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Beginning in 1763 economic policy England followed when it came to the 13 colonies. England saw the colonies as a market for English goods wanted to get money (taxes) natural resources from the colonies. -
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. -
"hands off approach by Great Britain; British policy of loosely enforcing laws and regulations in the American colonies, allowing them to govern themselves. -
The Stamp Act of 1765 was a landmark piece of legislation passed by the British Parliament that ignited the first major unified colonial resistance against British rule. -
Passed by British Parliament in June 1767, the Townshend Acts imposed duties on imported glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea to raise revenue, pay colonial officials' salaries, and assert authority. The acts triggered widespread colonial boycotts, intense protest (notably by the Daughters of Liberty), increased smuggling enforcement, and heightened tensions that led to the Boston Massacre. -
British soldier opened fire and killed 5 unarmed Americans in a street fight.Paul Revera called it the bloody Massacre -
The Boston Tea Party was a political protest on December 16, 1773, where colonists, disguised as Native Americans, dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor to protest the British Tea Act, which they saw as "taxation without representation" and a monopoly for the East India Company, escalating tensions leading to the American Revolution. -
The Second Continental Congress, assembling in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775, served as the de facto national government during the American Revolution. It unified the colonies for defense, established the Continental Army with George Washington as commander, and adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. -
The Articles of Confederation, ratified in 1781 as the first U.S. constitution, established a loose "league of friendship" among the 13 sovereign states to coordinate the Revolutionary War effort. It created a weak central government with limited powers, leaving sovereignty primarily with the states, which ultimately necessitated its replacement by the US Constitution in 1789. -
The Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, marked the start of the American Revolutionary War. British troops seeking to seize colonial munitions encountered militia at Lexington, where the first shots were fired, and later at Concord's North Bridge. This "shot heard 'round the world" ignited armed conflict. -
Adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 5, 1775, and signed on July 8, 1775, the Olive Branch Petition was a final attempt to avoid full-scale war with Great Britain. Drafted primarily by John Dickinson, it declared loyalty to the Crown, affirmed the colonists' status as British citizens, and asked King George III to intervene to repeal the Coercive Acts. -
The Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. While the vote for independence occurred on July 2, 1776, the final document detailing the reasons for breaking from Great Britain was approved and printed two days later. -
The Articles of Confederation were adopted by the Continental Congress on November 15, 1777, after 16 months of debate, and sent to the states for ratification. They were officially ratified by all 13 states and came into force on March 1, 1781. The Articles served as the first governing framework until the Constitution took effect in 1789. -
The Annapolis Convention (September 11–14, 1786) was a crucial interstate meeting in Annapolis, Maryland, intended to address trade barriers under the Articles of Confederation -
Shays' Rebellion (1786–1787) was an armed uprising of Massachusetts farmers, led by Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays, protesting high taxes, debt crises, and foreclosure-driven poverty. The revolt, which highlighted the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, catalyzed the movement to create the U.S. Constitution and strengthen the federal government.