-
It was sparked by French and British competition for the ancestral Indian lands in the vast Ohio Valley; whichever nation/colony controlled the valley would control the entire continent due to the importance of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. After lots of bloodshed, Washington surrendered after seeing a third of his 300 men killed.
-
Required colonists to purchase paper with an official government stamp for basically every possible use; newspapers, bonds, leases, pamphlets, deeds, licenses, insurance policies, college diplomas, as well as playing cards. The Stamp Act was the first effort by parliament to place a tax directly on American goods and services rather than having an "external" tax on imports and exports. -
To help pay the expenses involved in governing the American colonies, Parliament passed the Townshend Acts, which initiated taxes on glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea. Nonimportation. In response to new taxes, the colonies again decided to discourage the purchase of British imports. -
The violent clash on March 5, 1770 began with an argument that led to a riot outside of the Customs House. Captain Preston of the 29th Regiment arrived with eight fellow Redcoats to extract White from the square. The crowd pressed on the soldiers and shots were fired by the Redcoats. British sentries guarding the Boston Customs House shot into a crowd of civilians, killing three men and injuring eight, two of them mortally. -
Parliament responded in 1774 with the Intolerable Acts, or Coercive Acts, which, among other provisions, ended local self-government in Massachusetts and closed Boston's commerce. It led up to the revolutionary war. It showed rebellion and the want for independence. The Sons of Liberty dressed up as Mohawk Indians, boarded a tea ship, and threw off 342 chests of tea into the Boston Harbor. -
The Revolutionary war was well under way when Thomas Paine wrote and published Common Sense. Paine's pamphlet convinced American rebels that independence was inevitable. On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was created. -
The Battle of Saratoga fought in two stages on September 19 and October 7, 1777, proved to be a turning point in the American struggle for independence. It also had a direct impact on the career of General George Washington. The American defeat of the superior British army lifted patriot morale, furthered the hope for independence, and helped to secure the foreign support needed to win the war. -
The Articles of Confederation served as the written document that established the functions of the national government of the United States after it declared independence from Great Britain. Congress was given the authority to make treaties and alliances, maintain armed forces and coin money.
-
Valley Forge was significant not only for the reshaping Washington's army, but for the dedication, endurance, and resilience demonstrated by the Americans in their cause for Independence. The site of the 1777-1778 winter encampment of George Washington and the Continental Army. -
The treaty gave Britain control of important French colonies around the world. As compensation, the treaty gave Spain control over the Louisiana territory and France was left with no territory on the North American continent. Once signed, it ended the revolutionary war.