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End of the French and Indian War
Ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763, where Great Britain secured significant territorial gains in North America, including all French territory east of the Mississippi river, as well as Spanish Florida although the treaty returned Cuba to Spain. -
Proclamation of 1763
A British Policy that prohibited colonial expansion west of the Appalachian Mountains. This was partially done to pacify the Native Americans. -
Stamp Act of 1765
Passed by the British Parliament, the new tax was imposed on all American colonists and required them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used. The money collected was to be used to help pay the costs of defending and protecting the American frontier near the Appalachian Mountains. -
Quartering Act of 1765
This was one of the series of measures primarily aimed at raising revenue from the British colonies. This proved to be a source of contention between some colonies and Great Britain during the years leading up to the Revolution. Many American colonists saw the Quartering Act as one more way Parliament was attempting to tax them without their consent. -
Stamp Act Congress
They convened in New York, the reason they met was due to the widespread boycotts enacted by individual colonists surely did more to secure the repeal of the Stamp Act than did the Congress. -
Boston Massacre
Street fight that occurred between a “patriot” mob, throwing snowballs, stones and sticks, and a squad of British soldiers. The troops were unwelcome and when the mob started to get more rowdy the troops fired at the crowd killing 5 and wounding several others. -
Tea Act of 1773
This act was an attempt to bail out the British East India Company when they were on the brink of financial collapse. There would still be tax on tea but they would be able to sell tea at a lower price. -
Boston Tea Party
On the night of December 16, 1773, Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty boarded three ships in the Boston harbor, dressed up as Mohawk Indians and threw 342 chests of tea overboard. -
Coercive Acts of 1774
Also known as the Intolerable Acts, these were a series of four acts established by the British government. This was to restore order in Massachusetts and punish Bostonian's for when they threw 342 crates overboard. -
First Continental Congress
This is when fifty-six delegates from all the colonies except Georgia drafted declaration of rights. This was all in response to the Coercive Acts. But at this time they were not pursuing independence from the British. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
This was the beginning of the American Revolution. Hundreds of British troops marched and succeeded in overcoming resistance in Concord but were forced to retreat when they arrived in Lexington. -
Second Continental Congress
At this meeting it was agreed that the Continental Army would be created. The congress commissioned George Washington to the supreme commander. The congress also voted in favor of independence. -
New York Campaign
This was called the Battle of Long Island the British Army successfully moved against the American Continental Army led by George Washington. The battle was part of a British campaign to seize control of New York and thereby isolate New England from the rest of the colonies. -
Battle of Princeton
This American victory at this battle was one of the most consequential of the American Revolution, George Washington and his soldiers marched from Trenton and attacked a British force south of the town. -
Battle of Saratoga
This battle was a turning point in the American Revolution. British General John Burgoyne achieved a small, but costly victory over American forces led by Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold. The second time he attacked he was defeated and forced to retreat. General Burgoyne surrendered ten days later. This also led to the French entering as America’s ally in the war. -
Southern Campaign
The Battle of Cowpens was the turning point of the war in the South. The British traveled down south since they had additional motives for the South. The British strategists saw the south as an important post-war trade grouping and an integral part of the West Indies sugar trade. -
Articles of Confederation
This was an agreement between the states during the American Revolution, which served as the basis for the America’s government. The states had most of the power and the central government had very little. -
Battle of Yorktown
General George Washington, commanding a force of 17,00 French and Continental Troops, began the siege against General Lord Charles Cornwallis and a contingent of 9,000 British troops at Yorktown, Virginia. This was the most important battle of the Revolutionary war. This was the last battle of the American Revolution. -
Constitutional Convention
A meeting of delegates in Philadelphia in 1787, which attempted to fix the problems with the American government, which had been in place since the end of the American Revolution. They ultimately scrapped it and replaced it with a government that gave the central government more power, but still reserved power to the states. -
Ratification of the Constitution
New Hampshire was the ninth and last state necessary state to ratify the Constitution of the United States. However other states opposed the document since at that time, it lacked constitutional protection of basic political rights, such as freedom of speech, religion and the press. A compromise was reach when Massachusetts and other states would agree to ratify the document with the assurance that amendments would be immediately proposed.
