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The Road to Independence
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Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris was signed on 10 February 1763, by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France and Spain, with Portugal in agreement. It ended the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War.The Treaty was made possible by the British victory over France and Spain, and marked the beginning of an era of British dominance outside Europe -
Proclamation of 1763
The Royal Proclamation of 1763 declared the boundaries of settlement for inhabitants of the 13 colonies to be Appalachia. -
Sugar Act
The Sugar Act was passed by the British Parliament. It actually lowered the previous Sugar Tax on molasses. -
Stamp Act
The act required that many printed materials in the colonies be produced on stamped paper produced in London, carrying an embossed revenue stamp. These printed materials were legal documents, magazines, newspapers, playing cards and many other types of paper used throughout the colonies. -
Stamp Act Repealed...Declaratory Act Passed
The Stamp Act is repealed the same day the Declaratory Act is passed. The Declaratory Act established the dependency of his Majesty's dominions in America upon the crown and parliament of Great Britain. -
The Townshend Acts
Taxes on glass, paint, oil, lead, paper, and tea were applied with the design of raising £40,000 a year for the administration of the colonies. The result was the resurrection of colonial hostilities created by the Stamp Act. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a street fight that occurred on March 5, 1770, between a "patriot" mob, throwing snowballs, stones, and sticks, and a squad of British soldiers. Several colonists were killed and this led to a campaign by speech-writers to rouse the ire of the citizenry. -
Boston Tea Party
Governor Thomas Hutchinson allowed three ships carrying tea to enter Boston Harbor. Before the tax could be collected, Bostonians took action. On a cold December night, radical townspeople stormed the ships and tossed 342 chests of tea into the water -
Intolerable Acts
The port of Boston was closed until the destroyed tea was paid for. The royal governor could ban town meetings. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
During the wee hours of April 19, 1775, he would send out regiments of British soldiers quartered in Boston. Their destinations were Lexington, where they would capture Colonial leaders Sam Adams and John Hancock, then Concord, where they would seize gunpowder. -
Second Continental Congress
The Congress met to discuss how the colonist would meet the military threat of the British. It was agreed that a Continental Army would be created. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
The British attacked Breed's Hill in three separate waves. They were pushed back the first two times. The Americans were running low on ammunition. Hand-to-hand fighting ensued. The British eventually took the hill, but at a great cost. Of the 2,300 British soldiers who had gone through the ordeal, 1,054 were either killed or wounded. -
Common Sense Published
Published in 1776, Common Sense challenged the authority of the British government and the royal monarchy. The plain language that Paine used spoke to the common people of America and was the first work to openly ask for independence from Great Britain. -
The Declaration of Independence
Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence in the morning of a bright, sunny, but cool Philadelphia day.
