-
Period: to
French and Indian War
Also known as the Seven Years’ War, it was ended by the Treaty of Paris, caused France to lose all of its land east of the Mississippi River to Britain, and influenced Britain to impose taxes on the colonies. -
Stamp Act
Intended to help pay for war efforts, it was a tax on all paper goods by requiring the use of stamps. Colonists refused to used stamps and rioted. -
Townshend Act
British added more taxes on paper, paint, lead, glass, etc. -
Boston Massacre
In Boston, a small British army that was threatened by mob harassment from tax resistance, opened fire and killed five people. -
Tea Act
The British imposed an extra tax on tea shipped to the colonists. -
Boston Tea Party
Protesting both a tax on tea and the monopoly of the East India Company, a party of Bostonians thinly disguised as Indians boarded ships and dumped some £10,000 worth of tea into the harbor. -
Intolerable Acts
In retaliation for colonial resistance to British rule , the British Parliament enacted four measures: the Boston Port Act, Massachusetts Government Act, Administration of Justice Act, and Quartering Act. -
First Continental Congress
Called by the Committees of Correspondence in response to the Intolerable Acts, the First Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia. Fifty-six delegates represented all the colonies except Georgia. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord (Paul Revere’s Ride)
Paul Revere rode from Charlestown to Lexington to warn that the British were marching to seize the colonial armory at Concord.
It is unclear who fired the first shot, but it sparked a skirmish that left the British outnumbered and forced to retire to Boston. Total losses in the Battles of Lexington and Concord numbered 273 British and more than 90 Americans. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
Part of the American siege of British-held Boston, Some 2,300 British troops eventually cleared the hill of the entrenched Americans, but at the cost of more than 40 percent of the assault force. The battle was a moral victory for the Americans. -
Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense”
Paine’s 50-page pamphlet, couched in elegant direct language, sold more than 100,000 copies within a few months. More than any other single publication, Common Sense paved the way for the Declaration of Independence. -
Declaration of Independence
After the Congress recommended that colonies form their own governments, the Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson and revised in committee. On July 2 the Congress voted for independence; on July 4 it adopted the Declaration of Independence. -
Battle of Saratoga
Moving south from Canada in summer 1777, a British force under Gen. John Burgoyne captured Fort Ticonderoga before losing decisively at Vermont, and New York. His forces depleted, Burgoyne surrendered at Saratoga. -
Articles of Confederation Ratified
The Articles of Confederation, a plan of government organization that served as a bridge between the initial government by the Continental Congress and the federal government provided under the U.S. Constitution, were written and adopted by the Congress. -
Beginning of Battle of Yorktown
After winning a costly victory in North Carolina, Lord Cornwallis entered Virginia to join other British forces there, setting up a base at Yorktown. Washington’s army and a force under the French Count de Rochambeau placed Yorktown under siege, and Cornwallis surrendered his army of more than 7,000 men. -
End of Battle of Yorktown
After winning a costly victory in North Carolina, Lord Cornwallis entered Virginia to join other British forces there, setting up a base at Yorktown. Washington’s army and a force under the French Count de Rochambeau placed Yorktown under siege, and Cornwallis surrendered his army of more than 7,000 men. -
Treaty of Paris
After the British defeat at Yorktown, the land battles in America largely died out—but the fighting continued at sea. By its terms, Britain recognized the independence of the United States with generous boundaries, including the Mississippi River on the west.
