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Treaty of Paris 1763
The treaty marked the end of the French and Indian war. The British gained control of the Ohio River Valley. -
Pontiac's uprising
After the French gave up its territory in the new world, many of their native allies were left at the hands of the British. In another attempt to prevent the British from taking the Ohio River Valley, they came together and destroyed Britsh posts past the Appalachians. -
Proclamation of 1763
After the British government took note of the conflicts with the natives, they issued a proclamation stating they could not settle past the Appalachian mountains. -
Sugar Act
After the French and Indian War, Britain was left with huge amounts of debt for its victory. In order to get their money back, they turned to the colonies. The sugar act was the beginning of many taxes that would cause the colonies to feel resentment towards the motherland. -
Stamp Act Congress
The stamp act proved to be the most controversial of all of the British taxes imposed on colonial America. Being passed on March 22nd of 1765, the colonies had already begun to plan it's repealing. On October 7th of 1765, the Stamp act congress met. Being made up of 27 delegates of 9 different colonies, the congress wrote their complaints to the British government. Although the effort was ignored by England, it's significance is important as it was one of the prime steps to intercolonial unity. -
Stamp act is repealed
After the introduction of more taxes, the colonist made their discontent clear. They understood that as English men, taxes had to be paid. However, as English men, they also deserved a voice in the British parliament. After protests of discontent, the Britsh government repealed the much-hated Stamp Act (tax on paper) and the protests disappeared for a while. -
Declaratory Act
The British parliament passed the Declaratory Act on the same day the Stamp Act was repealed. It reaffirmed parliaments right "to bind" the colonies at will. This upset colonial America. They would go on to do anything to secure a measure of sovereignty over themselves. -
Townshend Acts
After Charles Townshend was appointed as the head of the British ministry, he was able to convince parliament to pass the Townshend Acts. These acts included a tax on glass, white lead, paper, paint, and tea. The colonists weren't so affected by the new taxes yet still decided to smuggle goods to avoid them. -
Boston Massacre
After faced with open rebellion from the colonists, British officials sent two regiments of soldiers to Boston to further enforce control. The tensions were on an all-time high when a clash eventually erupted. On the evening of March 5th, 1770, a crowd of about 60 people began taunting and harassing 10 British soldiers. Snowballs were thrown at the soldiers. The snowballs turned to rocks and the rocks to oyster shells. The soldiers opened fire at the crowd, killing or wounding 11 people. -
The Townshend Acts Are Repealed
After seeing how ineffective the taxes were, parliament was forced to repeal the Townshend Acts. However, to assert how much power Parliament had, the left the much-hated tax on tea to provoke the colonists. -
Committees of Correspondence
In order to keep the spirit of resistance alive, Committees were created in order to help spread the news quicker. Although it started in Massachusettes, it would eventually lead to the creation of committees in every colony. This united effort would lead directly to the first American congress. -
The Boston Tea Party
Although the tax on tea had been lowered drastically, the colonists had a clear vision as to what they wanted. They didn't want cheaper tea, all they wanted was a voice in parliament. They refused to accept the now cheaper tea onto their ports. However, the Massachusetts governor ordered the ships full of tea to be allowed to dock. On December 16th of 1773, a radical group of people led by the Sons of Liberty boarded the ships and poured the tea onto the harbor. -
Intolerable Acts
After the Boston Tea Party, Parliament was ready to punish Boston Massachusetts for it. In what would become known as the Intolerable Acts, Parliament ordered the tea-stained harbor to be closed until damages were paid for. The Massachusettes charter was revoked, private assemblies were restricted, and Bostonians were ordered to quarter soldiers at any home they desired when told to do so. All the colonies could do was watch in fear and wonder if they would be next. -
First Continental Congress
Distinguished men from all but one of the colonies (Georgia) came together to address the issues they faced. Although they wanted to show rebellion towards the crown in order to make their voice heard, no-one desired total independence. -
Lexington and Concord
A detachment of soldiers was sent to seize gun powder from the ever more rebellious America. Minutemen were ready to fight for the gun powder and in the confusion, someone shot first. Outnumbered, the British were forced to retreat. This battle is symbolic as it is believed to be the start of the American Revolution. It would later be immortalized as "The shot heard round the world." -
Second Continental Congress
All colonies were represented in the Second Continental Congress. Although tensions with the English had increased dramatically, they still did not desire complete independence. They appointed then 43-year-old Goerge Washington as head of the continental army. -
Common Sense
Thomas Paine was a strong believer that it was time to declare independence from Britain. He wrote and published a pamphlet titled Common Sense. The pamphlet helped convince many of the still loyal colonists that only wished to reconsolidate with Britain, into accepting their desire for independence. -
Declaration of Independence
After agreeing on a complete break from the English crown, Thomas Jefferson was set to draft the Declaration of Independence. The document would go on to explain why the colonists were declaring independence and state the natural rights of men. -
Yorktown
The war had taken a heavy hit on both England and Britain. Colonial unity seemed to be withering away. However, when both sides were losing hope, British general Cornwallis fell into an American trap. The now allied French Surrounded and forced Cornwallis and his army to surrender. This would mark the last significant battle of the American Revolution. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris of 1783 was a formal treaty in which the British recognized the United States as a separate nation. The Americans promised to pay back the overdue debt to England. Loyalists were no longer prosecuted although many didn't acquire their confiscated land back. Britain's acceptance of defeat prevented the overall defeat of the crown in later years.
