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French and Indian War
1754 Frasnce built Fort Duquesne near the Ohio Valley River. Britian then tries to evict the French, but war errupts -
Treaty of Paris
Ended the French and Indian War. Giving Britian All of the land west of the Mississippi River and Cananda. Also recivied Flordia from Spain -
Proclamation of 1763
A Provclamation line along the Appalachians that forbid colonist to move westward. This was put in place due to Native tension. -
Sugar Act & colonists response
Halved the duty on foreign-made molassaes, Placed duties on certain imports that had never been taxed, and people caught not following the act would be tried in a vice-admiralty (tried by single judge) Colonist complained -
Stamp Act & Colonist Response
Imposed taxes on documents and printed items. May of 1765 colonist unite together to defy the law. Merchants boycotted British goods. 1766 repealed act -
Declaratory Act
Declaratory Act passed same day as the Stamp Act was repealed. The Act asserted Parliaments full right "to bind colonies and people of America in all cases whatsoever" -
Sons of Liberty is formed and Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams was one of the Sons of Liberty. Led colonists to boycott british goods -
Townshend Acts & Colonist Response
Parliment passed townshend acts, named after Charles Townshend. Act taxed goods that were importened into the colony from Britian. Acts also imposed a tax on tea. Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty boycotted British goods again after this. -
Boston Massacre
March 5, 1770, mob gathered in front of the Boston Customs House and taunted the British soldiers standing guard. Shots fired and 5 colonists, including Crispus Attucks, were killed or mortally wounded. Colonist quickly labled this conflict the Boston Masscre -
Tea Act
British gave the East India Company special concessions in the colonial tea business and shut out colonial tea merchants. Colonists in Boston rebeled and dumped 18,000 pounds of East India Company tea into the Boston Harbor. 1773, Lord North devised the Tea Act to save nearly bankrupt British East India Company. Act granted the company right to sell tea to colonies free of taxes that colonial tea sellers had to pay.Action would've cut colonial merchants out of the tea trade. -
The Boston Tea Party
1773, Lord North devised the Tea Act to save the nearly bankrupt British East Indian Company. Evening of December 16,1773 large group of Boston rebels disguised themselves as Natives Americans and dumped 18,000 pounds of tea into the Boston Harbor. -
Intolerable Acts
1774, Parliament passed series of measures that colonists call the Intolerable Acts in response to King George lll's pressure. One law shut down Boston Harbor, another, the Quartering Act, authorized British commanders to house soldiers in vacant private homes and other buildings. General Thomas Gage, commander-in-chief of British forces in N. America was appointed new governor of Massachusetts. To keep peace he placed Boston under martial law -
First Continental Congress Meets
The committies of corresponences assenbled the First Continental Congress in response to Britain's actions. September of 1774, 56 delegates met in Philadelphia and drew up a Declaration of Colonial Rights. They declared the colonies right to run their own affairs and stated that, if the British used force against the colonies, the colonies should fight back. -
Minute Men
Colonists is eastern New England towns stepped up Military preparations after the First Continental Congress met. Minute Men-civilian soldiers who pledged to be ready to fight against the British on a minutes notice-quietly stockpiled firearms and gunpowder. Spring of 1775, General Thomas Cage ordered troops to march from Boston to Concord, Massachuetts and seize illegal weapons -
Continental Army
Congress agreed to recognize the colonial militia as the COntinental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander. -
Midnight Riders: Revere, Dawes, and Prescott
Night of April 18, 1775 Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott rode out to spread word that 700 British troops were headed toward Concord. -
Battle at Lexington
April 19, 1775 British commander ordered minutemen to lay down arms and leave. Colonist began to leave without putting down their muskets, someone fired, and the British send a bolley of shots, killing 18, and wounded 10. First battle of the revolutionary wat, only lasted 15 minutes -
Battle of Concord
British marched to Concord where they found an empty arsenal. Briish lined up to march back to Boston when suddenly the march became a slaughter. 3,000-4,000 minutemen had soldiers went back to Boston humiliated Boston and its encampment of British soldoers was under siege -
Second Continental Congress
Colonial leaders called the Second Continental Congress back to Philiadelphia to debate their next move. The loyalities that divided colonists sparked endless debates. Despite the differences the Congress agreed the colonial militia is the Continetal Army and George Washington as its commander. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
British general Thomas Gage decided to strike at militiamen on Breeds Hill near Bunker Hill. June 17, 1775 Gage sent 2,400 soldiers up the hill. Colonists lost 450 men and British suffered over 1,00 casualties. Misnamed Battle of Bunker Hill would prove to be the deadliest battle of the war. -
Olive Branch Petiton
By July, The Second Continental Congress was readying the colonies for war, though still hoping for peace. Most colonist felt loyal to George lll and blamed bloodshed on kings minsters. July 8th congress sent the king the so called Olive Branch Petition, urging a return "former harmony" between British and the colonies. King George rejected the petition. He issued a proclamation stating the colonies were in rebellion and urged Parliment to order a naval blockade to isolate the colonies -
John Locke's Social Contract
John Locke was one of the key enlightenment thinkers. He contened every society is based on social contract- an agreement in which the people consent to choose and obey a government so long as it safeguards their natural rights. If the government takes or interferces with those rigohts, the people have the right to over throw a government. -
Publication of Common Sense
Publication of Common Sense were the ideas of of Thomas Paine. It was a 50 page pamphlet in which Paine attacks King George and the Monarchy. He argued that responsiblity of British tryanny layed with the "royal brute of Britian". -
Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson chosen to prepare the final draft. Drew from Lockes idea of natural rights -
Loyalists and Patriots
As war began, Americans found themselves on different sides of conflict. Loyalists- those who opposed independence and remained loyal to British king- included judges and govenors, as well as people of more modest means. Thought British were going to win and wanted to avoid punishment as rebels, thought the Crown would protect their rights more effectively than the new colonial government. Patriots- supporters of independence- drew numbers from people who saw political and economic opportunity -
Redcoats Push Washington's Army Across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania
British attempted to sezie New York as part of a plan to isolate New England. British sailed into New York harbor in summer of 1776 with force of about 32,000 soldiers. Continental Army attempted to defend New York but in late August, the poorly equipped colonial troops retreated. By late fall, British had pushed Washington's army across Delaware River and into Pennsylvania. -
Washington's Christmas Night Surprise Attack
Late fall Washington was pushed accrossed the Delaware River. Looking for a victory George Washington risked everything and led 2,400 soldiers across the river to Trenton, New Jersey. -
Saratoga
General John Burgoyne planned to lead an army down a route of lakes from Canada to Albany, where he would meet British troops as they arrived from New York City. The two regiments would then join forces to isolate New England from the rest of the colonies. American troops finally surrounded
Burgoyne at Saratoga, where he surrendered on October 17, 1777. -
French-American Alliance
Although the French had secretly aided the Patriots since
early 1776, the Saratoga victory bolstered France’s belief
that the Americans could win the war. As a result, the
French signed an alliance with the Americans in February
1778 and openly joined them in their fight. -
Valley Forge
Washington and his Continental Army—desperately low on
food and supplies—fought to stay alive at winter camp in
Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. More than 2,000 soldiers died,
yet the survivors didn’t desert. -
Friedrich von Steuben and Marquis de Lafayette
In February 1778, in the midst of the frozen winter at Valley
Forge, American troops began an amazing transformation.
Friedrich von Steuben, a Prussian captain and talented drillmaster, helped to train the Continental Army. Other foreign military leaders, such as the Marquis de Lafayette also arrived to offer their help. -
British Victories in the South
At the end of 1778, a British expedition easily took Savannah, Georgia. In their greatest victory of the war, the British under Generals Henry Clinton and Charles Cornwallis captured Charles Town, South Carolina, in May 1780. In early 1781, despite several defeats, the colonists continued to battle
Cornwallis—hindering his efforts to take the Carolinas. The British general then chose to move the fight to Virginia. He led his army of 7,500 onto the peninsula between the James and York rivers and -
British Surrender at Yorktown
Shortly after learning of Corwallis’s actions, the armies of Lafayette and Washington moved south toward Yorktown. Meanwhile, a French naval force defeated a British fleet and then blocked the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay, thereby obstructing British sea routes to the bay. By late September, about 17,000 French and American troops surrounded the British on the Yorktown peninsula and began bombarding them day and night. Less than a month later, on October 19, 1781, Cornwallis finally surrendere -
Treaty of Paris
Peace talks began in Paris in 1782. The American negotiating team included
John Adams, John Jay of New York, and Benjamin Franklin. In September 1783, the delegates signed the Treaty of Paris, which confirmed U.S. independence and set the boundaries of the new nation. The United States now stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River and from Canada to
the Florida border.
