusetts Government Act
The Massachusetts Government Act was made so that the Royal Governor was allowed control of who was a law officer. Town Meetings were not allowed unless there was a royal assistant attending. Juries could not be elected by freeloaders. -
Boston Massacre
Otherwise known as 'The Incident on King Street', the Boston Massacre was the final straw for colonist. When a British guard was watching over the area, he was soon threatened by a colonist. One thing led to another, and several colonist were killed, and a few injured. The colonist were outraged, and soon started treating anything British with disgust. The Boston Massacre was just the beginning.
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Thomas Jefferson gets married
Thomas Jefferson got married to Martha Wayles Skelton, whom he had 6 children with. Unfortunately, only two of the six survived; Martha and Mary Jefferson. Even though they had been seeing each other early on, they got married rather late.
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Boston Tea Party
Colonist were already upset from the unfair "taxation without representation", and weren't any more thrilled to hear the tax on tea. Because of this, a group of people gathered together and dressed as Native Americans. They proceeded to board the ship and throw crates of tea of the ship, a huge financial loss for the British. This led to the British publishing "Intolerable Acts". -
The addition of minutemen
Minutemen were introduced to Boston when crisis arrived. They were no longer loyal to the crown. The minutemen were trained much harsher than usually. They were trained to be strong and efficient so they could arrive in "minutes notice". -
The Quebec Act
The Quebec Act allowed Roman Catholics to have freedom, and for the French form of civil law to be reintroduced. This was mostly done to get the Quebec society on their side, mostly for the richer people in its society. -
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress was started in 1774. It consisted of delegates from each colony except Georgia. There were many future presidents, and well-know public figures such as John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. They met up in order to discuss the Coercive Acts, otherwise known as the Intolerable Acts. It disbanded 10/26/1774.
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The Boston Port Act
As punishment for the Boston Tea Party, the British released the Boston Port Act. This act made it so no one could come into the Boston Port, and they made America pay for the huge amount of money lost from the tea thrown overboard.
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The Administration of Justice Act
The Administration of Justice Act was made to change trials of royal officials who have committed a capital offense while doing assigned tasks for the king.
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George Washington was appointed as commander.
George Washington, despite having very little information about commanding large groups, was chosen as the commander for the Continental Army. SOURCE -
John Hancock is elected as the president of the Continental Congress
John Hancock was elevated to the president of the continental congress. Here, they elected George Washington as commander. John funded the Army and other revolutionary causes to ensure as much success as possible. Since he was the president, he is documented as the first signer of the Declaration of Independence. -
The start of the Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was started shortly after 1775. It was this congress that appointed George Washington as the Continental Army general, and on July 4th, 1776, accepted the Declaration of Independence. -
Paul Revere's "Midnight Ride"
Paul Revere was originally a goldsmith, living a normal life until the Revolutionary War. He soon became an important part of the troops, and one of the things he's most known for is his midnight ride. Paul Revere rode to Lexington in order to inform them that the British were here. If it had not been for him the news may have been too late.
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"Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" Speech
Patrick Henry gave a speech in St. Johns church, the last words being, "Give me liberty or give me death!" The states in the speech that he is all for patriotism, cue the ending of his speech. He was proposing to organize volunteer army soldiers all across the Virginian area. -
Battle of Lexington & Concord
The Battle of Lexington and Concord is one of the most well-known battles of the American revolution because it was the battle kicking off the war. When British troops went to Concord to collect an arm cache, Paul Revere informed the colonist. When the British reached Lexington, they were met with gunfire, and ended up retreating.
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Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill actually took place on Breed's Hill. This was a battle which America lost, but they found confidence because they greatly wounded the British troops. More than 200 were killed, and around 800 were wounded. Since the Americans were low on ammunition, they were forced to get into hand to hand combat with the British, but the British had more resources and forced the Americans to retreat.
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Declaration of Independence is accepted
On July 4th, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted by congress. It was mainly written by Thomas Jefferson, it was a five-person group consisting of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman.
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Franco-American Alliance
The French started considering helping out during the war, but decided against it because things were too unpredictable. However, the French had requirements, and America had to show they could defend themselves. It was the Battle of Bunker's hill that helped show the French that Americans were capable of defending themselves. Before the alliance a few others came to help out, such as Lafayette.
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Battle of Saratoga
The Battle(s) of Saratoga were split into two parts. The first, occurring on 9/19/1777, had the Americans retreating. The second on 10/7/1777, the Americans won. This was a valuable battle, as it brought attention to the colonist's power, and the was the deciding factor for France to ally America.
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Benedict Arnold switches sides
Benedict Arnold started off in the American Continental Army. However, over the years he didn't believe he got enough credit for what he did. Eventually, he ended up making a deal with the British. He would pretend to stay on the colonist's sides, and then switch and surrender in return for money and power. He was found out.
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The Articles of Confederation is ratified
The Articles of Confederation made it so that the governing system had no judicial or executive branch, which also means no president. The 13 original colonies were almost completely independent because of their weak connection. This system started failing when they accumulated a large amount of debt and couldn't pay it off because it had to be unanimous. -
Battle of Yorktown
The Battle of Yorktown is one of the most important battles, as it was the final one, putting an end to 8 years of war. As the British troops were trying to escape, George Washington ordered 17,000 French and American troops to surround their forces, shooting artillery constantly. Finally, Cornwallis surrendered after three weeks, marking the start of America's independence.
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The Treaty of Paris is created
The Treaty of Paris was established after the Battle of Yorktown, where Britain surrendered. The Treaty of Paris stated the America was now it's own independent country, and resolved the debt America owed Great Britain. -
The Constitution was signed
The Constitution that governs America today was ratified September 17, 1787. The Constitution was signed by 38 of 41 delegates. The Constitution was made to help create a better government with an executive branch, legislative branch, and judicial branch. It also put more power in the hands of the citizens.
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Alexander Hamilton Writes The Federalist Papers
Alexander Hamilton was an immigrant brought to America because of his astounding intelligence. Alexander didn't directly write the constitution, but he published a persuading collection of essays going by the name "The Federalist Papers". The work was split between 3 men, but he ended up writing 51 of the 85 essay. It heavily influenced the approval of the constitution, defending it extremely well.
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John Hancock's death
John Hancock, president of the Continental Congress, died from natural causes at the Hancock Manor. -
George Washington's Death
George Washington died from a throat infection, most likely caused from the cold weather he had ridden in days before. George Washington had over 300 slaves, but he became against it a little before his death. Because of this, he ordered in his will that all his owned slaves should be set free upon his wife, Martha's, death.
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Martha Washington's Death
Martha became extremely depressed after her husbands death, often staying inside her house. She released the slaves before her death, as she felt her life was in danger once the slaves found out about the order to set them free once she was deceased. Soon after, she started thinking about her own death. Oddly, she seemed to welcome the idea. She died two and a half years after George.
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Alexander Hamilton's Death
Alexander Hamilton died in a duel with Aaron Burr. Over the years, Aaron Burr grew profusely frustrated, and finally challenged Alexander Hamilton to a gun duel. Alexander Hamilton's bullet missed Aaron Burr by a large amount, but the opposing side hit Hamilton, killing him a day later.
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Thomas Jefferson's Death
Thomas Jefferson died 5 hours before the last survivor, John Adams. He died at the age of 82 at Monticello, leaving John Adams the last one remaining (but only for five hours).
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John Adams Death
John Adam's died on the day everyone was celebrating their independence. He was on of the the two last survivors from the original Declaration of Independence committee, along with Thomas Jefferson. His last words said something along the lines of, "Thomas Jefferson is still alive." but they were incorrect, as Thomas Jefferson had died a few hours earlier.
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