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A series of laws that the English Parliament put on the colonists in the 1600s. It forced colonists to sell all raw materials to England even though they could get better prices elsewhere in Europe. -
It was a tax on molasses, sugar, and rum imported into the American colonies from non-British land. And of course the colonists boycotted this too. -
Washington, a young Virginian, set up Fort Necessity so that him and his militia would have protection against the French and Fort Duquesne in 1754. -
The French and Indian War was a war between New England, Britain, and the French. The war lasted 5 years and ended with the French being removed from the new world in February 1763. England got all land east of the Mississippi river and Florida while the Spanish got all the land west of the Mississippi river and Canada got the land in the North as part of the Treaty of Paris. But because of this war England was now in debt and needed money badly. -
The Sugar Act lowered the tax on molasses imported to the colonies so that the colonists would buy it. It allowed officers to seize accused smugglers goods without going to court. -
A small tax that parliament passed in 1765 on printed materials such as newspapers, wills, playing cards, and documents. It made colonists mad and they boycotted all British goods. Due to the boycott of British goods, Britain lost money and ended up repealing the Stamp Act in March 1766. -
Due to the boycott of British goods, Britain lost money so Parliament repealed the Stamp Act in March of 1766. Congruently with repealing the Stamp act Parliament passed the Declaratory Act. The Declaratory Act meant Parliament had the right to tax and make decisions for British colonies in all cases. -
The Townshend Acts was an external tax, a tax on imported goods. It was a tax on glass, lead, paper, tea, and paint. The Boston Massacre and Samuel Adams put up posters of his engraving, which showed that the British officer gave the order to fire on the peaceful crowd, made the colonists call for a stronger boycott which led to Parliament getting rid of the Townshend Acts. -
March 5th 1770 a fight occurred between Bostonians and British Soldiers. The mob of Bostonians were fired on and when the smoke cleared 5 were dead and 3 were injured. Among the dead was Crispus Attucks who was part Native American and part African, as well as an 11 year old boy named Christopher Seider. -
General Thomas Gage was the military governor of Boston and had orders from Parliament to seize weapons and arrest leaders of the Massachusetts militia. Gage had learned that there was a stockpile of arms and ammunition 20 miles northeast of Boston in Concord and then he ordered Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith to take 700 troops, “to Concord, where you will seize and destroy all the artillery and ammunition you can find." -
The Intolerable Acts were called Coercive Acts by the British but it is also known as the Intolerable Acts because Intolerable means painful and unbearable. The one Intolerable Acts that was applied to all of the Colonies. The king was trying to cut Massachusetts off from the rest of the colonies but instead the Intolerable Acts drew the colonies together. -
The Quartering Acts allowed the requisition of unoccupied buildings to house British troops. Soldiers were now living next door and sometimes in colonist homes. -
British officials charged with a capital offense had to be tried in another colony of England. It was designed to make colonists think before any action against the king was made. A royal governor was placed in charge. -
A government for Canada was created and extended its territory all the way south to the Ohio River. The colonists were trapped in New England. -
In a warm September of 1774, fifty-five delegates gathered together to create a political body which was a meeting in Philadelphia. These delegates named this political body the Continental Congress. Leaders for twelve of the thirteen colonies attended, with only Georgia not sending a Representative because of how far away Georgia was. 8 of these representatives were G. Washington, S. Adams, J. Adams, J. Hancock, J. Jay, J. Dickson, R. Henry Lee, and P. Henry. -
Dr. Warren alerted Paul Revere and William Dawes, who were members of the Sons of Liberty. Revere and Dawes rode to Lexington, a town east of Concord, spreading the news by saying, “The British are coming!!” A British Patrol would later capture Revere, and Dawes would turn back. The message is carried to Concord by Samuel Prescott. -
Due to Revere and Dawes warning, 70 Minutemen were waiting for the 700 English Redcoats the morning of April 19th, 1775. Realizing that they were badly outnumbered, the Minutemen were about to break, BANG!! An unknown shot was fired, and both sides engaged and when the smoke cleared, 8 Minutemen lay dead. A few weapons were found in Lexington. A contingence of 120 British troops marched on to Concord, and the home of Retired Colonel Barrett’s farm, someone had snitched but they found no weapons. -
After Lexington and Concord armed conflict with the British quick spread. Benedict Arnold raised a 400 man militia to rid Fort Ticonderoga in NY near lake Champlain. Ethan Allen of Vermont with the Green Mountain Boys was also planning to attack Ticonderoga. After agreeing to work together Ticonderoga surrendered on 5/10/1775 and was the first time that Benedict Arnold’s contributions would be overlooked. He would later become the first and most well known ‘turncoat’ to the American Revolution. -
In 1774 the Continental Congress agreed to meet again and they met on May 10th 1775. Some of these people were John and Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, and George Washington but this time there were some new faces such as Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin. The second Continental Congress was debating if they should declare themselves as an independent nation, or stay under British rule. Some said independence, some said to stay under the British but only because they were scared. -
Following the Lexington and Concord more Colonist joined militias 06/16/1775 the Militia set up posts on Bunker Hill and Breed’s Hill which were across the harbor from Boston. After seeing this and forming a plan, the British attacked the next day and the Redcoats assembled at the foot of Breed’s Hill with fixed bayonets and charged the hill but The Militia was low on ammunition so Colonel William Prescott gave the order, “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes”. -
The Olive Branch Petition assured King George III that the colonists wanted peace, and asked to protect their rights. The King rejected the petition, and prepared for War by hiring more than 30,000 German mercenaries called Hessians to fight alongside British troops. -
The attack on Quebec that was led by Benedict Arnold had failed. Patriots faced winter, heavy snow storms, and were low on supplies which ended up being fatal and a British victory. -
Washington arrived in the Boston area in July 1775, shortly after the battle of Bunker Hill. Everyday the size of the Militia grew with new recruits showing up but Washington realized that he was lacking organization, discipline, and heavy artillery. Washington had canons pointing at the redcoats while they were sleeping and once they woke up both the redcoats and Washington agreed that the British would leave the place and that Washington wouldn't destroy the city with the canons. -
On April 27th 1776, King George III hired more than 30,000 German mercenaries called Hessians to fight alongside British troops. This made it so that the British were ready for the big fight to come. -
July 4th, 1776, the colonies finally get their freedom and the Declaration of Independence is signed by 56 people. Four of these people were John Hancock (the president of Congress), John Adams (a key person in pushing for independence and second USA president), George Washington (Commander of the Continental Army and first USA president), and Thomas Jefferson (primary author of the Declaration and third president of the USA).