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The French and Indian War
The French and Indian War, also known as the Seven Years War started as a large dispute of land in the fast growing colonies between England and France. England had the vast majority of the New World, but France had most of the central land, and two major powers in a single settlement would soon lead to a fight over land. The major fighting started when France settled trading centers around the Great Lakes. Britain also took over some of this land, and soon after a fight for land started. -
A turning point for the Americans
At Lake George, New York, the English suffer from several casualties as they failed to capture heavily armed Fort Ticonderoga, losing about 2,000 people, which is a big loss compare to France's mere 375. Immediately following the fight, the French abondoned Fort Duquesne, leaving homes for many English settlers. In addition to this, the very first
Indian settlement was found in New Jersey. -
Treaty of Paris is signed
On February 10,1763, the Treaty of Paris was signed by France, Britain, and Spain to end the French and Indian War. As a result, Britain had the most dominance around its area. In the treaty, France lost its land in Canada and the New World, and Spain had to give up their land in Florida to Britain. In return, Spain retrived Cuba and the Philippines and England retrived all of France's land in Africa, but France did get Guadeloupe and Martinique from Great Britain. -
Pontiac's Rebellion
After the French and Indian War, the French and Spanish lost their territory in the colonies, leaving the British with absolute power in the New World. This power proved to be too much for the Indian tribes, and Ottawa chief Pontiac formed a large rebellion to move the British out of the country. Despite their failure to eliminate the British, they produced serious damage, capturing about eight forts. This uprising led to modification of many misconcieving policies by the British. -
The Sugar Act is passed by the British
The British are in great debt from the French and Indian War, and to make up for this, they pass the Sugar Act, which increases the taxes on sugar and several other items, such as coffee and wine. Along with that, it also puts a double tax on foriegn goods shipped from England, and it also does not allow the colonies to import any French wine or non-english rum. -
The Stamp Act pulls tax collection
The British had no way of collecting tax from the colonists, so they formed the Stamp Act, which required most paper documents, such as newspapers, playing cards, and almanacs to carry a tax-levying stamp. The British thought it was only fair, because they were in a large debt from raising an army, but the colonists thought "taxation without representation" is unacceptable, so they quickly unite to plan out a refusal to pay the stamp tax starting November 1. -
The Stamp Act is repealed
After several months of violence and rebellion by the colonists, including the extensive Boycotts and the formation of protest groups, like the Sons of Liberty eventually led to the repeal of the Stamp Act. This was not the end of Britain's control, though. On the exact same day of the repeal of the Stamp Act, the Declaratory Act was immediately passed, giving the British government power to make strict laws to control the colonies with unlimited power. -
The Townshend Acts lead closer to the Revolution
The British are now controlled by Townshend,a clever man capable of making great compromises, and he was quick to pass the Townshend acts, a set of acts that levied tax on items such as paper, lead, glass, and tea. The new act still imposed a taxation without representation, so the colonies resorted to the same kind of boycotting they did under the Stamp Act, but they were not as effective as before. Smuggling also became very popular in the colonies, simply because a lack of enforcement. -
Samuel Adams takes action to the unfair taxes
As the tax was enraging colonists, Samuel Adams stepped up to write a circular letter for the purpose of uniting the colonists in the fight against taxation with no representation by the British. This letter included all of the ways the Massachusetts court is trying to oppose the Townshend Act's taxes to inform all of the thirteen colonies about what they should do. Samuel Adams also included emphasis on the principle that Britain had no right to tax us, because they were very far away. -
The Virginia Resolves lead to the removal of the House of Burgesses
As more people join the boycott of British goods, George Mason writes and presents the Virginia Resolves to the House of Burgesses. The Virginia Resolves include specific opposition to the taxing without representation and many other wrongdoings by Britain, such as their support for the colonies' trials in a seperate place from their New World. Soon after this was presented, the House of Burgesses was taken away by the British, but this did not stop the colonists' desire to have town meetings. -
The Boston Massacre becomes a reality
The colonists found it easy to not obey the Townshend Acts, so British soldiers were sent to the colonies to help enforce their laws. The prescence of British soldiers enraged the colonists, but not to an extent that they will fight until March 5, 1770, when a group of colonists started taunting the British soldiers. It did not take long for the British soldiers to fire a shot, which scared the colonists into fighting back with weapons. Only about 5 British men were convicted of murder. -
The Townshend Acts are repealed
On the same day as the Boston Massacre, the Townshend Acts were being discussed by Lord North, the British prime minister, to eventually result in a decision to only partially repeal the act. The British thought about being able to tax the colonies only for tea, because they thought they had the right to tax the Americans in any case. This decision was formally approved on April 12,1770. -
The Americans burn down the Gaspee
As the Revolution was coming, the British were getting stricter about enforcing thier laws, so on June 9, 1772, Lieutenant William Duddington was on the waters of Rhode Island aboard The Gaspee, mainly any occupants of small boats miserable and intimidated. Soon this boat became a significant danger. The British told the colonists not to interfere with the boat, but they did not listen to this. One peaceful night, many guns were fired, and The Gaspee was set aflame. -
Committees of Correspondence are formed
Unity is a big factor in forming a well-organized and powerful army, but the colonies showed a great lack of any kind of communication. To fix this, the Committees of Correspondence were proposed upon the Virginia House of Burgesses and were formed immediately. Each colony had one, so they served an important role in spreading the British actions and wrongdoings. Letters between each committee were sent by hand-written letters on a courier. -
The Tea Act is in effect
The tea act, only one piece of the Townshend Acts, came into effect on May 10,1773. The tax was low, simply because the tea came from the British East India Company, and the whole purpose of the act was to create a monopoly to this company. The British felt they were going broke, and they also thought if the colonists had cheap tea in their hands, their would be no point to smuggle tax-free tea of the same price. The colonists were not happy,though, because they felt they were being used. -
The colonists take action to the British Tea Acts
Two meetings take place between the colonists on how to react to the massive amount of tea on the Boston harbor. The final decision comes to sending the tea back to England without paying any kind of tax, but at the same time, the Massachusetts royal governor of Massachusetts disagrees with this situation. He demands the ship to stay until the appropiate taxes for the tea have been paid. -
The Boston Tea Party outrages the British
The colonists in Boston were quickly informed about the Royal Governor's decision in Massachusetts to keep the tea until it is payed for, and the response is extremely rebellious. The reaction was not mainly about the price. It was the taxing with no representation in Parliament and the fact that Britain simply was overpowering the colonies too much. On a cold night, thousands of colonists dressed as Native Americans boarded the ships nd dumped all of the barrels of tea in the sea. -
The Coercive Acts respond to the Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party incident left the British people in rage, and in their eyes they had to show complete dominance over the rebbelious colonists. To do this, they unleashed a set of acts that the colonists called "intolerable." All of these acts enforced strict order into the Colonies, most of them being about judicial procedures and economic disipline. Some of these acts include the Boston Port Act, which closed the port of Boston until all of the dumped tea was payed for, and the Quebec Act. -
The first shot of the revolution is fired
The British General Gage was planning to seize the colonist's weapons by sending an Army of British soldiers to Concord. The plan was solid, but the colonists got word about the whole plan, and the night of the attack, Paul Revere rode to Lexington to warn everybody about the soon to come British attack. The notice produces a well-prepared army, and when the British come, they fire the first shot and try to head to Concord, but the colonists fight until the British have to retreat. -
The Second Continental Congress meets
The fight between the colonies and Britain demanded for great unity for a victory, so the Second Continental Congress was called upon to talk things out. The meeting included several important people, such as Benjamin Franklin and John Hancock, but it did not include Georgia. Most of the debate was based on making a step towards independence, and eventually Richard Henry Lee declared the resolution of independence, which led to the Articles of Confederation, a simple democracy. -
George Washington becomes commander-in-chief
Without an army, the colonists knew they would lose to the well-formed British soldiers, so on June 10, John Adams recognized the need for a Continental Army, and with that he saw George Washington as a great candidate. He showed a great leadership in the French and Indian War when he was a colonel in the colonial militia in the French and Indian War, and because of this, the colonists made a decision to make him commander-in-chief. -
The Battle of Bunker Hill is a downfall
The colonists picked up dreadful information about how the British soldiers are going to occupy all of the empty hills in Boston. This called for immediate response. The Continental Army started inhabiting Bunker Hill to keep it away from British hands, but the plan was not hidden from the redcoats. They recognized the Continental Amry's prescence and launched three attacks on Bunker Hill with a victory along with many casualties. -
Declaration of Independence is a step toward freedom
As the war was giving hope to the colonists' freedom,a free country was actually realistic, so on July 4, 1776, all 13 colonies agreed on the Declaration of Independence. This was written by Thomas Jefferson, and it called for all 13 colonies to be no longer under Britain's control. In it was a detailed explanation to why all of the colonies pushed for freedom, including a introduction that specifies the natural rights of the colonies, and with that came all of the specific misdoings of the king -
The Battle of Saratoga brings on a French alliance
British General Burgoyne had a plan to divide New England from the rest of the colonies, but as he was coming along, things were getting worse as he was trying to come back from several casualties. Despite all of the disadvantages, he decided to move on, but as he was going down into the New England colonies, Washington recognized his plan, and he sent troops to stop him, which ended in a colonial victory in Saratoga, and a proof to France that they had the means to overthrow Britain. -
The end of the war approaches at Yorktown
The French were on the American's side, and as the war was going on, they proved to be great help. Eventually, the French stayed at British New York City to aid the colonists, and as the fighting went on, Washington decided to team up with Rochambeau of France to go to Virginia where they heard about British general Cornwallis' plan to seize Yorktown. When they came, they completely surrounded Cornwallis with naval and land forces, and he was lead to surrendering his army to the attack. -
The American people discuss peace terms with France
After the British surrendered to warfare in America, there was talk that had to be done between France, so Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay went overseas to talk about what has to come next. In November of that year, France agreed on a peace treaty declaring that Britain has to look at America as a free country and evacuate all of their people from thieir land. The treaty also solved land disputes. The Mississippi River was no longer Britain's land, and Florida was in Spain's hand. -
Land Ordinance was set for use
The US Congress were in need for money, but they could not tax to get people to pay, so they set up the Land Ordinance of1785, which gave raised money for Congress and founded land in the empty West territory. Under the Land Ordinance, land was to be set up into townships of six square miles, each one having thirty-six set up square mile divisions, and to encourage education, one block in each township was reserved for public education. -
The Constutional Convention takes place
The time finally came to revise the flawed Articlea. To do this, a convention was held, including mostly educated men along with some important people, such as James Madison and Alexander Hamilton as delagates and George Washington as president. The original plan was only to revise the existing government, but things changed as the delagates decided to throw away the old Articles. The convention held many debates, especially in the subject about voting representation. -
The Northwest Ordinance is a solution to land distribution
There were several pieces of unclaimed townships still open to anybody in the Ohio River area, but to get them was a seperate issue. On July 13, 1787, this problem was solved by the Northwest Ordinance, which stated that townships could be considered as states only if their population could reach 60,000. This act was also able to make well made states by banning slavery in any of the developing states and most of all, the ordinance ensured many essential civil rights, such as freedom of religion -
The Constitution comes into effect
When the Constitution first came out, the framers were not even that sure if it was going to be ratified by the required nine states, but resolves were made between each state with the promise to an amendment of Bill of Rights when the Constitution is passed. The promise was very convincing to states even with antifederalist majorities, like New Hampshire, who was the last state out of the nine states to ratify the constitution. -
George Washington is unanimously elected as president
After the war was all over, peace was resumed, but the need for a leader was necessary in the fast-growing population of the US. The question of a leader was quickly agreed on unanimously by the Electorial College as George Washington. Washington made the long journey from Mount Vernon to New York City to be elected by an excited group of people on Wall Street, but he will soon figure out that with great power
comes great challenges. -
The Bank of the United States is Created
After the Constitution was created, a central bank was nonexisting in the state's government, but Alexander Hamilton, the current Secretary of Treasury sought to change this. He created a federal bank for the purpose of making the government more responsible in monetary issues. This bank could get rid of the worthless paper money printed by the states, but it opposed a large group of Jeffersonians in constitutional issues, because Jefferson said that all powers not listed were to the states. -
France declares war on Britain and Spain
After Washington was serving as the president, he saw great changes in the country, from the first federal bank to the formation of two parties, but he was about to encounter some trouble with foriegn countries. The country of France was going through a peaceful Revolution at the start, but things got more violent when France fought with Austria and became a site for horrific events, such as the beheading of the king and several attacks on the church. The mix of events ended with a war. -
Excise taxes lead to rebellion
Based on Alexander Hamilton's financial plan, the federal taxes are a form of union between the states, and to ensure the plan he made all state debts part of the federal debt, but he had to levy an excise tax on whiskey, being what he thought the least rebelious tax to pay off bond holders. The tax was by no means agreeable, though. Farmers west of the Applachian made whiskey with their excess grain, and rebellion quicly started, but the federal government was able to stop the fighting. -
Jay's Treaty creates great consequences
Washington was desperate to avoid war with Britain during their fight against Britain, so he sent Chief Justice John Jay to talk with and make a negotiation with Britain. Jay came to Britain only to make a weak agreement, though. His treaty basically gave in to the British. The agreement stated that Britain will have to leave American land, the same thing they promised before in Paris but did not obey. The Americans had to make it up to the British by paying them their Revolutionary debts. -
Federalist John Adams becomes president
At the election of 1796, the Federalist support centered around John Adams, because he was their most well known representativeafter Hamilton imposed his cruel monetary policies. The debate between Federalists dnd Democratic-Rupublicans was very strong in this election. Each party had strong opposition against each other, the Jeffersonians having anger from Jay's Treaty and the Whiskey Rebellion. With a 71 to 68 victory, Adams was eventually declared president. -
XYZ affair results in conflict with France
John Adams was in a dangerous spot when he was first president. Jay's Treaty angered France and made them believe the Americans were planning to form an alliance in the war. At this point, it was hard to go by Washington's plan of staying neutral, but Adams still made an effort to get even with Britain and France by sending three envoys to France to talk, but an outrageous price of $250,000 was demanded just to chat. The Americans saw this as an insult, and war preparations were starting. -
Alien and Sedition Acts passed by Congress
During the fighting with France, all Federalists wanted to ensure protection of the federal government by giving their enemy party less power and authority in the American government. To do this, they passed a series of acts known as the Alien and Sedition Acts, which were directed at all the poor immigrants who could not fit in with the wealthy Federalists. The policies incorporated in this set of laws included naturalization at the age of 14 and the intolerance of government criticism. -
Virginia and Kentucky resolutions fight back to Federalist policies
Federalists were demanding a one party system with their Alien and Sedition Act, something that the Jeffersonians stongly refused to abide to. Jefferson knew making a plan to eliminate these policies would be tough, but he planned a secret bunch of resolutions and got them approved by Kentucky, and at the same time, James Madison got another set of resolves approved at Virginia. The papers invoked argument between state supporting Jeffersonians and federal based Federalists. -
Jefferson is elected as president
As the Presidental election of 1800 as going on, the big contest was between Federalist John Adams and Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson. The choice was basically between a strong federal government by the Federalists and a weaker central government based on the states by the Jeffersonian-Republicans. Federalist opposition was very common around the election, mainly because thier unconstitutional laws, including the infamous Alien and Sedition Acts, and with this Jefferson won by 73-65. -
France and America unoficially declare a quickly ended two year war
After the XYZ affair, America had a grim outlook on France, and as a result, violent wars at sea were going on between France and America. Full declared war did seem like a great possibility at this time as the American navy continued to capture French vessels and France continued to seize northern merchant ships, but France was fighting against Britain, and two enemies would make things worse. Adams sent envoys to negotiate with Napoleon Bonaparte and eventually sign the Convention of 1800. -
Lousiana Purchase gives more land expansion opportunities
America had developed Foriegn relationships as Jefferson's presidency went on, mainly with France and Britain, America's close neighbors. As time went on, Louisiana was a place of great dispute between France and Spain, and in 1800, Spain gave France their land in Lousiana. The decision scared Jefferson, but fighting was a bad idea with the reduced army. Peace was the only option, and with that thought, America sent two envoys to France, who would get Lousiana with a price of $15million. -
Aaron Burr gets tried for treason
Arter the Lousiana Purchase, there was a big chunk of land that was waiting for settlement, but with new land came the possibility of seperate formation and even secession. The possibility would actually almost become reality when Aaron Burr, the former vice president under Jefferson, would make a scheme to seperate New England and New York. Hamilton, a fellow Federalist, tried to foil his plan, but he was killed trying. As the plan went on, Burr was tried for treason, but not convicted. -
Embargo Act of 1807 is passed to help with neutrality
War was definetly not on the list of options for the American's. With a small army and navy, the only option for the president was to cut off their economy to restrict all of their trade methods to America. Jefferson thought the cut off from trade would result in a system where European countries at war would have to show respect for America , but the act had a possibility of failure, one that could end America's Republic. The result showed in America was one of anger. -
Macon's Bill #2 causes a change to the hated embargo
Jefferson's changing of the economy in the times of fighting did not go well with the Americans, who were used to being a strong economy. With Madison as president ,though, there were new decisions to be made. The Non-Intercourse Act was put in place of the embargo act at the end of Jefferson's presidency, which allowed trade with all of Europe except France and England. The war was coming to an end at this point, but Congress made an unexpected turn and passed Macon's Law #2. -
The United States declares war on Britain
As 1812 was approaching, a war with Britain was becoming closer to reality as the Indians were gathering force in British territory and enraging Madison and the war hawks. At this point, Madison thought war was something necessary, because America tried to avoid the war too long, and if they kept being passive, their Republic could disappear before they know it. The decision was made on June 1, 1812 to declare war, and Congress immediately proved the action two weeks later. -
Battle of Lake Erie is a great victory for the Americans
As the Americans tried to invade Canada using land forces, they were quickly drawn back by the powerful British army. Progress for the Americans looked very slow after looking at the result of these failed attempts, but the water seemed like a better way to attack, and with that note, the Americans quickly became a power on the waters. Significant water success came from Oliver Hazard Perry, who fought to victory. -
The British burn Washington
The British were enraged at the American's successes on the water, but they could prove their power on land just as easily, so on August of 1814 they formed an astonishing ambush on the Cheasapeake Bay. The American militia was quick to respond, but the British army proved to be too fast, and they quickly won at Bladensburg, where they then advanced into the capital city to burn it down.The fighting was so intense, a song known as "The Star Spangled Banner" was written. -
Treaty of Ghent is signed to end the war
The war between Britain and America seemed like a slow ending war, with many victories and losses for both sides, but actually a treaty was being formed by Tsar Alexander 1, who did not prove of Britain's constant fighting with America. The British were suffering many losses, and he thought they were losing power, so to discuss a solution, five Americans were sent to Ghent, Belgium to eventually agree on no action between each other.