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The French’s expansion into the Ohio River Valley brought much conflict between them and the British. After many disputes, the British formally declared war in 1756. The war ended with the Treaty Of Paris in 1763. In the end, the British almost doubled their national debt because they borrowed from British and Dutch bankers to bankroll the war. This then lead to the Stamp Act in 1765.
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The Sugar Act was passed on April 5, 1764 as an extension to the molasses act of 1733. Similar to the Stamp Act, it was enacted so the British could pay off their debts from the French and Indian War. It was also placed to try and stop the smuggling and illegal trade of sugar and molasses into the American colonies. The sugar act was repealed in 1766, but was replaced with the revenue act.
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After the French and Indian War, British Parliament was in debt, and looked at North American Colonies as a way out. They passed the Stamp Act on March 22, 1765, which was the taxation of all paper products. The colonists did not agree with or like this act, and considered it unconstitutional. They resorted to mob violence, hoping to intimidate and get tax collectors to resign. Finally, the act was repealed in March, 1766.
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The Townshend were a series of acts that taxed many goods imported to the American Colonies. Many Americans believed this to be an abuse of power since they had no representation in Parliament. This caused the British to send troops to America to reinforce these laws, but all this did was heighten the already high tension between America and Britain. The acts went into action on November 20, 1767, and all of the acts besides the tax on tea, got repealed in April 1770.
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The Boston Massacre was a dangerous and deadly riot that took place in Boston. It was fueled by a series of acts passed by British Parliament that were unpopular among Americans. On March 5, 1770, the Americans decided to confront a few British soldiers about these acts, but it quickly escalated into a disorderly slaughter when soldiers fired their guns. In the end, around 5 colonists were killed. This spiked an anti-british uproar, and paved a way to the American Revolution.
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The Boston Tea Party occurred on December 16, 1773, in Boston Massachusetts. This political protest was caused by American’s frustration for the taxation on tea(taxation without representation.) They dumped 342 chests of tea, imported by the British East India Company, into the Boston Harbor. This incident was to show to Great Britain that they wouldn’t stand for tyranny without putting up a fight.
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On September 5, 1774, delegates from 12 of the 13 colonies went to the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia. This meeting was prompted by the Intolerable Acts, also known as the Coercive acts. After much discussion, Congress passed the Articles of Association, which said to stop importing goods from British Isles if the Intolerable Acts were not repealed. After a little over a month and a half, the First Continental Congress dispersed on October 26, 1774.
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The battles of Lexington and Concord kicked off the American Revolution. At around dawn a shot rang, and to this day it’s unclear which side shot first. In the end, around 250 redcoats were wounded or killed, while only 90 on the other side. The relatively low number of casualties in this war showed that the colonists could fight one of the most powerful armies in the world. The news was quickly spread, and once again the British narrowly defeated the colonists at Bunker Hill.
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The battle of Bunker Hill was on June 17, 1775, and was one of the first major battles of the American Revolution. The British ended up winning the battle, and as a result, they had firm control over the Charlestown Peninsula. This loss didn’t stop the Americans; it gave them a huge amount of encouragement and taught them that being devoted could help them beat the British. It also taught the British that this fight would be long, and costly.
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Thomas Jefferson had a reputation of being articulate and well-spoken, so he was given the task of creating a draft for what would be used as the declaration of independence. It took him around 17 days to create the constitution, and 2 days for the Second Continental Congress to make some changes and revise it. On July 4, 1776, Congress voted to accept the Declaration of Independence, We now celebrate this holiday every year to remind ourselves of our freedom.
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The Battles of Saratoga are considered the biggest turning point in the Revolutionary War. The first battle, the Battle of Freeman's farm, was fought on September 19. General John Burgoyne led his troops South, but was stopped and harassed 10 miles below Saratoga. Burgoyne lost 2 men for everyone one on the Americans side. The second battle, the Battle of Bemis Height, was on October 2. This battle was prompted over Burgoynes determination to break free from colonial forces.
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The Battle of Monmouth was set to begin without George Washington, but with his subordinate General Charles Lee and about ⅓ of his army men, on June 28, 1778. They were ordered to harass the British, under general Sir Henry Clinton, until George and the rest of his army could get there. Charles had a bad start to the fight he was supposed to start, so he retreated. Henry decided to evacuate on water, causing the British to win.
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Baylor’s Massacre, also known as the Tappan Massacre, occurred on September 27, 1778, in what is now Rivervale, New Jersey. The British were alerted of the presence of George Baylor’s troops, so they moved in and ambushed them. The British broke into the barns where they slept, and stabbed them. 11 people were stabbed to death, 4 passed away later, 33 were taken prisoner, while the rest fled into the woods.
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The DeWint House is the oldest surviving structure in Rockland County, New York. It was George Washington’s temporary headquarters 4 times during the Revolutionary War. It is named after the houses owners, Johnnes and Antje DeWint, whose son-in-law was acquaintances with Washington. His first stay was from August 8-24, 1780. One interesting event that accrued in this house was Washington signing John Andres execution warrant for his hanging.
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On September 21, 1780, Benedict Arnold had turned his back on his country, and went to a secret meeting with the top British official. Arnold had been in communication with a British spy, John Andre. Andre had been found, and while he was being executed, Arnold had fled to the British. They weren’t very welcoming because many blamed him for the death of Andre. When George Washington found out about Arnold, he said to find him and shot him on site. He ended up dying in 1801.
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John Andre was a mayor of the British army during the Revolution, and head of it’s Secret Service in America. When he was found as a spy, George Washington put together a board of people to investigate his case. They found that he was working with another man, Benedict Arnold who turned traitor, but Andre never put the blame on him. Andre was found guilty of his crimes on September 29, 1780, and he was hung on October 2.
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After America received its freedom, they needed to establish their own government. On June 12, 1776, the Second Continental Congress appointed a committee of 13, one representative from each state, to prepare a draft of the constitution. After much debate, the final draft was finished on November 15, 1777, and submitted for ratification the same month. After every state approving these articles, they finally went into play on March 1, 1781.
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The Battle of Yorktown occurred from September 28, to October 19, 1781, and concluded one of the last major battles of the Revolutionary War. George Washington put Alexander Hamilton in charge of ambushing redoubt No. 10. They attacked British General Charles Cornwallis’s men at night, and when they tried to flee, they were blocked. Cornwallis knew he had no way out, and surrendered. This win paved a way for America’s independence, and boosted George Washington’s reputation as a great leader.
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The Treaty of Paris ended the Revolutionary War, and was finalized on September 3, 1783. The British formally recognized American Independence, and yielded much of its land east of the Mississippi River to the U.S. A few terms of the treaty were resolving any debts that Americans owed the British creditors, allowing citizens from either place to navigate in the Mississippi river, and giving fair treatment to the Americans who stayed loyal to Great Britain during the war.
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The Constitutional Convention, also known as the hundred day debate, took place from May 14, to September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia. The original point of the convention was to discuss the revision of the Articles of Confederation, but many delegates had bigger plans: they wanted to create a whole new government. During the convention they established a federal government and it’s specific powers. This is the government we use today.
