-
Treaty of Paris (French and Indian War)
When the Seven Years’ War ended in 1763, Britain won and claimed all of North America east of the Mississippi River. The land claim was the Treaty of Paris. To reward Spain for its help, France gave it New Orleans and Louisiana, the French territory west of the Mississippi. The treaty ended French power in North America. -
Proclamation of 1763
As Native Americans retreated in the fall of 1763, the British government saw that defending the western lands would be costly. They then passed the Proclamation of 1763. This act didn’t allow colonists to settle west of the Appalachian Mountains. This angered colonists. -
Sugar Act
Parliament passed the Sugar Act in 1764. This act puts a tax on sugar, molasses and other products shipped to the colonies. It called for strict enforcement of the act, and harsh punishment for the smugglers. People who often traded smuggled goods reacted angrily. -
Stamp Act
In 1765, parliament passed the Stamp Act. This required that all commercial and legal documents must carry a stamp saying that the tax has been paid for. It was a new tax for the colonies, and made colonists pay for the stamps with a silver coin, which was a scarce item. Colonial leaders were upset and the problem was clear, so they protested. They eventually repealed the act. -
Quartering Act
Parliament passed the Quartering Act in 1765. This act was cost-saving. It required that colonies had to house British soldiers and give them supplies. -
Boston Massacre
In the fall of 1768, 1000 British soldiers arrived in Boston and they brought tension. The soldiers were paid poorly so they would hire themselves out as workers, usually at rates lower than American workers. Since they were causing resentment, finally on March 5th, 1770, violence exploded. They started out sharing insults and then a fight broke out killing 5 laborers. John Adams then defended the British in court saying they acted out in self-defense since they shot first. -
Tea Act
In 1773, the Parliament passed the Tea Act, which gave Britain control over American tea trade. It also taxed regulated tea. This act made people, especially smugglers angry because they did not have to pay taxes on tea before. -
Boston Tea Party
On December 16, 1773, a group of colonial men dressed up as native americans and destroyed 342 crates of British tea by throwing them overboard over a ship. They dropped they into the Boston Harbor. It was organized the Sons of Liberty. This would finally show how angry they were with taxation without representation. Britain wanted repayment. -
Intolerable Acts
In 1774, parliament passed laws to punish the Massachusetts colony after the Boston Tea Party. They were supposed to be a warning to the other colonies so they don’t try doing the same thing. British called the laws Coercive Acts. Colonists renamed them to the Intolerable Acts because they were too harsh. -
First Continental Congress
In September 1774, delegates from all the colonies except Georgia met in Philadelphia for the First Continental Congress meeting. They voted to ban all trade with Britain until the Intolerable Acts were repealed. Also, they said that each colony had to start training troops. They would meet in another 7 months if needed. -
Battles of Lexingtion and Concord
On April 19th, 1775, about 700 British troops reached Lexington. The British commander ordered the Americans to drop their muskets but they refused. Eight militiamen lay dead, and no one knows who fired first. The British then marched to Concord and a fight broke out on the bridge north of town, causing the British to retreat. Lexington and Concord were the known as the first battles of the Revolutionary War. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress started meeting on May 10th in Philadelphia. During this time, they agreed to create the Continental Congress, which George Washington was commanding general. Some of the delegates at the meeting was John and Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and Patrick Henry. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
Tensions were growning in Boston in June of 1775 while militiamen got Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill. The British decided to attack because they were alarmed, and they crossed the bay with 2,200 soldiers. When British got close to them on Breed's Hill the militia fired, pushing British back but having them charge again. The British won, but at a huge cost of more than 1000 killed or wounded compared to 400 militia. -
Common Sense by Thomas Paine
In 1776, Thomas Paine published the pamphlet named Common Sense. It helped convince many Americans that a complete break with Britain was necessary. Common Sense was huge success by selling over than 10,000 copies in three months. Paine was also a recent immigrant from England. -
Declaration of Independence
On June 7th, 1776, Congress debated the resolution that Richard Henry Lee of Virginia introduced. His resolution was that the colonies were “free and independent states”. Delegates weren't ready to vote on it but a committee drafted the Declaration of Independence. The committee consisted of Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, and Thomas Jefferson. On July 2nd, 1776, they finally considered themselves independent. July 4th, 1776, Congress adopted the Declaration. -
Battle of Long Island (Battle of Brooklyn)
On August 27, 1776 the British Army successfully moved against the American Continental Army led by George Washington. The battle was part of a British campaign to seize control of New York and thereby isolate New England from the rest of the colonies. Washington's defeat could have led to the surrender of his entire force, but his ingenuity instead allowed him to escape and continue the fight. "Battle of Long Island." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. -
American Crisis by Thomas Paine
During the war, Paine witnesses the hard conditions and the soldiers’ low spirits on the retreat. He then published his first of his series of pamphlets: American Crisis. This was to urge the soldiers’ to keep fighting . Paine said, “These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” -
Battle of Trenton
Christmas night, Washington risked sending 2,400 men into small rowboats across the Delaware River. By 8 the next morning, the men marched nine mines to Trenton, New Jersey, and surprise-attacked the Hessians that were too drunk or sleeping to defend themselves. The Americans killed 30 and took 918 captives with six Hessian cannons. -
Battles of Saratoga
The Battles of Saratoga were the series of conflicts that led up to the surrender of Burgoyne. During this, it tried to convince European nations that Americans might win the war. Also, Benedict Arnold was angry that he was lacked recognition of heroic actions at Saratoga so that made him betray his army and agreed to turn an American fort to the British. -
Winter at Valley Forge
In the beginning of 1777-1778, George Washington and his army camped out at Valley Forge in southeast Pennsylvania. On their way there, his army lacked the necessities they need like shoes, hats, shirts, coats and they often had to amputate legs because they froze. Over the winter, many also died from malnutrition, cold, or diseases such as smallpox and typhoid fever. During this, some soldiers even would leave or desert the camp to go home, but some stayed for “the love of the country". -
Battle of Yorktown
During the Battle of Yorktown the American and French troops bombarded Yorktown with cannon fire. On October 19, 1781, Cornwallis surrendered his army of around 8000. He had no way out. Yorktown was the last major battle of the war. Britain’s new leaders negotiated a peace treaty about 2 years later -
Treaty of Paris (Revolutionary War)
As the winners, the Americans won rights to the Treaty of Paris of 1783 that ended the Revolutionary War. Some things the treaty said was that the United States was independent; its boundaries would be the Mississippi River on the west, Canada to the north, and Spanish Florida to the south; etc. With that, the America and Britain never fully lived up to the treaty’s terms. America never repay debts, and Britain did not return runaway slaves.
