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The French and Indian War
One are of conflict between France and Britain was the Ohio River Valley west of PN and VG. The French built Fort Deuquesne in the region even though VG had been granted 200,000 acres. First battle, the French defeated the Virginians and their leader, George Washington. A year after his defeat, Washington again went to batle, this time with the aid of British general Edward Braddock. They again were defeated but later under Pitt, the British triumphed at Quebec and brought them victory. -
Treaty of Paris
The French and Indian War officially ended in 1763 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. Great Britain claimed Canada and virtually all of North America east of the Mississippi River. Britain also took Florida and Spain to keep possession of its lands west of the Mississippi and the city of New Orleans. France retained control of only a few islands and small colonies near Newfoundland, in the West Indies, and elsewhere. Others who lost ground in the war were the Native Americans. -
Proclamation of 1763
Ottawa leader Pontiac recognized that the French loss was a loss for Native Americans. Native Americans captured 8 British forts in the Ohio Valley and the Great Lakes area and laid siege to another.Native American groups negotiated treaties with the British.To avoid further conflict, the British government prohibited colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains. The Proc of 1763 established a Proc Line along the Appalachians but colonists eager to expand ignored the proclamation. -
Sugar Act and Colonists Response
The Sugar Act did 3 things:it halved the duty on foreign-made molasses in the hopes that colonists would pay a lower tax rather than risk arrest by smuggling,placed duties on certain imports that had not been taxed before and most importantly,it provided that colonists accused of violating the act would be tried in a vice-admiralty court rather than a colonial court.Colonial merchants complained that the Sugar Act would reduce their profits and the new regulations had little effect on colonists. -
The Stamp Act and Colonists Response
In March 1765 Parliament passed the Stamp Act. This act imposed a tax on documents and printed items such as wills, newspapers, and playing cards. A stamp would be placed on the items to prove that the tax had been paid. It was the 1st tax that affected colonists directly, it was levied on goods and services.In May of 1765, the colonists united to defy the law. In October 1765, merchants in NY, Boston, and Philadelphia agreeed to a boycott of British goods until repealed, and March 1766 it was. -
Sons of Liberty and Samuel Adams
In May of 1765, the colonists united to defy the law. Boston shopkeepers, artisans, and laborers organized a secret resistance group called the Sons of Liberty to protest the law. Meanwhile, the colonial assemblies declared that Parliament lacked the power to impose taxes on the colonies because the colonists were not represented by Parliament. *Samuel Dams was one of the founders of the Sons of Liberty. He led men to boycott british goods. -
Declaratory Act
The same day that the Stamp Act was repealed, Parliament passed the Declaratory Act, which asserted Parliaments full right "to bind the colonies and people of America in all cases whatsoever." -
Townshed Acts and Colonists Response
After the Declaratory Act,Parliament passed the Townshed Acts, named after Charles Townshed, the leading government government minister.The Townshed Acts taxed goods that were imported into the colony from Britain,such as lead, glass, paint, and paper.The Acts also imposed a tax on tea, the most popular drink in the colonies.Lord Frederick North realized that the Townshed Acts was costing more than it was bringing in so they repealed the tax on everythin but tea."no taxation w/out representation -
Boston Massacre
As hostilities between the colonists and the British mounted, the atmosphere in Boston grew increasingly tense. On March 5, 1770, a mob gathered in front of the Boston Customs House and taunted the British soldiers standing guard there. Shots were fired and five colonists, including Crispus Attucks, were killed or mortally wounded. Colonial leaders quickly labeled the confrontation the Boston Massacre. -
John Locke's Social Contract
One of the key Enlightenment thinkers was English philosopher John Locke. Locke maintained that people have natural rights to life, liberty, and property.Furthermore, he contended, every society is based on a social contract-an agreement in which the people consent to choose and obey a government so long as it safeguards their natural rights. If the government violates that social contract by taking away or interfering with those rights,people have the right to resist and even overthrow the gov -
Tea Act
In 1773, Lord North devised the Tea Act in order to save the nearby bankrupt British East India Company. The act granted the company the right to sell tea to the colonies free of taxes that colonial tea sellers had to pay. This action would have cut colonial merchants out of the tea trade by enabling the East India Company to sell its tea directly to consumers for less. North hoped the American colonists would simply buy the cheaper tea but instead they protested dramatically. -
The Boston Tea Party
On the moonlit evening of December 16,1733, a large group of Boston rebels disguised themselves as Native Americans and proceeded to take actio against three British tea ships anchored in the harbor. In this incident, later known as the Boston Tea Party, the "Indians" dumped 18,000 pounds of the East India Company's tea into the waters of Boston harbor. -
The Intolerable Acts
King George 3rd, pressed Parliament to act. In 1774,Parliament responded by passing a series of measures that colonists call the Intolerable Acts. One law shut down Boston Harbor. Another, the Quartering Act, authorized British commanders to house soldiers in vacant private homes and other buildings. General Thomas Gage, commander-in-chief of British forces in North America,was appointed new govenor of MA. To keep peace, he placed Boston under martial law or rule imposed by military forces. -
First Continental Congress Meets
In response to Britain's actions, the committees of correspondence assembled the First Continental Congress. In September 1774, 56 delegates met in Philidelphia and drew up a declaration of colonial rights. They defended 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
After the First Continental Congress met, colonists in many eastern New England towns stepped up military preparations. Minutemen - civilian soldiers who pledged to be ready to fight against the British on a minute'snotice - quietly stockpiled firearms and gunpowder. General Thomas Gage soon learned about these activities. In the spring of 1775, he ordered troops to march from Boston to nearby Concord, MA and to seize illegal weapons. -
Midnight Riders: Revere, Dawes, adn Prescott
Colonists in Boston were watching, and on the night of April 18, 1775, Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott rode out to spread word that 700 British troops were headed for Concord. The darekened countryside rang with church bells and gunshots-prearranged signals, sent from town to town, that the British were coming. The king's troops, known as "redcoats" because of their uniforms, reached Lexington, Massassachusetts, five miles short of Concord on the cold windy dawn of April 19. -
Battle of Lexington
As they neared the town,they saw 70 minutemen drawn up in lines on the village green.The British commander ordered the minutemen to lay down their arms and leave, and the colonists began to move out without laying down their muskets.Then someone fired, and the British soldiers sent a volley of shots into the departing militia. 8 minutemen were killed and 10 more were wounded, but only 1 British soldier was injured.The Battle of Lexington, the first battle of the Revolutionary War, lasted 15 min. -
Battle of Concord
The British marched on to Concord, where they found an empty arsenal. After a brief skirmish with minutemen, the British soldiers lined up to march back to Boston, but the march quickly became a slaughter. Between 3,000 and 4,000 minutemen had assembled by now, and they fired on the marching troops from behind stone walls and trees. British soldiers fell by the dozen. Bloodied and humiliated, the remaining British soldiers made their way back to Boston that night. Colonists had become enemies. -
The Second Continental Congress
In May of 1775, colonial leaders called the Second Continental Congress in Philidelphia to debate their next move. The loyalties that divided colonists sparked endless debates at the second continental congress. Some delegates called for independence, while others argued for reconciliation with Great Britain. Despite such differences, the Congress agreed to recognize the colonial militia as the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander. -
Continental Army
Despite such differences, the Congress agreed to recognize the colonial militia as the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander. -
The Battle of Bunker Hill
Cooped up in Boston,British general Thomas Gage decided to strike at militiamen on Breed's Hill,north of the city, near Bunker Hill. On June 17,1775, Gage sent 2,400 British doldiers up the hill.The colonists held their fire until the last min and then began to move down the advancing redcoats before finally retreating.By the time the smoke cleared,the colonists had lost 450 men,while the British suffered over 1,000 casualties.Battle of Bunker Hill would prove to be the deadliest battle of war. -
Olive Branch Petition
On July 8, Congress sent the king the so-called Olive Branch Petition urging a return to "the former harmony" between Britain and the colonies. King George flatly rejected the petiton. Furthermore, he issued a prlamation stating that the colonies were in rebellion and urged Parliament to order a naval blockade to isolate a line of ships meant for the American coast. -
Publication of Common Sense
Just as important were the ideas of Thomas Paine.In a widely read 50-page pamphlet titled Common Sense, Paine attacked King George and the monarchy. Paine declared that independence would allow America to trade more freely.He also stated that independence would give American colonists the chaance to create a better society—one free from tyranny, with equal social and economic opportunities for all.Common Sense sold nearly 500,000 copies in 1776 and was widely applauded. In April 1776, George W. -
Declaration of Independence
Congress appointed a committee to prepare a formal Declaration of Independence,Virginia lawyer Thomas Jefferson was chosen to prepare the final draft. Drawing on Locke’s ideas of natural rights, Jefferson’s document declared the rights of “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” to be “unalienable” rights— ones that can never be taken away. The Declaration states flatly that “all men are created equal.” July 4, 1776, they adopted the Declaration of Independence. -
Loyalists and Patriots
Americans found themselves on different sides of the conflict. Loyalists—those who opposed independence and remained loyal to the British king—included judges and governors, as well as people of more modest means. Many Loyalists thought that the British were going to win and wanted to avoid punishment as rebels.Patriots—the supporters of independence—drew their numbers from people who saw political and economic opportunity in an independent America. Many Americans remained neutral. -
Redcoats push Washington’s Army Across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania
The British sailed into New York harbor in the summer of 1776 with a force of about 32,000 soldiers. They included thousands of German mercenaries, or hired soldiers, known as Hessians because many of them came from the German region of Hesse.Although the Continental Army attempted to defend New York in late August, the untrained and poorly equipped colonial troops soon retreated. By late fall, the British had pushed Washington’s army across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania. -
Saratoga
General John Burgoyne planned to lead an army down a route of lakes from Canada to Albany,where he would meet British troops as they arrived from New York City.The 2 regiments would then join forces to isolate New England from the rest of the colonies.As Burgoyne traveled through forested wilderness,militiamen and soldiers from the Continental Army gathered from all over New York and New England.Burgoyne didn’t realize that his fellow British officers were preoccupied with holding Philadelphia. -
French-American Alliance
American troops finally surrounded Burgoyne at Saratoga, where he surrendered on October 17, 1777. The surrender at Saratoga turned out to be one of the most important events of the war. Although the French had secretly aided the Patriots since early 1776, the Saratoga victory bolstered France’s belief that the Americans could win the war. As a result, the French signed an alliance with the Americans in February 1778 and openly joined them in their fight. -
Valley Forge
While this hopeful turn of events took place in Paris, Washington and his Continental Army—desperately low on food and supplies—fought to stay alive at winter camp in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. More than 2,000 soldiers died, yet the survivors didn’t desert. Their endurance and suffering filled Washington’s letters to the Congress and his friends. -
Washington’s Christmas Night Surprise Attack
Desperate for an early victory, Washington risked everything on one bold stroke set for Christmas night, 1776. In the face of a fierce storm, he led 2,400 men in small rowboats across the ice-choked Delaware River. They then marched to their objective—Trenton, New Jersey—and defeated a garrison of Hessians in a surprise attack. The British soon regrouped, however, and in September of 1777, they captured the American capital at Philadelphia. -
British Victories in the South
At the end of 1778,a British expedition easily took Savannah, Georgia.In their greatest victory of the war,the British under Generals Henry Clinton and Charles Cornwallis captured Charles Town,South Carolina,May 1780.Cornwallis continued to conquer land throughout the South.In early 1781,the colonists continued to battle Cornwallis-hindering his efforts to take the Carolinas. He chose to move the fight to Virginia. Camped/plan to fortify Yorktown,take VG then move North to join Clintons forces. -
Friedrich von Steuben and Marquis de Lafayette
In February 1778,in the midst of the frozen winter at Valley Forge,American troops began an amazing transformation. Friedrich von Steuben helped to train the Continental Army.Other foreign military leaders,such as the Marquis de Lafayette, also arrived to offer their help.Lafayette lobbied France for French reinforcements in 1779, led a command in Virginia in the last years of the war.With help European military leaders,Continental Army bcame effective fighting force. -
British Surrender at Yorktown
Shortly after learning of Corwallis’s actions, the armies of Lafayette and Washington moved south toward Yorktown. Meanwhile, a French naval force defeated a British fleet and then blocked the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay,thereby obstructing British sea routes to the bay.By late September, about 17k French and American troops surrounded the British on the Yorktown peninsula and began bombarding them day and night.Less than a month later,on October 19, 1781, Cornwallis finally surrendered. -
Treaty of Paris
Peace talks began in Paris in 1782. The American negotiating team included John Adams, John Jay of New York, and Benjamin Franklin. In September 1783, the delegates signed the Treaty of Paris, which confirmed U.S. independence and set the boundaries of the new nation. The United States now stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River and from Canada to the Florida border.
