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French and Indian War
As the French empire in North America expanded, it collided with the growing British empire. During the late 17th and first half of the 18th centuries, France and Great Britain had fought three inconclusive wars. Each war had begun in Europe but spread to their overseas colonies. In 1754, after six relatively peaceful years, the French–British conflict reignited. -
Writ of Assistance
It was a general search warrent that allowed british customs officials to search any colonial ship or building they believed to be holding smuggled goods. -
john locke's social contract
John Locke contended that 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. -
The Sugar Act & colonists response
King George III, chose a financial expert, George Grenville, to serve as Prime Minister. -
Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 established a Proclamation Line along the Appalachians, which the colonists were not allowed to cross. -
Treaty of Paris
Great Britain Claimed Canada and virtually all of North America east of the Mississippi River. Britain also took Flordia from Spain, which had allied itself with France. -
Sons of liberty is formed & Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams was one of the founders of the Sons of Liberty. Boston shopkeepers, artisans, and lavorers organized the Sons of Liberty to protest the law. -
Stamp Act & Colonists response
It imposed a tax on documents and printed items such as wills, newspapers, and playing cards. The colonists responded by boycotting the tax. -
Declaratory Act
It asserted Parliament's full right "to bind the colonies and people of America in all cases whatsoever." -
Townshend Acts & colonists response
Parliament passed the Townshend Acts, named after Charles Townshend, the leading government minister. It taxed goods that were imported into the colony from Britain, such as lead, glass, paint, and paper. The act also imposed a tax on tea. -
Why they were repealed
They were repealed because they kept making even more stricter laws. -
French and Indian War
Crispus was part of a large and angry crowd that had gathered at the Boston Customs House to harass the British Soldiers Stationed there. -
Boston Massacre
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. -
Tea Act
Lord North devised the Tea Act in order to save the nearly bankrupt British East India Company. The act granted the company the right to sell tea to the colonies free of the taxes that colonial tea sellers had to pay. -
Boston Tea Party
A large group of Boston rebels disguised themselves as Native Americans and proceeded to take action agianst three British tea ships anchored in the harbor. The "Indians" dumped 18,000 pounds of the East India Company's tea into the waters of Boston harbor. -
Intolerable Acts
One law shut down the Boston harbor. Another, the Quartering Act, authorized British commanders to house soldiers in vacant private homes and other buildings and the third was martial law. -
First Continental Congress meets
56 Delegates met in Philadelphia and draw up a declaration of colonial rights. -
Minutemen
Minutemen were civilian soldiers who pledged to be ready to fight against the British on a minute's notice. -
Battle of Concord
The British marched on to Concord, where they found an empty arsenal. When they lined up to march back to Boston, the march became a slaughter. 3 to 4,000 minutemen had assembled by now, and they fired on the marching troops from behind stone walls and trees. -
Midnight riders: Revere, Dawes, Prescott
The midnight riders rode out to spread word that 700 minutemen drawn up in lines on the village green. -
Battle of Lexington
The battle of Lexington was the first battle of the Revolutionary War and lasted only 15 minutes. -
Second Continential Congress
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. -
Continential army
Colonial Leaders called the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia to debate their next move. Some delegates called for independence, while others argued for reconciliation with Great Britain. -
Battle of Bunker hill
British general Thomas Gage decided to strike at militiamen on Breed's Hill, north of the city and near Bunker Hill. On the same day Gage sent 2,400 British soldiers up the hill. -
Olive Branch Petition
Congress sent the king the Olive Branch Petition, urging a return to "the former harmony" between Britain and the colonies. -
Publication of Common Sense
It Was a 50 page pamphlet that talked about how independence would allow America to trade more freely. -
Loyalists and Patriots
The loyalists were people who opposed independence and remained loyal to the British king, including judges and governors, as well as people of more modest means. The Patriots were supporters of independence, they drew their numbers from people who saw political and economic opportunity in an independent America. -
Redcoats push Washington’s army across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania
The Continental Army attempted to defend New York in late August, the untrained and poorly equipped colonial troops soon retreated. -
Declaration of Independence
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. -
Washington’s Christmas night surprise attack
In the face of a fierce storm, he led 2,400 men in small rowboats across the ice-choked Delaware River. Then they marched to Trenton, New Jersey and defeated a garrison of Hessians in a suprise attack. -
Saratoga
American troops surrounded Burgoyne at Saratoga, where he surrendered. The surrender at Saratoga turned out to be one of the most important events of the war. -
French-American Alliance
The French believed the Americans could win the war, so they openlyed joined them in their fight. -
Friedrich von Steuben and Marquis de Lafayette
Friedrich von Steuben, a Prussian captain and talented drillmaster, helped to train the Continental army. Marquis de Lafayette also arrived to offer help. He lobbied France for French reinforcements in 1779, and led a command in Virginia in the last years of the war. -
British victories in the South
The British easily took Savannah, Georgia, and Charles Town, South Carolina. -
British surrender at Yorktown
Cornwallis surrendered after French and American troops surrounded them on the Yorktown Peninsula and bombarded them day and night. It took less than a month.
