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George Whitefield Spreads Great Awakening
George Whitefield's method of spreading beliefs known as "field preaching" really helped spread the ideas of the Great Awakening. He would travel from place to place gathering thousands to hear what he had to say. He and other field preachers created the competition in churches that is present today. Because his thoughts were different than the preachers his audience had previously heard, this method created a movement that led people to believe they were entitled to their own opinions. -
French & Indian War Begins
Also known as the Seven Years War, The French and Indian War was between the rival nations of England and France and their allies. The colonies and some allied Native American tribes fought against the French and other Native American tribes. The British eventually won the war and gained much of the French lands in Canada. The colonists felt they had held their own against the mighty French forces and this made the colonists realize that they could manage themselves without England's help. -
Pontiac's Rebellion
Pontiac's rebellion was an attack on the frontier colonists by the Native American tribes of the region. Chief Ponitac gathered his and other neighboring tribes to take a stand against the colonists settling on their land. The natives were angry because they were losing land to the colonists and they were getting nothing in return. England did not think the militas in the colonies could handle the revolt so they sent Redcoats to help. This occasion led to the Proclamation of 1763. -
Proclamation of 1763
Caused by Pontiac's Rebellion the Proclamation of 1763 was established by England to try to limit the western boundaries of the colonists. It prohibited any British colonist from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains. This infuriated the colonists. They felt they were entitled to this land because they helped in winning the French and Indian War. However, even after the Proclamation was passed, thousands of colonists still moved and tried to settle in the forbidden areas. -
Sugar Act
The Sugar Act placed heavy taxes on foreign sugar as well as other goods. It also said that smugglers would be tried in courts led by British officials. The Sugar Act was the first of many of England's ways to tax the colonies. Fresh off the French and Indian War, England was in debt and needed to pay it off. They felt that since the colonists played a role in starting the war, they should help pay for it. -
Quartering & Stamp Acts Imposed
Like the Sugar Act, the Quartering Act as well as the Stamp Act was imposed on the colonies to make them pay for the debt England owed because of the French and Indian War. The Quartering Act required that colonists would be responsible for housing and feeding of the Redcoats that were stationed in the Colonies. The Stamp Act placed a tax on almsot all paper goods. These two taxes being placed on the colonists led to the concept of "No Taxation Without Representation!" -
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts created another way England could make the colonists pay for their debt. They placed new taxes on tea, glass, paper, and lead that was imported into the colonies. These were very common goods but most colonists were not opposed to the Townshend Acts because only the merchants had to pay the taxes. However this did reiterate the fact that the colonists had no say in government but were still being taxed. -
British Troops Move Into Colonies
Fearing rebellion from the colonists, England decided it was necessary to send over more Redcoats to be sure everything was safe and to protect the English tax collectors. This led to more colonists having to quarter and pay for the extra troops. Tensions were mounting on both sides. -
Boston Massacre
The British soldiers that were stationed in the colonies were not welcomed by most colonists. This led to poor relationships between the Redcoats and colonists. In 1770, a group of Redcoats were stationed in Boston. The colonists of the area were taunting and harrassing the soldiers. Shots were fired and five colonists ended up dead. John Adams was the attorney for the British soldiers in court. He made sure they were not found guilty knowing it would cause a cry for revolution by the colonists. -
Committees of Correspondence formed
The Committee of Correspondence was organized by Samuel Adams. He used this committe as a way to secretly communicate with each other. The Committe focused on convincing others that they were not getting the rights they deserved from England. The Committe was danderous business because it was sometimes difficult to tell if a person was a loyalist or a rebel. -
1st Continental Congress Meets
In response to the Intolerable Acts delegats from all of the colonies except Georgia met to discuss the plans for the country heading forward. The Congress was not totally against England yet but they knew the country was on the brink of war. The Congress was one way leaders of the colonies could talk because other forms of communication took a long time. -
Intolerable Acts Imposed
England felt they needed to impose the Intolerable Acts upon the colonists after the Boston Tea Party. The Intolerable Acts included the closing of Boston Harbor until the tea was paid for. Also it increased requirements on the Quartering Act. The colonists now had to welcome the Redcoats into their own homes. English officials were now to be tried in England no matter the crime. It also led the Quebec Act which gave land claimed by the colonist to Quebec. -
Boston Tea Party
In March 1774, ships full of tea were stationed in the Boston Harbor. The colonists refused to buy the tea because they refused to pay the tax on the tea. Because the colonists would not buy the tea is just sat on the ships. One night a group of colonists dressed up like Indians and boarded the tea ships. They proceeded to dump 45 tons of unpurchased tea into the Boston Harbor. This obviously angered the British and they responded by imposing the Intolerable Acts. -
2nd Continental Congress Meets
At the end of the First Continental Congress it was decided that they would meet again a few months after the original. All of the members of the original were there plus a few new members. At the time of the second meeting, shots had already been fired at Lexington and Concord. The Revolution had begun. The Second Continental Congress still tried to keep peace but at the same time prepared for war. George Washington was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Continental army. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord signaled the beginning of the American Revolution. In Lexington, the Redcoats came across the colonial militia. The two groups exchanged words and shots were fired. The British continued on having killed eight Americans. At Concord, the Redcoats came across another militia. People were killed on both sides. These two battles and came to be known as "The shot heard round the world". -
Declaration of Indepence Signed
The Declaration of Independence is one of the most storied documents in United States History. Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, and Thomas Jefferson made up the Declaration committee. Jefferson was appointed by the committee to write the Declaration. One the Fourth of July the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration. -
The Colonists and their Allies
Following the major American Victory at Saratoga, many European countries began to make their presence in the war be felt. Before, both Spain and France were giving the colonists supplies. After the battle, France took their alliance with the Americans to a whole new level. They signed two treaties with the Americans which bettered the relationship between the countries. The Americans knew that if they were to win this war they would need some help. They got this help from England's rivals. -
The Turning Point
Following major losses in the North, England thought they could rescue some confidence by winning easy battles in the south and reuniting with southern loyalists. The southern Militias led by Nathanael Greene was up for the challenge. The British troops overran Georgia and were on the verge of overcoming Charleston when Greene's men trapped a group of Redcoats at King's Mountain. The Americans were fresh off their worst loss of the War so winning this battle was key in turning around momentum. -
Cornwallis Surrenders
Following the Battle at King's Mountain, General Cornwallis moved his men to the city of Yorktown. He thought he and his men would be able to regroup here becuase he knew Washington and his men were preoccupied in New York. Cornwallis also thought that the British Navy controlled the Chesapeake Bay. During the summer of 1781, Washington's troops marched to Yorktown and met the French fleet that had overcome the British Navy in the Chesapeake. Cornwallis was surrounded and forced to surrender. -
Treaty of Paris Signed
Even after General Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, King George III still wanted to continue the fighting. The war lasted about a year after the surrender at Yorktown. The War officially ended in March 1782 when peace talks between England and the United States began. However the Americans had previously made allies with the French who were still at war with England. It wasn't until September 1783 that England, France, America, and even Spain made peace with the Treaty of Paris.