Study Guide Ch 5 - 6

Proclamation of 1763 Quartering Acts The Cherokee War Pontiac's Rebellion 1763 The Paxton Boys The Parson's Cause Currency Act of 1764 Sugar Act 1764 Stamp Act 1765 The Stamp Act Crisis Nonimportation Movement Sons of Liberty Stamp Act Congress Declaratory Act Regulator Movement Townshend Duty Act 1767 American Nonimportation Movement Boston Massacre 1770 Gaspee Incident 1772 Boston Tea Party 1773 Tea Act of 1773 First Continental Congress 1774 Whigs and Tories

Massachusetts General Court General Gage Committee of Safety Minute Men Lord North's Conciliatory Proposition Lexington and Concord Second Continental Congress, 1775-1776 Olive Branch Petition Breed's Hill Moore's Creek Bridge Siege of Quebec Thomas Paine and Common Sense Declaration of Independence Republicanism Baron von Steuben Redcoats Joseph Brant Sir William and Richard Howe Battle of White Plains Battle of Trenton Battle of Princeton Burgoyne Battle of Saratoga Valley Forge Franco-American alliance League of Armed Neutrality Sir Henry Clinton George Rogers Clark Kaskaskia, Cahokia, Vincennes John Paul Jones - Bon Homme Richard privateers Savannah Battle of Charleston Camden King's Mountain Battle of Cowpens Guilford Court House Yorktown Peace of Paris, 1783

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Glossary
John Adams founded the Committees of Correspondence and played a crucial role at the First and Second Continental Congresses. At the close of the war, John Adams served as a principle diplomatic representative for the United States in the negotiation of the Treaty of Paris. Adams became the nation's second president.

Samuel Adams played a key role in the defense of Colonial rights. He had been a leader of the Sons of Liberty, and suggested the formation of the committees of correspondence. Adams played a crucial role in spreading the principle of colonial rights throughout New England. -- credited with provoking the Boston Tea Party

Albany Congress Called in 1754 in Albany, New York, the intercolonial Albany Congress was designed to deal with Iroquois grievances against the English. At the congress, prominent colonists proposed the Albany Plan of Union.

 The Battle of Brandywine Creek, on September 11, 1777, came as a severe setback to the Continentals at a time when they had been turning the tide of the war in their favor. Washington's Continentals suffered heavy losses, and with victory at Brandywine Creek the British were able to occupy the city of Philadelphia, forcing Congress to abandon the city.

Battle of Breed's and Bunker Hill  - The second battle of the war, the Battle of Breed's and Bunker Hill, on June 17, 1775, set the tone for the war in the North. The redcoats lost 1,154 men to the minutemen's 311 in a successful effort to dislodge the colonials from the hillside stronghold. The news of this battle convinced the British public and Parliament to abandon hopes of reconciliation.

Battle of Guilford Court House  In this fiercely fought Revolutionary War engagement on March 15, 1781, near modern Greensboro, North Carolina, British forces under Lord Cornwallis and Americans commanded by General Nathanael Greene both sustained heavy losses. The British technically won by were forced to withdraw to Wilmington, North Carolina.

Battle of Cowpens This Revolutionary War engagement, which involved approximately 1,000 men on each side, took place in upstate South Carolina on January 17, 1781. American forces under General Daniel Morgan won a resounding victory over the British under Banastre Tarleton, thereby compromising the latter's reputation for invincibility and boosting American morale.

Battle of King's Mountain In this decisive Revolutionary War victory in northwestern South Carolina on October 7, 1780, nine hundred American militia from Virginia, the western Carolinas, and eastern tennessee annihilated or captured over one thousand Loyalists, an important turning point in the southern campaign.

Battle of Lexington and Concord  - On April 19, 1775, the "shot heard around the world" was fired as violence broke out in Massachusetts. Colonial militiamen repelled British soldiers attempting to seize a supply stockpile in Concord, chasing the Redcoats back to Boston and beginning the siege there.

Battle of Monmouth Courthouse  - The longest battle of the war occurred on June 28, 1778. The Continentals, recently trained by Friedrich von Steuben, showed the British they could win a pitched battle, holding the field and forcing the British troops to retreat to New York City. Beaten in the North, the British turned their attention elsewhere. After the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse the British never again easily won a Revolutionary War battle.

Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge In this Revolutionary War engagement that occurred on February 27, 1776, near Wilmington, North Carolina, an American force of approximately one thousand militia clashed with about eighteen hundred Loyalists, most of them Highland Scots. The smashing American victory disrupted British plans for the Loyalists to link up with a large British expedition that sailed from Ireland to North Carolina during the winter of 1775-1776.

Battle of Princeton In this Revolutionary War battle fought on January 3, 1777, General Washington eluded the main British forces under Cornwallis and attacked a British column near Princeton, New Jersey, inflicting heavy losses before withdrawing into winter quarters not far away at Morristown. The battles of Trenton and Princeton greatly improved Patriot morale.

Battle of Saratoga  was the Continentals' first victory in a major battle. General Horatio Gates led his 17,000 troops against the British, under John Burgoyne, near Saratoga New York. After the Continentals had inflicted more than 1,200 casualties, Burgoyne's remaining 5,800 men laid down their weapons and surrendered on October 17, 1777. The victory not only boosted morale within the Continental Army, it also convinced France to recognize US independence and agree to a military alliance.

Battle of Savannah This series of Revolutionary War encounters began when British forces routed American militia and occupied Savannah on December 29, 1778. A French fleet under the Comte d'Estaing and American forces under General Benjamin Lincoln then tried to recapture the city by siege, beginning on September 3, 1779, but an assault on October 9 failed, with heavy casualties. D'Estaing, wounded, departed with this fleet on October 28, leaving the way open for the British attack on Charleston, South Carolina.

Boston Massacre  - On March 5, 1770, a crowd formed to demonstrate against the customs agents. When a British officer tried to disperse the crowd, he and his men were bombarded with rocks and dared to shoot by the unruly mob. Five people were killed, including Crispus Attucks.

Boston Tea Party  - In protest of the Tea Act, which would allow Britain to use the profits from selling tea to pay the salaries of royal governors, who had, until then, been dependent upon the colonial assemblies for their salaries, Boston patriots organized the Boston Tea Party. On December 16, 1773, the night before a shipment of tea was to be turned over to the British East India Tea Company for sale in the colonies, Samuel Adams gathered Boston residents and warned them of the consequences of the Tea Act. Following the meeting, approximately 50 young men dressed as Mohawk Indians boarded the ships and dumped the cargo into the harbor.

Chief Joseph Brant  - A Mohawk chief,  led pro-British Iroquois in the successful terrorization of the Pennsylvania and New York borders throughout 1778.

Bunker Hill, Battle of First major battle of the Revolutionary War; it actually took place at nearby Breed’s Hill, Massachusetts, on June 17, 1775.

John Burgoyne - British general, commanded the British forces in New York during the 1777 campaign to secure the countryside. Burgoyne's troops were beaten at the Battle of Saratoga in October 1777 by General Horatio Gates and his Continentals.

George Rogers Clark led a group of 175 Kentucky militiamen north of the Ohio River to counter British and Native American movements and secure the region for the Continentals. Clark and his men captured the strategic French community of Vincennes and terrorized the local Indian tribes. This was the first in a string of episodes in which the Americans systematically destroyed Native American homelands.

Coercive Acts/Intolerable Acts (1774) Four parliamentary measures in reaction to the Boston Tea Party that forced payment for the tea, disallowed colonial trials of British soldiers, forced their quartering in private homes, and set up a military government.

The Committee of Safety refers to any of the extralegal committees that directed the Revolutionary movement and carried on the functions of government at the local level in the period between the breakdown of royal authority and the establishment of regular governments under the new state constitutions. Some Committees of Safety continued to function throughout the Revolutionary War.

Committees of Correspondence were organized by New England leader Samuel Adams and made up a system of communication between patriot leaders in the towns of New England and eventually throughout the colonies. Committees of Correspondence provided the political organization necessary to unite the colonies in opposition to Parliament.

commonwealth   A political body governed by its own elected representatives.

Conciliatory Proposition - plan proposed by Lord North and adopted by the House of Commons in February 1775, Parliament would forbear taxation of Americans in colonies whose assemblies imposed taxes considered satisfactory by the British govenrment. The Continental Congress rejected this plan on July 31, 1775.

confederation  A group of sovereign states that unite for specific purposes (defense, foreign policy, trade, and so on), that otherwise act as independant bodies.
 
Continental Congress Representatives of a loose confederation of colonies met first in Philadelphia in 1774 to formulate actions against British policies; the Second Continental Congress (1775–89) conducted the war and adopted the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation.

General Charles Cornwallis  commanded the British troops in the South after the capture of Charleston, South Carolina. His men fended off attacks for months, but could not hold out against the Siege of Yorktown. Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781, effectively ending the Revolutionary War.

Passed by Parliament in 1764, the Currency Act prevented the colonies from issuing legal tender paper money, which often depreciated.

Declaration of Independence Document adopted on July 4, 1776, that made the official break with Britain; drafted by a committee of the Second Continental Congress including principal writer Thomas Jefferson. After independence had been proposed in Congress on June 9, Thomas Jefferson had begun work on the declaration, which enumerated the reasons for the split with Britain and laid out the Enlightenment values of natural rights to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," upon which the revolution was based. Click here for a SparkNote on the Declaration of Independence.

The Declaratory Act stated that Parliament could legislate for the colonies in all cases. Passed just after the repeal of the Stamp Act, most colonists interpreted the act as a face-saving mechanism and nothing more. However, Parliament continually interpreted the act to its broadest extent and continued to try to legislate in the colonies.

John Dickinson was a colonial leader from Pennsylvania. Present at the First and Second Continental Congresses, he argued for moderation and feared the effects of a drastic split with Britain. Dickinson composed the Olive Branch Petition, which was sent to Britain by the Second Continental Congress, offering peace to King George III.

federation   A union of sovereign powers in which each unit retains the power to control its own local affairs.

The First Continental Congress convened on September 5, 1774, with all colonies but Georgia sending delegates chosen by the Committees of Correspondence. The Congress endorsed the Suffolk Resolves (which denied the constitutionality of the Coercive Acts), voted for an organized boycott of British imports, and sent a petition to the attention of King George III that conceded to Parliament the power of regulation of commerce, but stringently objected to the seemingly arbitrary taxation and adjudication of recent years.

Benjamin Franklin was an inventor, patriot, and statesman. During the Revolutionary War, he served as an ambassador to France, playing a key role in getting France to recognize the United States' independence. He went on to figure prominently in the debates over the construction of the American government.

Gaspee was the British revenue schooner burned in Narragansett Bay by Rhode Islanders in 1772. The incident led to the appointment of a British commission of inquiry whose powers prompted Americans to establish committees of correspondence.

General Horatio Gates led Continental forces throughout the war. His war record included, paradoxically, both the Continental victory at the Battle of Saratoga, in New York and the embarrassing defeat at Camden, South Carolina. After the defeat at Camden, he was removed from command and replaced by Nathanael Greene.

General Nathanael Greene of Rhode Island amassed an impressive service record fighting for the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. He is most well known for his role in wearing out the British forces in the South and setting the stage for the Siege of Yorktown.

Hessians were German mercenary soldiers employed by the British in the Revolutionary War. The British hired 30,000 Hessians and used their forces extensively throughout the war.

General William Howe and his troops landed at New York City in the summer of 1776 as one of the first large British military installments. He proved a continuous challenge to Washington, as his troops were victorious over Washington's both in the Battle of Long Island, and a year later in the crushing Battle of Brandywine Creek.

Thomas Hutchinson  was a British official who played many roles in the years leading up to the American Revolution. He served as chief justice of the Massachusetts supreme court that heard James Otis' case against the writs of assistance; as lieutenant governor of Massachusetts during the Stamp Act crisis; and finally, as the royal governor. In 1773, Samuel Adams published a number of Hutchinson's letters, in which Hutchinson advocated "an abridgement of what are called British liberties," and "a great restraint of natural liberty" in the colonies.

Intolerable Acts (1774) were the combination of the four Coercive Acts, meant to punish the colonists after the 1773 Boston Tea Party, and the unrelated Quebec Act. The Intolerable Acts were seen in the American colonies as the blueprints for a British plan to deny the Americans representative government and were the impetus for the convening of the First Continental Congress.

Thomas Jefferson is most well known as the author of the Declaration of Independence, approved by Congress on July 4, 1776. Jefferson played a key role in the deliberations of Congress and in the shaping of the American government. He became the nation's third president.

Kaskaskia, Illinois, on the Mississippi River, was occupied on July 4, 1778, during the Revolutionary War, by George Rogers Clark, command troops from Virginia. Cahokia, Illinois, and Vincennes, Indiana, soon capitulated, though the Britsh later reoccupied Vincennes before Clark recaptured it on February 23, 1779. Clark's operations strengthened American claims to the areas at the end of the war.

 The Marquis de Lafayette joined Washington's staff after the Battles of Trenton and Princeton, and was made a major general July 31,1777. His arrival was a clear sign that the French King Louis XVI was considering recognizing the independent United States. Lafayette was a gifted military leader and Washington had the utmost confidence in him. Lafayette's exploits in the Revolutionary War brought him great fame, and he later went on to play a major role in the early years of the French Revolution.
Loyalists (Tories)   Americans who remained loyal to the king and were called Tories by American Whigs. The name Tory came from the English political faction that supported the king and was less willing to see Parliament (especially the House of Commons) rise to power. American Tories called themselves Loyalists. Some Loyalists argued that the real threat to liberty was not the king and Parliament, but groups, such as the Sons of Liberty, that carried out their programs through threats and violence. By opposing such people, the Loyalists contended, they were the ones who stood firm against arbitrary rule and for representative government--in short, that they were the true Whigs.

Ebeneezer MacIntosh  was a Boston shoemaker chosen to lead the coalition of the North End and South End factions in Boston against the stamp distributor, Andrew Oliver. He oversaw the mob that drove Oliver out of town before he could collect stamp taxes.

Minutemen  - The local militias of New England were made up of soldiers commonly known as minutemen, so termed for their ability to prepare for battle quickly. Militias played an important role in the Revolutionary War, fighting in many small skirmishes and joining the Continentals in battle from time to time.

new colonial system   The system that emerged after 1763 when the British government decided to reorganize the colonial system on more efficient lines. What it did was to alter the relationship between colonies and the mother country, stressing the supremacy of the latter just at the time that most North American provinces were feeling more secure and self-confident than ever before. Characterized by a series of acts that not only taxed the colonies, but also attempted to enforce collection, this "new" system stood in stark contrast to the "old" and raised fears in the colonies that if these actions were not opposed, even worse would follow. From the British standpoint, however, the "new colonial system" was simply an effort to get the colonies to pay for their own administration and to discourage the illegal trade that had flourished during the period of salutary neglect --neither of which concept the mother country felt was unreasonable.
 
old colonial system   The period extending from the mid-seventeenth century to the mid- eighteenth century, characterized by the acts, regulations, and enforcement institutions used by Britain to govern its colonies. Influenced by the theory of mercantilism, England first tried to direct colonial commerce through the mother country and regulate it through the Board of Trade and Plantations. But finding that the colonies prospered under a less restrictive system, England eased enforcement, and the policy of "salutary neglect" emerged. It has been argued that had the British not altered this policy during and after the Great War for the empire, the American Revolution might not have taken place as it did, so content were the colonists with the economic freedom and relative self-government that the "old colonial system" provided.

The Olive Branch Petition was penned by John Dickinson and sent to King George III by the Second Continental Congress in 1775. It offered peace under the conditions that there be a cease-fire in Boston, the Coercive Acts be repealed, and negotiations between the colonists and Britain be commenced immediately. The Olive Branch Petition reached Britain the same day as news of the June 17 Battle of Breed's and Bunker Hill and was rejected.

James Otis was an influential Bostonian heavily involved in the fight for colonial rights. Most notably, he argued the case against the writs of assistance in front of the Massachusetts supreme court. Though unsuccessful in his case, Otis succeeded in illuminating the core of the colonists' opposition to Parliamentary actions in the colonies.

Thomas Paine published his pamphlet Common Sense in January 1776, exhorting Americans to rise in opposition to the British government. Historians have cited the publication of this pamphlet as the event that dissolved the last barriers to independence and revolution.

The Parson's Cause was a series of developments (1758-1763) that began when the Virginia legislature modified the salaries of Anglican clergymen, who complained to the crown and sued to recover damages. British authorities responded by imposing additional restrictions on the legislature. Virginians, who saw this as a threat, reacted by strongly reasserting local autonomy.

The Paxton Boys' uprising was a revolt by western Pennsylvania farmers in 1763. It was triggered by eastern indifference to Indian attacks on the frontier and by the western district's underrepresentation in the Pennsylvania assembly.

Pontiac was an Ottawa Indian leader, who led a series of attacks against the British forts near the Great Lakes, eight of which he successfully sacked. He was a great proponent of driving the British out of Indian territory, fearing the British presence there would encourage the colonists to move west and overrun the tribal lands.

Pontiac's Rebellion Along with Neolin of the Delawares, Pontiac tried to hold back white advancement into the trans-Appalachian frontier in 1763-1766. Fearful of their fate at the hands of the British after the French had been driven out of North America, the Indian nations of the Ohio River Valley and the Great Lakes area united to oust the British from the Ohio-Mississippi Valley. The rebellion failed and they were forced to make peace in 1766.

Proclamation of 1763  The British proclaimed a new western policy in the Proclamation of 1763. No settlers were allowed to cross the Appalachian divide, termed the "Proclamation Line." It was much resented by land hungry American colonists and proved unenforceable.

The Quartering Act was enacted in 1765, requiring colonial assemblies to pay for certain supplies for troops stationed within their colonies. In 1767, New York, the colony in which the greatest number of troops were stationed, refused to comply with the law, provoking parliament to threaten the nullification of all laws passed by the New York colonial legislature.

Quebec Act  In 1774 Parliament passed the Quebec Act that created the British colony of Quebec and established an authoritarian, centralized government between the Ohio River and Canada. Seaboard colonists concluded that their opportunities for self-government were threatened and termed this act along with the Coercive Acts the Intolerable Acts.

Regulators were vigilante groups in the 1760s and 1770s in the western parts of North and South Carolina. The South Carolina Regulators attempted to rid the area of outlaws; the North Carolina Regulators sought to protect themselves against excessively high taxes and court costs. In both cases, westerners lacked sufficient representation in the legislature to obtain immediate redress of their grievances. The South Carolina government eventually made concessions; the North Carolina government suppressed its Regulator movement by force.

republic   A government in which, as in a democracy, the power to govern lies with the people, but the people exercise this power through elected representatives. Colonial elites distrusted this form as well, especially when low qualifications to vote threatened to allow mass participation. Nevertheless, this system was more acceptable than direct democracy was. For example, examine the colonial legislatures.

right of revolution   A concept found in the writings of John Locke which holds that if a government denies its people their natural rights, those people have the right--indeed, the duty--to rise up against the oppressive government, overthrow it (by force if necessary), and establish a more responsive government in its place. This, Locke contended, was what had taken place during the Glorious Revolution. It was also, Thomas Jefferson later contended, what brought about the American Revolution.

Salutary neglect refers to the state of Anglo-American relations before the end of the French and Indian War. British Parliament did not interfere in the government of the colonies, and America existed in relative political isolation.

Second Continental Congress  - After fighting had broken out in Massachusetts, the Second Continental Congress convened on May 10, 1775. Most delegates still opposed the drastic move of calling for independence, despite the outbreak of violence. In an effort to reach a reconciliation with the King, John Dickinson penned the Olive Branch Petition, offering peace under the conditions that there be a cease-fire in Boston, the Coercive Acts be repealed, and negotiations between the colonists and Britain be commenced immediately. The Second Continental Congress also created the Continental Army and elected George Washington its commander in chief.

The Sons of Liberty were leaders of the opposition to the Stamp Act. They organized mass demonstrations, prohibited their followers to carry weapons and used strict discipline and military formations to direct the protestors.

sovereignty   Supreme power, independent of and unlimited by any other force, as in a sovereign state.

The Stamp Act required Americans to buy special watermarked paper for newspapers and all legal documents. Violators faced juryless trials in vice-admiralty courts, just as under the Sugar Act. The Stamp Act provoked the first truly organized response to British impositions.

Stamp Act Congress  - In response to the Stamp Act, and representing a new level of pan-colonial political organization, on October 7, 1765, representatives of nine colonial assemblies met in New York City at the Stamp Act Congress. The colonies agreed widely on the principles that Parliament could not tax anyone outside of Great Britain, and could not deny anyone a fair trial, both of which had been done in the American colonies.
 
The Sugar Act lowered the duty on foreign-produced molasses from six pence per gallon to 3 pence per gallon, in attempts to discourage smuggling. The act further stipulated that Americans could export many commodities, including lumber, iron, skins, and whalebone, to foreign countries, only if they passed through British ports first. The act also placed a heavy tax on formerly duty- free Madeira wine from Portugal. The terms of the act and its methods of enforcement outraged many colonists.

The Tea Act (1773) permitted the East India Company to sell tea through agents in America without paying the duty customarily collected in Britain, thus reducing the retail price. Americans, who saw the act as an attempt to induce them to pay the Townshend duty still imposed in the colonies, resisted this act through the Boston Tea Party and other measures.

Charles Townshend was the chancellor of the exchequer under Prime Minister William Pitt. However, when Pitt fell ill, Townshend took effective control of the government. His most notable action was the passage of the Revenue Act of 1767, popularly called the Townshend duties. The act enraged the colonists and provoked widespread resistance.

Parliament passed the Revenue Act of 1767 on July 2, 1767. Popularly referred to as the Townshend duties, the Revenue Act taxed glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea entering the colonies. The colonists objected to the fact that it was clearly designed more to raise revenue than to regulate trade in a manner favorable to the British Empire.

Treaty of Paris  - Signed on September 3, 1783 and ratified by Congress on January 14, 1784, the Treaty of Paris ended the Revolutionary War and granted the United States its independence. It further granted the US all land east of the Mississippi River, and contained clauses that bound Congress to urge state legislatures to compensate loyalists for property damage during the war and allow British creditors to collect debts accrued before the war. The Treaty of Paris opened the door to future disputes.

In response to the Stamp Act, Patrick Henry persuaded the Virginia House of Burgesses to adopt several strongly worded resolutions that denied Parliament's right to tax the colonies. These resolutions were known as the Virginia Resolves, and persuaded many other colonial legislatures to adopt similar positions.

The concept of virtual representation was employed by Prime Minister George Grenville to explain why Parliament could legally tax the colonists even though the colonists could not elect any members of Parliament. The theory of virtual representation held that the members of Parliament did not only represent their specific geographical constituencies, but rather that they took into consideration the well being of all British subjects when deliberating on legislation.

Friedrich von Steuben  arrived at the Continentals' winter camp at Valley Forge in February 1778 and inspected the troops there. Finding them grossly under-trained and under-disciplined, he began a training regimen that prepared them for victory in the North in 1778. Von Steuben was made inspector general of the Continental Army on May 5, 1778.

Whig   The name given the English political faction responsible for the Glorious Revolution. Basing its power in Parliament, it opposed arbitrary rule by the monarch, calling instead for the country to be governed by the representatives chosen by those people qualified to vote ( upper-class males). In America, many who protested against England's new colonial system adopted the name Whig, to indicate that they, too, opposed arbitrary rule and believed that government should rest in the hands of the people's representatives. Their point, however, was that the British government (specifically Parliament at first and later the king) was attempting to govern without legitimate authority and that the true representatives of the people in the colonies were the colonial assemblies. In this way, colonial opponents of British policies called attention to their belief that their protests were part of the tradition of opposition to tyranny on which the very government they protested claimed to have been founded.

Writs of assistance were general search warrants, which allowed customs officers to search any building or ship they thought might contain smuggled goods, even without probable cause for suspicion. (allowed British customs agents looking for smuggled goods to enter colonial homes and warehouses without evidence or specific court orders) The colonists considered the writs to be an infringement upon personal liberties.

Yorktown  - Once Nathanael Greene's forces had forced the British under Cornwallis to retreat to Yorktown, Virginia, the Continentals, joined by substantial numbers of French troops, closed in on the city. 16,600 allied troops besieged the city from October 6 to October 19, 1781, until the 6,000 British troops holding the city surrendered. The Siege of Yorktown was the last major battle of the war. The British defeat crushed their fighting spirit and killed public support at home for the war effort.

Timeline
March 5, 1770
June 9, 1772: The Burning of the Gaspee -- more than one hundred Rhode Island colonists burn the corrupt customs ship Gaspee to the waterline after it runs aground near Providence.
December 16, 1773: The Boston Tea Party
May 20-June 1, 1774: The Intolerable Acts
September 5, 1774: First Continental Congress
April 20, 1775: The Battle of Lexington and Concord
May 10, 1775: Second Continental Congress
June 17, 1775: Battle of Breed's and Bunker Hill
August 23, 1775: King George III Declares New England in a State of Rebellion
January 9, 1776: Thomas Paine Publishes Common Sense
July 4, 1776: Declaration of Independence
August 23, 1776: General William Howe's Troops Crush Washington's Forces on Long Island
December 26, 1776 and January 3, 1777: Battles of Trenton and Princeton
September 11, 1777: The Battle of Brandywine Creek
October 17, 1777: General John Burgoyne's men surrender at the Battle of Saratoga
November 15, 1777: Congress Adopts the Articles of Confederation 
May 4, 1778: The American-French Alliance is Ratified by Congress
June 28, 1778: The Battle of Monmouth Courthouse
February 1779: George Rogers Clark Secures the Settlement of Vincennes
May 12, 1780: British Forces Under Henry Clinton Seize Charleston
August 16, 1780: The Battle of Camden
December 2, 1780: Nathanael Greene Replaces Gates as Commander of the Southern Army
October 6 - October 19, 1781: The Siege of Yorktown
December 4, 1782: British Declare an End to Hostilities
September 3, 1783: The Treaty of Paris is Signed
January 14, 1784: The Continental Congress Ratifies the Treaty of Paris The ratification of the treaty brings an official end to the Revolutionary War