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The Molasses Act
The Molasses Act was one of a group of Navigation Acts, which were a series of acts restricting colonial imports and exports to British providers. This Navigation Act in particular led to rampant smuggling because of inadequate enforcement, thus leading to measures like the Sugar Act, which was meant to decrease smuggling. This act was regarded with resentment by colonists, and their evasion of it, and the British crackdown, eventually fed the movement that became the American Revolution. -
The Stamp Act
An act imposing a stamp duty on legal and commercial documents and newspapers. This act affected most everyone in the colonies and led to increased tensions between Britain and the colonies, eventually turning violent with the hanging of the stamp collector Andrew Oliver and the storming of lieutenant governor Hutchinson's house. The Stamp Act incurred resentment not only in colonial leaders towards the Parliament, but also in middle class colonists towards the wealthy and powerful in general. -
The Stamp Act Congress, or First Congress of the American Colonies
This congress was convened shortly after the passing of the Stamp Act. It was a meeting consisting of several representatives from most of the colonies, this was the first gathering of elected representatives to join in a unified protest against British taxation. -
The Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts were a series of acts proposed by Chancellor Charles Townshend. Acts included under the heading of "Townshend Acts" vary slightly, but essentially the acts were meant to raise money to pay colonial governors salaries. The Townshend acts were met with colonial resistance and ultimately led to the British occupation of Boston in 1768, which eventually resulted in the Boston Massacre, a famously inciting event for the American Revolution. -
The Boston Massacre, or the Incident on King Street
Different sources disagree as to what exactly happened, but essentially, the Boston Massacre was a street fight between a patriot mob and a squad of British soldiers. It ended with the soldiers firing into the crowd, killing 5 and wounding 6. This led to a campaign by leading patriots such as Paul Revere and Samuel Adams to propagandize the event and use it to rouse the colonial masses. -
The Boston Tea Party
As a reaction to the Tea Act earlier that year, about 70 men boarded three British ships and threw their cargo of tea into the water. The Tea Act essentially gave the British East India Company a monopoly on tea shipped to the colonies, a move made to prevent the company from going bankrupt. This incident triggered a chain of events that led directly to the American War of Independence, or the American Revolutionary War. -
The Intolerable Acts, or the Coercive Acts
The Intolerable Acts were a series of acts passed in response to the Boston Tea Party. They, among other things, closed the Boston harbor against all shipping until Boston paid for the destroyed cargo, limited political authority of the colonists by essentially abolishing elected assemblies, and extended the boundaries of the Quebec province onto lands claimed by American colonists. These acts made the colonists even more determined to defend what they felt were their rights and liberties. -
Continental Congress in Philidelphia
During the convocation of the continental congress, delegates from 12 colonies met to discuss how to react to the Intolerable Acts. They reached the consensus to boycott British goods and ban the export of American goods to Britain unless the Intolerable Acts were repealed. They also planned a Second Continental Congress, in case their actions did not bring the desired effects. However, by the time they met again, the Revolutionary War was irrevocably in motion. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The most famous event centered around these battles was the ride of Paul Revere, although he was not the only one who rode that night. These rides were made in the effort to muster some resistance to the British force coming to take Concord and the munitions stored there. Both battles ended in complete British victory. These were some of the first battles of the American Revolution and helped lead to the complete forming, support and funding of the Continental Army. -
The Battle of Bunker Hill
This battle actually happened on Breed's Hill. This battle consisted of the Americans digging on the top of Breed's Hill and the British charging, trying to dislodge them. It ended with British victory on account of insufficient ammunition on the part of the patriots, though the British took heavy losses. -
Battle of Fort Ticonderoga
Fought by Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys over Fort Ticonderoga, this was before the Continental Army was fully formed and put under George Washington. This fort was seized by the Britons in the French and Indian War, and was the first "official" victory of the Revolutionary War. The capture of the fort stalled the British invasion from Canada and enabled American soldiers to themselves invade Canada. -
Attack on Quebec
This attack was the culmination of a series of victories along the Quebec-Colonial border, and was mounted by patriot forces under Benedict Arnold and General Richard Montgomery. The attack failed and cost Montgomery his life, and this attack was the first major American defeat of the Revolutionary War. If this attack had succeeded, American territory might stretch much further North than it does now. -
Common Sense, by Thomas Paine
Common Sense, a pamphlet published anonymously, was unique in that it put forward an argument for independence that had not previously been intellectually considered, and it did it in layman's term, easily understood by all, encouraging common people in the Colonies to fight for their own independance. It became an immediate sensation, and was widely sold and distributed and was read in public meeting places and taverns, and remains the all-time best selling American title. -
Adoption of Declaration of Independance
Though this is a famously well-known date, the declaration was not actually signed until August 2nd. This document declared independance from Britain, and was the point at which many of the leaders of the patriots committed to the war, something which they had avoided doing before. -
Battle of Brooklyn, or the Battle of Long Island
This was the first real battle between the American and British forces. The British trapped General George Washington in Brooklyn against the shoreline, but he later escaped under cover of darkness. It was the first British victory and the first of many of Washington's legendary escapes. -
Battle of Trenton
This was a famous American victory beginning with Washington crossing the Delaware river. On Christmas Night, the Continental Army crossed the river and ambushed the drunken Hessian force at Trenton. This battle resulted in 900 Hessian prisoners, and was a serious loss to the British. For the Americans, this battle raised morale and was a much-needed opportunity to capture guns and ammunition. -
Battle of Princeton
This battle happened immediately after the battle at Trenton, and drove the British out of New Jersey almost permanently. -
The Second Battle of Saratoga
This battle was really a handful of battles, and consisted of a three-pronged attack meeting at Saratoga. This plan was meant to take all of New York from the colonists, but confused orders led to only one of the prongs actually arriving and ending in American victory. This was a turning point in the war against the British and was instrumental in convincing France to enter the war in favor of the colonists. -
The French Alliance, or the Treaty of Amity and Commerce
After the Battle of Saratoga, the French were convinced that the Americans really did have a chance of winning, and joined the American side on February 6th. This was a major turning point in the Revolutionary War, and is sometimes referred to as the beginning of the end. -
Baron Von Steuben arrives in Valley Forge
Baron Von Steuben was a Prussian soldier who knew a great deal about war and the training of troops. Many have said that the Continental Army was not truly an army until Von Steuben taught them how to be. The soldiers emerged better trained and more capable of acting as an army, and his personal assistant Nathanael Greene went on to become general over the war in the South. -
Battle at Camden
This battle resulted in British victory not because of greater numbers, but because of greater discipline, and it ended with General Cornwallis thoroughly routing soldiers under General Gates. This victory solidified British hold on South Carolina and significantly decreased American morale. This victory also solidified the British view that the American soldiers were undisciplined and inexperienced, and would rather run than stand and fight, a view which led to several later American victories. -
Benedict Arnold's Plan to cede West Point Discovered
After being given command of West Point on June 29th, 1780, Benedict Arnold offered by letter to cede West Point and the surrounding area to John Andre. West point was valuable because from it defenses could be laid that would prevent any ships from navigating it. Possession of it would have allowed the British to take Hudson river and divide the colonies. Arnold's plan would likely have succeeded if Andre had not been captured while carrying papers relating to West Point's defenses. -
Battle of Cowpens
The Battle of Cowpens was a turning point in the patriot's recapture of South Carolina from British control. It was one of the most complete victories obtained in battle, despite the experience and quality of the british troops compared to the continental ones. It also contributed to changing the psychology of the war, especially for the South Carolina area, and it did much to increase the men's morale. -
The Surrender of Yorktown
After retreating to Yorktown to regroup and resupply, Cornwallis found himself trapped on the Yorktown peninsula by both land and sea. After a failed escape attempt, Cornwallis accepted the terms of surrender. Armed hostilities continued, but after Cornwallis' surrender, the Revolutionary War was practically over. This was the culmination of a successful land and sea campaign by the joint American and French armies in Virginia. -
The Treaty of Paris
The Revolutionary War and the American Revolution formally ended when representatives of King Henry signed the Treaty of Paris. In this treaty, the British Empire accepted defeat against the former colonies and recognized their independence. It also set the boundaries of the United States and granted American fishing boats access to Newfoundland and the surrounding waters.
