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George III becomes king England
George III became heir to the throne on the death of his father in 1751, succeeding his grandfather, George II, in 1760. He was the third Hanoverian monarch and the first one to be born in England and to use English as his first language. -
The Stamp Act
An act that imposed a direct tax on the British colonies in America and required that many printed materials in the colonies be produced on stamped paper. -
The stamp act congress meets in New York City
The Stamp Act Congress met in the Federal Hall building in New York City between October 7 and 25, 1765. It was the first colonial action against a British measure and was formed to protest the Stamp Act issued by British Parliament on March 1765. -
Parliament passes the townshend acts
Series of measures, passed by the British parliament in 1767, that taxed goods imported to the American colonies. -
The Boston Massacre
Deadly riot in which British soldiers shot and killed several people while being harassed by a mob in Boston. -
First shots of the American Revolution
The British marched into Lexington and conquered intending to suppress the possibility of rebellion by seizing weapons from the colonist. -
The Boston Tea Party
A political protest where American colonists were frustrated and angry at Britain for imposing "taxation without representation" dumped 342 chests of tea. -
The Coercive Acts
Series of four laws was passed by the British parliament to punish the colony of Massachusetts Bay for the Boston Tea Party. -
The Olive Branch Petition
The Olive Branch Petition was adopted by Congress on July 5th, 1775 to be sent to the King as a last attempt to prevent formal war from being declared. The Petition emphasized their loyalty to the British crown and emphasized their rights as British citizens. -
First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia
Delegates from twelve of Britain's thirteen American colonies met to discuss America's future under growing British aggression. -
Second Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia
The Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the 13 colonies that started meeting on May 10, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon after the American Revolutionary War had begun. -
The Adoption of the Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. The document announced the separation of 13 North American British colonies from Great Britain. It was the last of a series of steps that led the colonies to final separation from Great Britain.