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1756 - 1763 aka 7 Years War between France and England. In the colonies, it was called the French Indian War because the colonists fought with British soldiers against France the Indians who were on side of France. Because of the war, England had a massive war debt began to tax the people in the 13 colonies. -
The Stamp Act was a 1765 British law that imposed a direct tax on colonists for printed materials like newspapers, legal documents, and playing cards, requiring a stamped paper to show the tax was paid. -
The Townshend Acts were a 1767 series of British parliamentary acts named after Charles Townshend, imposing taxes and duties on goods like glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea to pay for colonial administration and recoup war debt -
The Boston Massacre was a deadly confrontation on March 5, 1770, in Boston, Massachusetts, where British soldiers fired into a crowd of colonists, killing five people and wounding others.
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The Battles of Lexington and Concord, occurring on April 19, 1775, are known as "the shot heard 'round the world" because this first armed conflict of the American Revolutionary War signaled the start of a global struggle for independence, inspiring other freedom movements. -
The Boston Tea Party was a political protest that took place on December 16, 1773, in Boston, Massachusetts, where American patriots disguised as Native Americans destroyed a shipment of 342 chests of tea owned by the British East India Company. -
The Quartering Act refers to a series of British parliamentary laws, most notably from 1765 and 1774, that required colonial governments in America to provide housing and supplies for British soldiers. -
The Intolerable Acts, known as the Coercive Acts in Britain, were a series of four laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 to punish the American colony of Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party. -
The Olive Branch Petition was a final attempt by the Second Continental Congress to avoid war with Great Britain by appealing directly to King George III for reconciliation in July 1775. -
is a 47-page pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775–1776 advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies. Writing in clear and persuasive prose, Paine collected moral and political arguments to encourage common people in the Colonies to fight for egalitarian government. It was published anonymously on January 10, 1776 -
The Declaration of Independence is the founding document of the United States, adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, declaring the Thirteen Colonies' separation from Great Britain. -
The Second Continental Congress was the governing body of the American colonies from 1775 to 1781, serving as the first true attempt at representative self-governance. Convening after the Battles of Lexington and Concord -
The Articles of Confederation was the United States' first constitution, established between 1781 and 1789, creating a weak central government with most power residing in the individual states. -
The Constitutional Convention, also known as the Philadelphia Convention, was a pivotal meeting in the summer of 1787 where 55 delegates from 12 states gathered at Independence Hall in Philadelphia to address the failures of the Articles of Confederation. -
Shays' Rebellion was an armed uprising by Massachusetts farmers in 1786-1787, led by Daniel Shays, who protested oppressive taxation and debt collection following the American Revolution. -
The Annapolis Convention of 1786 was a pivotal meeting in Annapolis, Maryland, that initially focused on commercial trade regulations under the weak Articles of Confederation but resulted in a report, drafted by Alexander Hamilton, calling for a broader convention to address the fundamental weaknesses of the federal government.