2.  Stamp Act 1765:  Required colonists to purchase special stamped paper for every legal document, license, newspaper, pamphlet, almanac  Imposed stamp duties on playing cards and dice

3.  Stamp Act Protests:  Sons of Liberty organized to secretly protest the Stamp Act  Samuel Adams  Colonial Assemblies pass laws to circumvent Stamp Act  Stamp Act Congress: issued the Declaration of rights and Grievances  Stated that Parliament lacked the power to impose taxes on the colonies because colonists were not represented in Parliament  Boycott British goods  1776 Parliament repeals the Stamp Act

4.  Declaratory Act 1766: asserted Parliament’s full right to make laws that have the power to bind the colonies in all cases

5.  Townshend Acts 1767:  Indirect taxes levied on imported materials  Ex: glass, lead, paint, paper  Mostly importantly tea  Colonial reaction:  Boycott  British reaction:  Stationed British troops in Boston

6.  Boston Massacre 1770

7.  Boston Tea Party 1773:  Tea Act- East India Company given concessions in colonial tea business  Shuts out colonial merchants

8.  Intolerable Acts: 1774  Shut down Boston harbor  Quartering Act: authorized British commanders to house soldiers in vacant private homes  General Thomas Gage appointed the new governor of Massachusetts  Martial law: rule imposed by military forces

9.  First Continental Congress 1774  56 delegates  Philadelphia  Declaration of colonial rights  Colonies have the right to run their own affairs  Supported protests  British use of force would should warrant colonial use of force  Agreed to reconvene if demands were not met

10.  Fighting at Lexington and Concord:  Minutemen: or civilian soldiers that began to stockpile firearms and gunpowder  General Gage sends troops toward Concord to investigate the stockpiling of firearms  Paul Revere, William Dawes, Samuel Prescott warn that the British are coming  Battle of Lexington

12.  Second Continental Congress 1775:  Goal: Debate colonists next move  John Adams radical plan (Massachusetts):  Each colony set up their own government  Declare colonies independent  Name a general to lead the Continental Army  John Dickenson moderate plan (Pennsylvania):  Called for reconciliation

13.  Second Continental Congress 1775: (cont.)  Appointed George Washington General of the Continental Army  Printing of paper money to pay troops  Committee to deal with foreign nations

14.  Battle of Bunker Hill:  450 colonists die  Over 1000 British  Deadliest battle of the war

16.  Olive Branch Petition 1775:  Urged a return to “former harmony” between Britain and colonies  British reaction:  King George III rejected the petition  Stated colonies are in state of rebellion  Ordered naval blockade of American coast

17.  Thomas Paine’s – Common Sense:  Published anonymously  Called for independence  Economic and social opportunities for all  Increase trade with foreign nations  Creation of a society free of tyranny

18.  Thomas Jefferson drafts the Declaration of Independence:  Promotes natural rights of “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”  Government power derived from the governed  Influenced by Enlightenment ideas  Right to abolish governments that challenge unalienable rights  All men are created equal  July 4, 1776 Declaration of Independence adopted

19.  Loyalists:  those who opposed independence and remained loyal to the Crown  Patriots: supporters of independence

20.  Defeat in New York:  General William Howe and Admiral Richard Howe lay siege to New York  Plan was to isolate New England  Washington forced to retreat

21.  Battle of Trenton:  Victory for Washington  Surprises the British Hessian (mercenary soldiers)

22.  British fight for Philadelphia:  General Howe and the British capture Philadelphia  Continental Congress flees city

23.  Battle of Saratoga:  American colonists are victorious  General Horatio Gates  General Howe never meets up with General Burgoyne “Gentlemen Johnny”  Result:  British troops do not venture to far inland for the remainder of the war  International aid to American Revolutionaries increase

24.  Valley Forge 1777- 1778

25.  European allies:  Friedrich von Steuben (Prussian)  Helped train colonial soldiers  Stand at attention  Execute field maneuvers  Fire and reload quickly  Wield bayonets

26.  European allies: (cont.)  Marquis de Lafayette (French)  French reinforces key to winning the war

27.  British change strategy 1778:  Shift operations to southern colonies  Goal:  Rally Loyalist support  Reclaim former colonies  Slowly fight way back north

29.  British change strategy 1778: (cont.)  British success in the South 1780  General Charles Cornwallis  Capture Georgia and South Carolina  British loses in the South 1781  Nathaniel Greene and Daniel Morgan lead Continental Army  Succeed at weaken British forces  Redcoats surrender at Cowpens, South Carolina

30.  British surrender at Yorktown:  French reinforcements help to defeat Cornwallis at Yorktown  October 17, 1781 Cornwallis surrenders

32.  Treaty of Paris1783:  John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay negotiate treaty  Recognize American independence  Set boundaries of nation  Atlantic Ocean to Mississippi River  Canada to Florida  Treaty does not specify when British would evacuate American forts  British could collect debts

33.  Impact:  Revolutionary ideals set a new course for American society  Class distinctions began to blur  Rise of egalitarianism  Ability, effort, and virtue  No increased rights for women or slaves  Native American interests in jeopardy  Set out to establish a Republic