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The Stamp Act
The Stamp Act (March 22, 1765) - Britain sets a tax that requires a stamp on all public documents like newspapers or legal documents. The colonists did not like having this tax placed on them. -
The Boston Massacre
Boston colonists are shot by British troops -
Committees of Correspondence : The Voice of the Patriots
The Committees of Correspondence were the American colonies’ means for maintaining communication lines in the years before the Revolutionary War. In 1764, Boston formed the earliest Committee of Correspondence to encourage opposition to Britain’s stiffening of customs enforcement and prohibition of American paper money. -
The Boston Tea Party
Angry with a new tax on tea, some Boston colonists calling themselves the Sons of Liberty board British ships and dump crates of tea into the Boston Harbor. -
First Continental Congress
Representatives from the colonies get together to unite and oppose British taxes. -
Paul Revere's Ride ( WAR BEGINS)
The Revolutionary War starts and Paul Revere makes his famous ride to warn the colonists that the "British are coming". -
Battle of Lexington and Concord
The actual fighting starts with the first "shot heard around the world". The Americans win as the British retreat. -
Capture of Fort Ticonderoga
The Green Mountain Boys led by Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold capture Fort Ticonderoga from the British. -
Second Continental Congress
This congress acted much more like a government sending ambassadors to foreign countries, printing its own money, getting loans, and raising an army. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
Major battle where William Prescott told the American troops "don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes". -
The Declaration of Independence
The Continental Congress agrees to Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence. -
George Washington crosses the Delaware
George Washington and his troops cross the Delaware River on Christmas night and surprise the enemy. -
America Chooses a Flag
The Continental Congress adopts the "Stars and Stripes" Flag sewn by Betsy Ross. -
Battle of Saratoga
(September 19 - October 17, 1777) - British General John Burgoyne surrenders his army to the Americans after suffering defeat at the Battles of Saratoga. -
Alliance with France
France recognized the United States as an independent country with the Treaty of Alliance. -
Battle of Yorktown
The last major battle of the American Revolutionary War. British General Cornwallis' surrender at Yorktown was the unofficial end to the war. -
Treaty of Paris
Treaty that officially ended the war.