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Revolutionary War Era
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Albany Plan of the Union
This document was written by Benjamin Franklin in Albany at a meeting of colonial representatives that established a system of recruiting troops and collecting taxes from the various colonies for their defense in light of the upcoming French and Indian War. -
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French and Indian War
This war between the French and the British, who were aided by the colonists, was fought in the colonies from 1754 to 1763 and ended with the Peace of Paris. This was was significant because it contributed to the unity and the increase of colonial pride, which in turn contributed to the Revolutionary War. -
Peace of Paris
This treaty between Britain and France declared the end to the French and Indian War, and it gave Britain the majority of the North American Continent. -
Pontiac's Rebellion
Pontiac's Rebellion was a Native American uprising against the new British rule and their harsher policies in 1763. Pontiac and the Ottawas and Objibwas, along with other tribes, attacked the British fort at Detroit. Ultimately, after months of siege, the British forces put down the uprising, but it made the British aware of the tension with the Native American tribes. -
Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 was an order from the British that the colonists could not settle west of the Appalachians, which included the Ohio River Valley, a coveted farming region. This Proclamation following the French and Indian War angered the colonists who felt that they had earned the right to expand their territory. -
Sugar Act
This act placed a higher tax on luxuries such as sugar, coffee, and molasses, and it also prompted the British to be more prudent about enforcing the Navigation Acts. This act was intended to raise the revenue of the Crown due to the taxes and the increase in trade with the British West Indies. -
Quartering Act
This act required the colonists to provide lodging and food for the British soldiers who were in the colonies to protect them. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act required the colonists to stamp most printed papers in the colonies, like pamphlets, letters, advertisements, newspapers, and this angered the colonists and encouraged them to form the Stamp Act Congress to protest it. Eventually, in 1766, the British passed the Declaratory Acts which repealed the controversial Stamp Act but also established the Parliament's right to create any laws or taxes in the colonies. -
Townshend Acts
These acts, proposed by chancellor Charles Townshend, places new taxes on tea, glass and paper, and it also allowed British officers to search homes for smuggled goods. It also established that only a writ of assistance, a general search warrant for anywhere, was required for these searches. When the colonists boycotted and John Dickinson's Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania were written, the British were prompted to repeal these acts too in 1770, but they retained the Tea Tax. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was the result of colonists harassing the British officers, and the officers defended themselves by firing into the crowd, thus killing 5. John Adams represented the officers in their trials and they were acquitted by virtue of self-defense. However, this incident continued to enrage the colonists and was a contributing factor to the Revolution. -
Gaspee Incident
This incident occurred after the Gaspee had just caught a number of smugglers and then came aground off the coast of RI; some colonists disguised as Native Americans attacked the ship due to their hatred of the customs vessel. The attackers were sent for trials in Britain, but this violent act rekindled the streak of violence and rebellion which had been relatively dormant for the last couple of years. -
Tea Act
The Tea Act of 1773 lowered the price of the British tea but retained the tax as a measure of dominance. This price cut made the British tea cheaper than the Dutch tea, but many of the colonists continued to boycott British tea on principle. -
Boston Tea Party
This infamous incident occurred in December 1773 when some colonists dressed up as Native Americans boarded the British tea ship in the harbor and threw nearly 350 chests of tea in the harbor in protest of the tea taxes and the recent Tea Act. This protest was met with mixed reactions as some colonists agreed with the protest and some thought it was too radical. -
Intolerable Acts
The Coercive Act and Quebec Act were grouped together under this label, the Intolerable Acts, and they served as fuel for the Revolution. The Quebec Act of 1774 reorganized Canada, extended their boundary, and gave them the power to assembly, all of which angered the colonists who were being denied these very rights. -
Coercive Acts
These acts aimed to punish the colonists, particularly those in Massachusetts, for the Boston Tea Party. These acts included: The Part Act, which closed the Boston Port until the tea was compensated; the Mass. Government Act, which took power away from the legislature and gave it to the Royal Governor; the Administration of Justice Act, which allowed royal officials to be tried in Great Britain as opposed to the colonies; and the extension of the Quartering Act, which included private homes of a -
1st Continental Congress
This group which met in Philadelphia in 1774 to decide how the colonies should respond to the various British acts and policies that they felt trespassed on their rights. The delegates represented a broad spectrum of political opinions, from radicals like John and Sam Adams and Patrick Henry to conservatives such as John Jay and Joseph Galloway. -
Lexington and Concord
This first battle of the Revolution occurred just outside of Boston on April 18th, 1775. The British troops led by General Thomas Gage were sent to raid supplies of the colonial militia, who were forewarned by the famous William Dawes and Paul Revere. The colonists initially retreated and the supplies were taken, but the colonists struck again on the return to Boston and both humiliated and incapacitated the British forces. -
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Revolution
From Lexington-Concord to Treaty of Paris, which officially ended the war in 1783. -
2nd Continental Congress
This Congress met in Philadelphia in May of 1775 right after Lexington and Concord; this Congress is known for the debate between fighting and negotiating with Britain. Ultimately, the delegates voted to take up a Declaration of the Causes and Necessities for Taking Up Arms, which asked the colonies to send their militias, but they also decided to send the Olive Branch Petition to King George III, which he dismissed with the Prohibitory Act in August of 1775. This Congress also appointed George -
Bunker Hill
This battle followed two months after Lexington and Concord on June 17th, 1775 just outside of Boston, and the colonists were victorious after a few skirmishes and some severe casualties for the British. -
Olive Branch Petition
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Declaration of Independence
This document was famously written by Thomas Jefferson with the aid of Sam Adams and Benjamin Franklin, and it declared the colonies independent from Britain due to the long lists of grievances. -
Saratoga
This battle is said to be the turning point in the war because after this battle in October of 1777 the French decided to ally with the colonists and send support forces, which provided more experienced troops and more supplies. -
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Winter at Valley Forge
This is where the Colonial Army camped in the winter of 1777-1778, which was a significant loss for the army due to disease and lack of supplies along with the harsh winter. -
Yorktown
This was the last significant battle of the Revolutionary War in 1781, and George Washington's colonial army defeated the British forces led by Lord Cornwallis. -
Articles of Confederation
This founding document for the US was created in order to form the structure of the government. While it established some effective governing policies, it failed to unite the nation and create a stabile government. -
Treaty of Paris
This treaty between Britain and the United States officially recognized the end of the Revolutionary War as well as the independence of the US. This treaty also provided that the Mississippi River was the western boundary of the US, that Americans could fish off of Canada, and that the Americans would compensate the merchants for their goods seized during the war.