Events leading to the American Revolution

1. Events leading to the American Revolution Jordan Addison

2. The French and Indian war • War fought in 1754-1763 between Great Britain and its two enemies, the French and the Indians of North America. American colonists, including George Washington, fought with the British in this war, which lasted from 1754 to 1763. Most of the battles were in Canada. The British won the war and won the right to keep Canada and several other possessions in the New World.

3. Sugar Act • 1764 Act that put a three-cent tax on foreign refined sugar and increased taxes on coffee, indigo, and certain kinds of wine. These taxes affected only a certain part of the population, but the affected merchants were very vocal. It banned importation of rum and French wines. Besides, the taxes were enacted (or raised) without the consent of the colonists.

4. Stamp Act • First direct British tax on American colonists. Instituted in November, 1765. Seeing the hostile reaction in the colonies, the British government repealed the Stamp Act in March 1766 but at the same time passed the Declaratory Act, which said that Great Britain was superior the American colonies "in all cases whatsoever." The colonists didn't think they should have to pay for something they had been doing for free for many years, and they responded in force, with demonstrations and even with a diplomatic body called the Stamp Act Congress, which delivered its answer to the Crown. Every newspaper, pamphlet, and other public and legal document had to have a Stamp, or British seal, on it. The Stamp, of course, cost money. The Stamp Act gave the colonists a target for their rage.

5. Townshend Acts • Series of 1767 laws named for Charles Townshend, British Chancellor of the Exchequer (Treasurer). In response to the sometimes violent protests by the American colonists, Great Britain sent more troops to the colonies. Colonial reaction to these taxes was the same as to the Sugar Act and Stamp Act. These laws placed new taxes on glass, lead, paints, paper, and tea.

6. The Boston Massacre • Shooting of five American colonists by British troops on March 5, 1770. The Boston Massacre deepened American distrust of the British military presence in the colonies. Nearly every part of the story is disputed by both sides. One person, an African-American man named Crispus Attacks, was killed.

7. The Boston Tea Party • Angry and frustrated at a new tax on tea, American colonists calling themselves the Sons of Liberty and disguised as Mohawk Native Americans boarded three British ships and dumped 342 whole crates of British tea into Boston harbor on December 16, 1773.

8. First Continental Congress • Two groups of people from all over the 13 Colonies who came together to discuss liberty. The First Continental Congress was a group of 56 delegates from 12 colonies (all except Georgia) who met in Philadelphia in September of 1774. They came together to act together in response to the Intolerable Acts. They met in secret because they didn't want Great Britain to know that they were united.

9. Second Continental Congress • The Second Continental Congress met in 1775, when the Revolutionary war had started. Things were going badly, and the armed forces were disorganized. The Continental Congress created the Continental Army and named George Washington as commander-in-chief. The Congress continued through the summer. Out of the discussions came the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Marines Corps.

10. Battle of Bunker Hill • Two-day engagement between British forces under the command of General William Howe and American forces under Colonel William Prescott. The Americans had occupied Breed's Hill in Charlestown on June 16, 1775, in order to protect the shipyard of nearby Boston. The next day, the British attacked. They took the hill but suffered heavy losses. The Americans fired until they were out of ammunition, then quickly retreated. To conserve ammunition, Prescott told his men, "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes." Even though the battle was fought on Breed's Hill, it has been remembered as the Battle of Bunker Hill.