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Event 1: French and Indian War
The French and Indian war happened between 1754 – 1763. The French and Indian War was the North American conflict in a larger imperial war between Great Britain and France known as the Seven Years' War. The French and Indian War began in 1754 and ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763. The war is significant because it allowed Great Britain to gain enormous territorial gains in North America. -
Event 2: Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was passed by the British Parliament on March 22, 1765. The new tax was imposed on all American colonists and required them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used. Ship's papers, legal documents, licenses, newspapers, other publications, and even playing cards were taxed. The Stamp Act is significant to US History because it shows the history of taxation on materials and goods, and how Americans have challenged the system in various ways since then. -
Event 3: Townshend Act
Townshend Acts occurred on June 15–July 2, 1767, these were a series of four acts passed by the British Parliament in an attempt to assert what it considered to be its historic right to exert authority over the colonies through suspension of a recalcitrant representative assembly and through strict provisions for the collection of revenue duties. This is important because the colonists were not consulted by the British and they felt this violated their rights as English citizens. -
Event 4: Tea Act
The Tea Act: The Catalyst of the Boston Tea Party. The Tea Act, passed by Parliament on May 10, 1773, granted the British East India Company Tea a monopoly on tea sales in the American colonies. The act's main purpose was not to raise revenue from the colonies but to bail out the floundering East India Company, a key actor in the British economy. The tea act is important because we get to learn from past mistakes and we are able to more forward in a positive way. -
Event 5: Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The battles were fought on April 19, 1775 in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord. This event is important because this was the first battle in America. -
Event 6: Washington Becomes Commander and Chief
The Continental Congress commissioned George Washington as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army on June 19, 1775. This is important because without his leadership America might not be the way it is today. -
Event 7: The Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson was appointed to head a committee to draft a statement of independence from England.
•July 4, 1776, the final draft was approved:
1)It explained why we should be free.
2)It listed the grievances (complaints) we had with King George III and England’s Parliament.
3)It declared our independence! -
Event 8: Saratoga
The Battle of Saratoga was the turning point of the Revolutionary War. The scope of the victory is made clear by a few key facts: On October 17, 1777, 5,895 British and Hessian troops surrendered their arms. This is important because this battle was the Turing point of the revolutionary war. -
Event 9: Yorktown
The British army was decimated and the Revolutionary war was virtually over. Significance of the Battle of Yorktown: The significance of the conflict was that Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington as French and American forces trapped the British at Yorktown. September 28, 1781 – October 19, 1781
This is important because the war was over, but conflict was still in progress. -
Event 10: Treaty of Paris
DescriptionThe Treaty of Paris, signed in Paris by representatives of King George III of Great Britain and representatives of the United States of America on September 3, 1783, ended the American Revolutionary War. This is important because it allowed us the freedom of representatives. -
Event 11: Federalist Papers
Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay were the authors behind the pieces, and the three men wrote collectively under the name of Publius. Seventy-seven of the essays were published as a series in The Independent Journal, The New York Packet, and The Daily Advertiser between October of 1787 and August 1788. These papers are important because they allowed us written proof of historical information. -
Event 12: U.S. Constitution
The Constitution of the United States established America's national government and fundamental laws, and guaranteed certain basic rights for its citizens. It was signed on September 17, 1787, by delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. This is important because the constitution is the founding and lasting principles our country was built on. -
Event 13: Bill of Rights
U.S. Bill of Rights. On September 25, 1789, Congress transmitted to the state Legislatures twelve proposed amendments to the Constitution. Numbers three through twelve were adopted by the states to become the United States (U.S.) Bill of Rights, effective December 15, 1791. These rights are important because they cannot be taken away from us. -
Event 14 : Jay Becomes Chief Justice of Supreme Court
Pres. G. Washington appointed John Jay as the 1st Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. This is important because it allowed the judicial branch to form and grow. John Jay
Since the Supreme Court was established in 1789, 17 people have served as chief justice. The first was John Jay (1789–1795). The current chief justice is John Roberts (since 2005). -
Event 15 : Tocqueville
French sociologist and political theorist Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) traveled to the United States in 1831 to study its prisons and returned with a wealth of broader observations that he codified in “Democracy in America” (1835), one of the most influential books of the 19th century.N
