American Revolution Timeline

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    French and Indian War

    The French and Indian War, also called the Seven Years War, was a conflict in North America in a larger regal war between France and Great Britain. This war debated over future frontier policy, along with paying the war's expenses which made many colonists upset. This war also caused Great Britain to gain a lot of land in North America. The French and Indian War ultimately led to the American Revolution.
  • Sugar Act

    Sugar Act
    The Sugar Act was a tax on sugar and it impacted manufactured rum. The Sugar Act was mainly about the manufactured rum, which was made from a by-product of sugar production. Some sugarcane was grown on sugar plantations in the colonies, which was a big part of the triangle trade. The sugar act started in 1733, but was republished April 5, 1764. The act was one of a few acts that caused Great Britain to divide and its colonies in America. The Sugar Act was part of taxation without representation.
  • Stamp Act

    Stamp Act
    The Stamp Act of 1765 was the first central tax inflicted directly on American colonists by the British government. The act imposed a tax on every paper document in the colonies. This act lead the colonists to mob violence.
  • The Boston Massacre

    The Boston Massacre
    The Boston Massacre was the killing of 5 people by British soldiers who thought they were told to fire,. This started because Private White hit a teenager with the butt of his rifle for insulting Captain Goldfinch. People began throwing snowballs, oyster shells, and other things at the soldiers. A British soldier was hit in the face by a stick and madly shot into the crowd. This is considered the first battle of the revolutionary war.
  • Tea Act

    Tea Act
    The Tea Act's main purpose was to bail out the struggling East India company. The company was granted importation and sales of tea in the colonies by the British government. The colonist had no say in the taxing of tea which was a tragedy since tea was a huge part of the colonies and was a regular thing
  • The Boston Tea Party

    The Boston Tea Party
    The Boston Tea Party was a time when a variety of Massachusetts colonists dressed as Mohawk Indians boarded a few British tea ships and rode into Boston harbor, to dump all of the tea into the harbor. The Boston Tea Party was pretty much the key-event to the American Revolution, this was also when colonists started the violence.
  • Boston Port Act

    Boston Port Act
    The Boston Port Act, because of the Boston Tea Party, was made to punish the colonists in/live in Boston, Massachusetts. This act was one of the many British laws that is mentioned as the Intolerable Acts passed by the Parliament of Great Britain.
  • The Quartering Act 1774

    The Quartering Act 1774
    The Quartering Act was created to pass the provisions of the 1765 Quartering Act. The Act stated that the governor, unlike the whole group, had the power to make arrangements to make sure that colonists supplied shelter for the troops. This act made colonists even more angered.
  • Patrick Henry's “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” Speech

    Patrick Henry's “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” Speech
    During a meeting of the Second Virginia Convention, the 38 year old gave a plea advising to Old Dominion to form militias to defend itself against the British. At the end of his speech, he ended it with the words "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" which convinced the Convention to his favor. Those words soon became an awakening cry during the march of the war that was soon to begin.
  • Battles of Lexington and Concord

    Battles of Lexington and Concord
    The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military clashes of the American Revolutionary War. On the night of the 18th of April, 1775, British troops marched from Boston to Concord. Soon after, they moved to Lexington, where the British were soon ran off.
  • Battle of Ticonderoga

    Battle of Ticonderoga
    On the morning of May 10, less than a hundred militiamen crossed Lake Champlain at dawn, surprising and capturing the sleeping British garrison at Fort Ticonderoga. The Battle of Ticonderoga was the first American victory of the Revolutionary War.
  • Battle of Bunker Hill

    Battle of Bunker Hill
    The Battle of Bunker Hill was a battle at the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. At this battle, the British defeated the Americans at the Battle of Bunker Hill. After this loss, the Americans got an important confidence boost to keep going.
  • George Washington is named Commander in Chief

    George Washington is named Commander in Chief
    The Continental Congress made George Washington the Commander of Chief of the Continental Army on this day. Its important because he's a good commander and he eventually leads the army to victory.
  • Thomas Paine Writes Common Sense

    Thomas Paine Writes Common Sense
    The Common Sense pamphlet advised independence from Britain for the American colonies and it is now considered one of the most powerful pamphlets in American history. This convinced American colonists that they need to break off of the British rule and that the time to do it was now.
  • Declaration of Independence is written and signed by delegates in the Continental Congress

    Declaration of Independence is written and signed by delegates in the Continental Congress
    On this day in history, members of Congress wrote their signatures onto an enlarged copy of the Declaration of Independence.
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    Battle of Saratoga. What is significant about this battle?

    The Battle of Saratoga, well the two battles of Saratoga, were a turning point in the American Revolution. The American victory convinced the French troops to recognize the colonist's cause and become allies in the war.
  • General Cornwallis surrenders to Washington at Yorktown

    General Cornwallis surrenders to Washington at Yorktown
    On this day in history, Washington ordered the Marquis de Lafayette (were in Virginia with an American army of around 5,000 men) to block Cornwallis' escape from Yorktown by land. In this interval, Washington's 2,500 troops in New York were united by an French army of 4,000 men under the rode of Count de Rochambeau. Washington and Rochambeau made plans to attack Cornwallis with help from a large French army. On October 19, Cornwallis surrendered his whole army.
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    Battle of Yorktown

    On this day in 1781, George Washington commanded 17 thousand troops to began the battle known as the Battle of Yorktown against 9 thousand British troops and General Lord Charles Cornwallis.
  • Peace Treaty Signed ending the American Revolution recognizing US independence

    Peace Treaty Signed ending the American Revolution recognizing US independence
    The Peace Treaty, that was negotiated between Great Britain and the United States, ended the revolutionary war and recognized American independence. The introductory articles of peace were signed by Jay, Adams, Franklin, and Laurens for the United States and Richard Oswald for Great Britain on November 30, 1782. The final treaty was signed on September 3, 1783, and confirmed by the Continental Congress early in 1784.
  • Alliance is Made between the Rebels and the French

    Alliance is Made between the Rebels and the French
    In this one, the French despise the British so they offer to help the American troops by sending in supplies and then send in troops. This gives the Americans the fighting edge they need to win their independence.