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The French and Indian War 1754-1763
The French and Indian War was fought between The British and the French from 1754 to 1763. Even though the war was between the French and British it was still called the French and Indian War. The war was critical the Revolution because it called for the colonies to come together and it showed what the British were using the Colonies for. Also it began a true hatred of the British and the future Americans by the Indians as they wanted to move the natives out past the Appalachian Mountains. -
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Events Leading to the Revolutionary War
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Boston Massacre
On March 5, 1770 a street fight broke out in the streets of Boston between the American Colonists and a group of British soldiers. The fight was the result of the overwhelming feeling the British soldiers were unwelcome. A group of 50 colonists began heckling the soldiers and when a few of the soldiers were attacked they fired and killed 3 colonists. This was important to the Revolution because it promoted more harsh feelings towards the British in Boston. -
The Tea Act
The Tea Act was passed in 1773 by the British to get more revenue for the East India Trading company who was struggling financially. The Tea Act would be the final straw in the revolutionary war movement in Boston. As a result of the Tea Act the colonists would join together and plan attacks on British ships that were carrying tea to make a statement to the British. -
The Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party occurred on December 16, 1773 when a group of colonists gathered to oppose the Tea Act. They dressed up as Indians and went into the Boston Harbor and dumped over cases of tea into the Harbor. Boston Tea Party would be a dramatic turn of events leading up to the American Revolution, because it lead to the King of England to be furious and he would pass the Intolerable Acts the punish the colonists. -
The Intolerable Acts are passed
in 1774 the British Empire passed the Intolerable Acts to punish the colonists for their behavior over the Boston Tea Party. These Acts were passed because of the massive amounts of money and goods lost due to the colonists destroying the goods by not allowing the British to unload to goods from their ships. These Intolerable Acts would ultimately lead to the Revolutionary War throughout the Colonies. -
The First continental Congress
: From September 5, 1774 to October 26, 1774 The First Continental congress met in Philadelphia at Carpenter Hall. These were elected colonists to go and represent each colony. Every colony sent a representative except for Georgia. There was a lot of distrust going on at the meeting because the colonies have been acting alone on every issue and many of the colonies weren’t fond of each other. There were complete opposite views on how the colonists should handle England. Not a whole lot was -
The Ride of Paul Revere
On April 18, 1775 Paul Revere alerted the colonists in Lexington and concord that the British were coming. Paul Revere did this all on horse back. He and some other colonists established a code that if the British were coming by land he would hang one lantern in the Old North Church and if they were coming by sea he would hang two. This was a huge deal in the leading up to the Revolution because colonists were able to hide arms and ammunition before the British were ale to arrive at the armor -
The Battles of Lexington and Concord
On the night of April 19, 1775 the first engagements of the American Revolutionary War occurred. The very first shots were fired as the sun was rising. British Soldiers were supposed to go capture and destroy armories that were held by the Massachusetts Militia. The Militia was alerted by the ride of Paul Revere and were able to hide the arms and ammunition. The British were unsuccessful and this would mark the start of the American Revolution. -
The British Evacuate Boston
On March 17, 1776 The British Evacuated the city of Boston Massachusetts. The British left Boston because they came to the conclusion that their cannon fire would not reach the elevated position. This elevation was called Dorchester Heights. This was built by the Colonists. The British loaded up their ships and they headed to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Those same British troops would later show up at New York City. -
Declaration of Independence Adopted
On July 1, 1776 the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia. On the second day of the meeting Richard Henry Lee would make a motion about declaring independence from England. 12 of the 13 colonies were on board, however they need a full vote to declare independence. They spent the next few days talking about the ideas and on July 4 they agreed to Independence and at that moment the congress agreed and adopted the Declaration of Independence. -
Declaration of Independence Signed
: After a few days of writing the Declaration of Independence the colonists signed it. Thomas Jefferson composed the Declaration of Independence. There were a total of 56 delegates who signed the document. The oldest signer was Benjamin Franklin. This was such a huge movement towards breaking away from England. If these men were caught by the British they would be tried for treason and they would be tortured. This was the boldest move by the colonists. -
the French Alliance
As the American Revolution progressed it was obvious that the colonies would need some kind of alliance to achieve victory. The congress would send a group of delegates that included Benjamin Franklin to go and negotiate a treaty with France. The French would be convinced and they were pleased with the American accomplishments thus far in the war and on February 6, 1778 the French signed a treaty with the Americans to help them defeat the British. -
Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown
On October 19, 1781 The colonists would force General Charles Cornwallis to formally surrender 8,000 British soldiers and Seamen to French and American forces at Yorktown, Virginia. This event was so important to the American Revolution because it would ultimatley bring the American Revolution to a close. The Colonists with the help from the French Army surrounded the British and forced the final surrender. -
Work Cited
History declaration. 2012. 2 December 2012 http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/related/congress.htm.
American Revolution. 2012. 5 December 2012 http://www.theamericanrevolution.org/battledetail.aspx?battle=1.
History. 2012. 5 December 2012 http://www.history.com/news/9-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-declaration-of-independence.
History.com. 2012. 5 December 2012 http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/cornwallis-surrenders-at-yorktown.
Patriot Source. 4 Decmeber 2012 <http://www.
