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Sugar Act
The Sugar Act was the British tax on sugar, molasses, and other shipped goods. This tax was placed because after the French and Indian war, the British suffered from a great debt. This made the colonists angry because they now had to pay tax on sugar. The colonists began to smuggle and/or boycott British goods. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was a tax put on by the British in 1765. This required the colonists to pay taxes on printed materials, like newspapers, legal documents, magazines, and even playing cards. -
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts were a series of laws passed by the British government on the American colonies in 1767. This applied taxes onto paper, paint, lead, glass, and tea. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre occurred on March 5, 1770 when British soldiers in Boston opened fire on a group of American colonists killing five men. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a protest against British taxes, more specifically the Tea Act of 1773, in which the Sons of Liberty boarded British ships and dumped tea into Boston Harbor in 1773. -
Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts was a series of laws set up by Parliament to punish Massachusetts for its protests against the British, especially the Boston Tea Party. -
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress formed at September 1774. This was where the colonies had established their unity and autonomy to act. They agreed that they would boycott all British goods, and that each colony should form a militia. -
Battles of Lexington & Concord
The Battles of Lexington & Concord initiated the Revolutionary War between the American colonists and the British. British governor Thomas Gage sent troops to Concord to stop the colonists who were loading arms. The next day, on April 19, 1775, the first shots were fired in Lexington, starting the war. The battles resulted in a British retreat to Boston. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
This battle was the battle that made the British realize that beating the Americans would not be easy. The Americans charged in, killing 1000 men but had to retreat because they ran low on gunpowder. While the British did win, this battle was extremely pivotal in American history. -
Common Sense
Common Sense, written by Thomas Paine, challenged the authority of the British government and the royal monarchy. This was written anonymously. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress in 1776. The colonists wanted to break their political bonds that connected them from Britain and to declare their independence. -
Paris of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance
The Treaty of Amity and Commerce recognized the United States as an independent nation and encouraged trade between France and the America, while the Treaty of Alliance provided for a military alliance against Great Britain, saying that the absolute independence of the United States be recognized as a condition. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris was signed by both the U.S. and the British Representatives in September 1783. This treaty officially ended the War of the American Revolution.
