America's route to freedom

Bacon's Rebellion

Bacon's Rebellion

1676 Started by Nathaniel Bacon, a wealthy landowner who incited the lower classes into rising up against the colonial government.

Seven Years War (French and Indian War)

1754-1763 A large global conflict between France and Britain. British victories came at a high cost, Britain was left in debt and had to tax the American Colonies as a result

Sugar Act

1764 1st law aimed at taxing the colonies to raise money for the empire. Increased import duties on non-British goods shipped into the colonies

Currency Act

1764 Prevented the colonies from issuing their own currency

Beginnings of Colonial Opposition

1764 Massachusetts representatives cried out against taxation without representation and suggested united protests

Quartering Act

1765 Required the colonies to provide barracks and supplies to British troops

Stamp Act

1765 Taxed newspapers, almanacs, pamphlets, broadsides, legal documents, dice, and playing cards.

Organized Colonial Protest

1765 Colonists responded to British taxes through organized protests. Sons of Liberty was established as an underground network of organizations aimed to stop Britain's taxes

Repeal of the Stamp Act

1766 Parliament repealed taxation on paper goods and resulted in the colonies abandoning nonimportation

Declaratory Act

1766 Statement that claimed Parliament could make laws binding the colonies in all cases whatsoever.

Resistance to the Quartering Act in New York

1766 New York Assembly refused to assist in quartering troops, resulting in a fight and Parliament suspending the Assembly, though the act was never enforced after the Assembly agreed to contribute money toward quartering troops.

Townshend Acts

1767 Taxation on glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea

Nonimportation

1767 In response to new taxes, the colonies again decided to discourage the importation of British goods

Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania to the Inhabitants of the British Colonies

1767 A pamphlet published by John Dickinson who declared that Parliament couldn't tax the colonies, and that the Townshend Acts were unconstitutional. Also stated that the suspension of the New York Assembly as a threat to colonial freedoms.

Townshend Acts cut back

1770 Britain withdraws all taxes except ones on tea

An End to Nonimportation

1770 Colonies relax boycotts on British goods after a relaxation of taxation laws

Conflict between Citizens and British Troops in New York

1770 A Son of Liberty issued a statement attacking the New York Assembly for complying with the Quartering Act, resulting in riots

Boston Massacre

1770 Arrival of troops in Boston provoked conflicts. On March 5th, a group of soldiers surrounded by an unfriendly crowd opened fire, killing 3 and fatally wounding 2 more. A uprising was avoided with the withdrawal of troops to nearby islands. The soldiers responsible were charged with murder, but were only convicted of minor crimes. The lawyer of the soldiers was patriot John Adams.

Attack on the "Gaspee"

1772 Boatloads of men attacked a grounded British customs ship, the governor planned to send the offenders to England for trial, causing outrage.

Committees of Correspondence

1772 Samuel Adams called for a Boston town meeting to create methods of communications with other colonies

Tea Act

1773 Tax on British tea was reduced, giving British merchants an advantage. The act was condemned by American colonists

Boston Tea Party

1773 A group of men disguised as Native Americans boarded British tea ships in Boston harbor and dumped the tea overboard.

Coercive Acts

1774 As a response to the Boston Tea party, parliament banned the loading or unloading of any ships in Boston harbor through the Boston Port Bill. The Administration of Justice Act allowed Royal Officials in Massachusetts were allowed to transfer court cases to England. The Massachusetts Government Act placed the election of officials under the control of the Crown.

Quartering Act

1774 British troops could be quartered in any occupied dwelling

The Colonies Organize Protest

1774 Delegates of the colonies were sent to discuss unified resistance against Britain

The First Continental Congress

1774 12 of the 13 colonies sent 56 delegates to the First Continental Congress, only Georgia did not participate, to discuss unified resistance. The congress passed the Association of 1774, urging all colonists to avoid using British goods

New England Prepares for war

1774 Thousands of American militiamen prepared to resist, and special groups of militia, Minute Men, were organized to be ready for instant action

The Firebrands

Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, Thomas Paine

Battle of Lexington and Concord

1775 First Battle of the Revolutionary War

Battle of Bunker Hill

1775 2nd Battle of the war, ended in a British victory despite massive casualties suffered by them

Second Continental Congress

1775 Political authority that directed the struggle for independence

Declaration of Independence

1776 The document recording the proclamation of the second Continental Congress asserting the independence of the colonies from Great Britain

Battle of Yorktown

1781 Last battle of the war, resulted in a British capitulation