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The Sons of Liberty formed in retaliation of the British rule in August of 1765. They didn't refrain from violence and were poorly organized, possibly not even being a formal group and being more of a label for those against British rule. -
British soldiers fired into a crowd, killing 5 and injuring 6 colonists. The colonists used this against the British rule afterwards, leading to more violence and justification for it. The soldiers allegedly fired into the crowd due to balls of ice being thrown at them. -
The Stamp Act was a tax on everything paper in the colonies. This included stamps, newspapers, and documents. These taxes were put onto the colonies so the British could pay back war debt to the French. -
The Townshend Acts of 1767 were a series of laws placed on the colonies including many taxes, quartering, and trying smugglers without a jury. This stirred up the conflict, being a significant cause for the war. -
Colonists dumped mass amounts of tea into the ocean in protest of new taxes put in place on tea. Roughly 46 tons of tea were dumped, costing the equivalent of about $1.7M today. The tea was taken from 3 British ships and took about 3 hours for the 340 chests that contained the tea. -
Twelve of the thirteen colonies attended a series of meetings in Philadelphia to revolt against the Intolerable Acts. These meetings started on September 5th of 1774 and ended on October 26th of the same year. These meetings held notable figures such as Samuel and John Adams, George Washington, and Patrick Henry. -
On April 19th, 1775, the first major battle of the Revolutionary War began. British soldiers hoped to raid the town and gain control, but were met with bloody battles ultimately won by the Americans. Only 15 American soldiers died compared to the 273 British soldiers. -
The Second Continental Congress met from 1775 to 1789 and was the main governing body at the time. They formed the Declaration of Independence to separate themselves and become a new country. They also established a union wide currency. -
1, 200 colonial troops occupied Bunker Hill overnight. The next day, the British became aware of their presence. After fighting, the colonists retreated, leaving a victory for the British. -
On July 4th, 1776, the United States finally became a separate country from Great Britain. This document was written by the Second Continental Congress. The war continued after this for 7 years. -
The Articles of Confederation were the first documents to establish some sort of law to the colonies. They called for a weak central government with a majority of the power to the states. This document didn't establish many individual laws and was very poorly written. It was replaced shortly after on March 4th, 1789. -
The Treaty of Paris is the document that officially ended the Revolutionary War. Great Britain now officially recognized the colonies as a separate entity. However, the two countries did not become allies until much later on. -
The Great Compromise was proposed to settle heavy disagreements on how the government should be run and how states should be represented. Some wanted every state to have a set amount of representatives, others wanted it to be based on population. This compromise brought both together, forming the House of Representatives and the Senate as separate entities. -
The Constitution replaced the poorly written Articles of Confederation and now explicitly states rights that all citizens hold. This document is able to be changed when needed and holds the most important parts of any American citizen's life. It took over 2 years just to write the first 10 amendments of the Constitution. -
The Bill of Rights were the first 10 amendments added to the Constitution and listed the basic human rights that apply to all citizens of the country. It shows limits to the governments power and highlights the freedoms and power of the people. Freedom and safety is heavily highlighted in this bill.