|
TIMELINE
of the REVOLUTION
|
1760
King George III ascends to the throne of England. |
1763
Treaty signed between England and France ending the French and Indian War. Canada and the continent
east of the Mississippi River added to Great Britain's growing empire. |
1765
Parliament passes The Stamp Act as a means to pay for British troops on the American frontier.
Colonists violently protest the measure. |
1766
March 18, Stamp Act repealed, but on the same day parliament passes the Declaratory Act asserting its
right to make laws binding on the colonies. |
1768
October. British troops arrive in Boston to enforce customs laws. |
1770
March. Four workers shot by British troops stationed in Boston. Patriots label the killings
"The Boston Massacre." |
1773
December. Massachusetts patriots dressed as Mohawk Indians protest the British Tea Act by
dumping crates of tea into Boston Harbor. |
1774
January. The Privy Council reprimands Benjamin Franklin in London for leaking letters damaging
to the Royal Govenor of Massachusetts.
September. First Continental Congress convenes in Philadelphia. |
1775
April. Shots fired at Lexington and Concord. "Minute Men" force British troops back to Boston.
George Washington takes command of the Continental Army. |
1776
January. Thomas Paine's Common Sense published. Becomes an instant best seller and pushes
the colonies closer to independence.
July 4. Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence ratified by the Congress.
July. A hugh British force arrives in New York harbor bent on crushing the rebellion.
August. Continental Army routed at Long Island, New York.
December 26. Washington crosses the Deleware River and captures a Hessian force at Trenton,
New Jersey.
December. In desperate need of financing and arms, Congress sends Benjamin Franklin to France
to urge the French to ally with America. |
1777
July. A British force led by John Burgoyne takes Fort Ticonderoga in a devastating loss to the
Americans. The Marquis de Lafayette arrives in America. Washington defeated at Brandywine (September 11)
and Germantown (October 4). Philadelphia is lost to the British. |
1778
February. France signs a treaty of alliance with the United States and the American Revolution
becomes a world war. |
1780
British attack Charleston, South Carolina. City falls in May.
1780-'81. Americans "lose" series of engagements in the south, but gains a heavy toll on the
British army. |
1781
African-American Elizabeth Freeman sues for her freedom in Massachusetts. Her victory prohibits slavery
in that state.
October 19. A miraculous convergence of American and French forces traps Lord Cornwallis at
Yorktown, Virginia. He surrenders his British Army. |
1783
September. A peace treaty is signed between Great Britain and the United States.
December. George Washington gives up command of the Continental Army and, to the astonishment of
foreign observers, returns to private life.
1783-'87. Noah Webster creates and publishes a speller which helps standardize American English. |
1785
1785-'86. Treaty talks with Spain for rights to navigate the Mississippi fail because of
regional conflicts between northern and southern states. |
1786
1786-'87. Shay's Rebellion, an armed incurrection of debt-ridden farmers in Massachusetts,
squashed by the state militia. |
1787
Northwest Ordinance. Adopted by Confederation Congress. Prohibits slavery in territories and provides
a means for new states to enter the union. In May, delegates from all 13 staes arrive in Philadelphia
to rewrite the Articles of Confederation.
September 18. The Constitutional Convention adjourns having passed a National Constitution that
needs ratification from 3/4 of the states. |
1788
The crucial states of Virginia (June 25) and New York (July 26) become the 10th and 11th states to pass the
Constitution. |
1791
December. A Bill of rights passed by the 1st Congress of the United States. |
