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aka 7 Years War between France and England. In the colonies, it was called the French Indian War because the colonists fought with British soldiers against France the Indians who were on side of France. Because of the war, England had a massive war debt began to tax the people in the 13 colonies. -
hands off approach by Great Britain; British policy of loosely enforcing laws and regulations in the American colonies, allowing them to govern themselves. -
The Stamp Act was a 1765 British tax requiring colonists in America to pay a direct tax on nearly all printed materials, including legal documents, newspapers, pamphlets, and playing cards, by purchasing special stamps to be affixed to them -
one of two British laws passed in the 1760s and 1770s that required American colonists to provide housing, food, and supplies for British soldiers. While the 1765 act did not force soldiers into private homes, the 1774 act, part of the Intolerable Acts, did allow for soldiers to be housed in colonists' private homes and buildings, significantly increasing colonial resentment and contributing to the American Revolution. -
a 1767 series of British parliamentary acts named after Charles Townshend, imposing taxes and duties on goods like glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea to pay for colonial administration and recoup war debt -
a deadly confrontation on March 5, 1770, in Boston, Massachusetts, where British soldiers fired into a crowd of colonists, killing five people and wounding others. -
a political protest on December 16, 1773, when members of the Sons of Liberty, disguised as Native Americans, boarded British East India Company ships in Boston Harbor and dumped 342 chests of tea into the water. -
a document adopted by the Second Continental Congress in July 1775, representing a final attempt by the American colonies to avoid war with Great Britain -
a series of four laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 to punish the American colony of Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party -
it marked the outbreak of war and the beginning of the fight for American independence from Britain, inspiring people worldwide -
the foundational document of the United States, officially severing the colonies' political ties with -
a governing body of the 13 American colonies that met from May 1775 to March 1781 -
Thomas Paine's Common Sense is an influential 1776 pamphlet arguing for American independence from British rule by presenting simple, logical arguments against monarchy and for the rights of self-government. Using plain language, it rallied public opinion by highlighting the benefits of a new republic, the injustices of British control, and America's potential to "begin the world over again"ons, allowing people to make sound, reasonable decisions based on experience and shared understanding -
the United States' first constitution, established between 1781 and 1789 -
a meeting of delegates from five states to address problems with interstate trade under the Articles of Confederation -
a meeting held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 25 to September 17, 1787, where delegates from 12 of the 13 original states (Rhode Island was absent) drafted the U.S. Constitution to create a stronger federal government than the one under the Articles of Confederation -
Shays' Rebellion was an armed uprising by Massachusetts farmers in 1786–1787, led by Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays, protesting high taxes, debt, and an unresponsive government under the Articles of Confederation. The rebellion, which involved attempts to close courthouses and seize a federal arsenal, highlighted the weaknesses of the weak central government and ultimately pushed for the creation of a more powerful U.S. Constitution.