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The Great Awakening
The Great Awakening was a period of revivalism that spread through the colonies in the 1730's through the 1740's. This minimized the importance of the church and instead put a greater importance on the idvidual and their spiritual experience. This event was important because it pushed individual religious experience over established church belief, thereby decreasing the importance and weight of the holy order and the church in many instances. It also unified the American colonies as it spread -
The Great Awakening
American colonies as it spread through many preachers and revivals. This unification was greater than had ever been achieved previously in the colonies. -
French and Indian War
The war started in 1754 and ended in 1763 the reason for this war is the indians built tents that was on the french and indian lands and fought until later when the British won. The colonists were so frustrated they had to pay to keep colonists off of their land. This changed the balance of power in North America. After one vistory the British captured Fort Dequesne and renamed it Fort Pitt after William Pitt. -
Sugar Act
The sugar act was the first law passed by parliament that was designed specifically to raise money in the colonies. The reason for this act was Britian was in debt and needed more money. The britians later put taxes on wine, molasses, coffee, and sugar. This resulted in a lot of unhappy people who did not want to have to give extra money to the Britians. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act affected most colonists because it required them to pay for an official stamp, or seal, whenever they bought paper items such as newspapers, pamphlets, licenses, legal documents, and playing cards. Colonists who refused to buy stamps could be tried in the hated Vice-Academy courts. -
Townshend Acts
Placed duties on imported glass, lead, paints, paper, and tea. The revenue from these duties was to pay military expenses and salaries of Colonial Governers. They started search warrants that allowed tax collectors to search for smuggled goods. The colonists responded to the Acts with another large-scale boycott of British goods. More soldiers were sent to Boston in red jackets (lobster backs). Took away taxes on everything except for tea. -
Boston Massacre
Many Bostonians saw the pressure of British tropps as a threat by the British government against it's critics in Massachusetts. Samuel Adams and other protesters quickly began using the indcident as propaganda. The Boston people referred to the killings as the Boston Massacre. -
Boston Tea Party
Three ships loaded with British tea arrived in Boston Harbor in November 1773. Thomas Hutchinson told the people to leave their tea on the boats and left them there for weeks. On the night of December 16, a group of colonists disguised as Indians crept into each of the the three tea-filled ships and dumped 90,000 pounds of tea into the Haror. The colonists headed home to remove their disguises. -
Tea Act
To reduce tension further in the colonies, Parliament repealed the Townshend Acts but kept tax on tea. They kept tax on tea to show they still claimed the right to the tax colonies. Other people were concerned that if East India gained monopoly on tea trade then they would loose all their money. -
Intolerable Acts
A punishment for the Boston Tea Party, in the spring of 1774 a parliament passed the Coercive Acts. The first of these four laws shut down the Boston Harbor until Boston paid for the destroyed tea. -
Battle of Lexington/Concord
Revere and William Dawes received word that the British were crossing the Charles River to march toward Concord. The two men hopped on their horses and rode through the countryside, warning the minutement "The Brithish are coming!" Issac Davis was one of the minutemen who heard warning. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
This was a moral victory for the colonists. It demonstarted that, despite superior British firepower, they could withstand a frontal assault from the British Army. Although the British gained control of the hill, they had suffered more than 1,000 casualties compared to 400 for the colonists. -
Common Sense
News of Paine's pamphlet Common Sense which argued for breaking away from Great Britian, spread throughout the thirteen colonies. Within three months, colonists had bought around 12,000 copies. Common Sense achieved such popularity because of both its message and its style. Most pamphlets were made by lawyers in a style that only well educated people could understand. In Common Sense, Paine wrote that the system of monarchy in European countries such as Britian was unnatural and wrong. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was written to declare Independence and why they wanted independence. The purposes of the government is that people should feel safe which then gives a right to fight for their rights, also governments are established because no organization can keep people safe and secure rights. The government gets its power from the people. -
Battle of Saratoga
During this battle Burgoyne suffered a major defeat to partiot troops under Generals Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold. Saratoga marked the greatest victory up to that point for the American forces. "This event will make one of the most brilliant pages odf American History" - Patriot James Thatcher. It lead foreign countries support for the patriots. It was a battle between Burgoyne and the Patriots who won. -
Battle of Yorktown
It was one of major last battles between British and Patriots. They wanted to prevent British ships from coming in and attack the British Army. 16,000 soldiers fought against a large army of British and won. It lead to the Treaty od Paris and ended when the British surrendered. -
Treaty of Paris
including all land from the Great Lakes on the north to Florida on the south, and from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River. -
Treaty of Paris
It lead to freedom and Independence of colonies. The Colonial Congress made a negotiation with the British and made a treaty. The Battle of Yorktown led to the British's loss and to make peace. Under the terms of the treaty, Britian recognized the independent nation of the United States of America. Britian agreed to remove all of its troops from America. The treaty also set new borders for the United States including all land from the Great Lakes on the North to Flordia -
Proclimation of 1763
The proclimation of 1763 banned any further British colonial settlement west of the Appalachin Mountains, creating a divide line between colonial and Indian lands. Leaders feared that more fighting would take place on the frontier if colonists continued to move onto Indian lands. When Pontiac's Rebellion caused great concern throughout the British government.
