Christian Peterson
ECB Publishing, Inc.
From the Museum of the American Revolution
French and Indian War (1754):
Amidst ongoing tensions between Great Britain and France in their American colonies and abroad, 22- year-old Lieutenant Colonel George Washington, of Virginia, accidentally sparks the French and Indian War, leading to the global conflict known as the Seven Years’ War.
Treaty of Paris (Feb. 1, 1763):
The Treaty of Paris between Great Britain, France, Spain and Portugal ends the Seven Years’ War, leaving Great Britain with titles to French and Spanish territories in North America.
Proclamation Line of 1763:
Hoping to prevent a renewal of violence with the French and Native Americans, Great Britain establishes a line of forts along the Appalachian Mountains and prohibits new British-American settlement west of the line. The substantial cost of the troops to staff these forts puts pressure on the British government to raise money by taxing British-American colonists.
Sugar Act (1764):
Parliament adopts a Sugar Act to regulate trade and raise revenue within its expanded empire. Colonists who depend on trade protest that the duties on sugar violate their right to consent to their own taxation. Others are concerned because accused smugglers will be tried without a jury. Some protest that the act supports slavery on Caribbean sugar plantations.
Stamp Act (1765):
As a way for Britain to support its North American regiments after the Sevens Years’ War, a tax was enforced on stamps and other items.
Declaratory Act (1766):
Immediately after repealing the Stamp Act in response to American protests, Parliament adopts the Declaratory Act, asserting its right to make laws for American colonists “in all cases whatsoever.” In other words, Parliament may have repealed the Stamp Act, but it still had the right to impose taxes on the colonists.
Townshend Acts (1767):
The Townshend Acts, a series of laws enacted by the British Parliament to assert and exercise its right to raise revenue in the colonies and strengthen enforcement of trade regulations, spark renewed protests in many American communities.
British Troops in Boston (1768):
The landing of British troops in Boston, Mass., energizes anti-British political sentiment. Street protests and confrontations lead to the March 5, 1770, Boston Massacre.
Boston Massacre (March 5, 1770):
After years of rising tension between Bostonians and British soldiers in the city, violence erupts on the night of March 5, 1770. A crowd attacks a British guard. Five soldiers and an officer come to relieve him. Someone yells “fire.” Their gunfire kills three people, mortally wounds two and injures six others.
Boston Tea Party (Dec. 16, 1773):
A crowd disguised as Mohawk Indians dump more than 300 crates of British East India Company tea into Boston Harbor. Outrage in Britain leads to passage of the Coercive Acts, while in the American colonies, other tea parties follow. In January and December 1774, crowds in Princeton and Greenwich, N,J., burn tea.
Coercive Acts (1774):
Adopted by Parliament between March 31 and June 2, 1774, the four Coercive Acts punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party and make an example of it for other colonists. The acts close the Port of Boston to trade, suspend its colonial legislature and town meetings, establish a military governorship and require all colonies to house British soldiers.
First Continental Congress (1774):
The First Continental Congress, a convention of 56 delegates from 12 British-American colonies, convenes in Philadelphia to consider a coordinated response to the Intolerable Acts (Coercive Acts).
Lexington and Concord (April 19, 1775):
A British force from the Boston garrison attempts to seize military supplies of the Massachusetts militia, sparking the first military engagement of the American Revolution: the Battles of Lexington and Concord.
Second Continental Congress (1775):
Colonial delegates reconvene in Philadelphia, now faced with bloodshed in Massachusetts and divisions over whether to seek reconciliation with the British Crown. Congress votes to create a Continental Army from the New England forces surrounding Boston and appoints George Washington commander.
Battle of Bunker Hill (June 17, 1775):
British troops dislodge an entrenched New England force from the heights overlooking Charleston and Boston Harbor, but suffer more than 1,000 casualties. The engagement boosts confidence in the American army and persuades British leaders that they must avoid direct assaults on entrenched American positions in the future.
Washington assumes command (June 19, 1775):
George Washington issues his first orders as commander-in-chief of the “Troops of the United Provinces of North America” from his headquarters in Cambridge, Mass.
Black troops petition to remain in the army (December 1775):
When news reaches Black troops around Boston that an act of Congress prohibits the enlistment of African American in the Continental Army for the coming campaign, they successfully petition George Washington to allow them to reenlist
Evacuation of Boston (March 17, 1776):
After American troops fortify hills outside of British-occupied Boston with cannons obtained from New York’s Fort Ticonderoga, British General William Howe chooses to evacuate Boston rather than risk the destruction or capture of his army.
Virginia Declaration of Rights and Constitution (June 1776):
The American Continental Congress calls on the colonies to create new state governments to replace British royal authority. In response, Virigina adopts a state Constitution and Declaration of Rights, which asserts that “all men are by nature equally free and independent and have certain inherent rights.”
American Independence (July 2, 1776):
In Philadelphia, delegates to the Second Continental Congress vote to sever political ties with Great Britain. Public announcement and publication of the final draft of the Declaration of Independence on July 4 establishes the birth date of the United States of America.
Declaration read to Washington’s troops (July 9, 1776):
General George Washington orders the Declaration of Independence to be read to Continental Army forces in and around New York City. A group of soldiers, sailors and civilians tears down a statue of King George III in a part of the city called Bowling Green.
Battle of Long Island (Aug. 27, 1776):
British land and naval forces attack the Continental Army on Long Island, leading to a series of American defeats around New York and across New Jersey. British forces occupy New York until November 1783.
Washington crosses the Delaware (Dec. 25, 1776):
Following a demoralizing retreat from New York, and with the enlistment terms of many troops about to expire, General George Washington gambles on a surprise attack on the Hessian garrison of Trenton, N.J. Washington’s Christmas night crossing of the Delaware River leads to the battles of Trenton and Princeton during “10 Crucial Days” that revive the struggle to secure American independence.
British surrender at Saratoga (Oct. 17, 1777):
After a series of actions in the Hudson and Mohawk Valleys, the British strategy of cutting New England off from the rest of the rebelling colonies ends in failure at Saratoga. British General John Burgoyne’s surrender provides welcome news after the fall of Philadelphia and influences France’s decision to declare war on Great Britain.
Valley Forge Encampment (Dec. 19, 1777):
Washington’s bedraggled forces to arrive at Valley Forge, about 20 miles northwest of Britishoccupied Philadelphia, where they remain in winter quarters for six months.
Franco-American Alliance (February 1778):
Representatives of the Continental Congress and the French government sign a treaty of alliance that facilitates commercial exchange, provides French recognition of the United States, and pledges mutual support in the struggle against Great Britain. French volunteer the Marquis de Lafayette has already been serving under Washington since the previous summer.
Battle of Monmouth (June 28, 1778):
British and American forces clash in central New Jersey in the last large-scale military engagement before major operations shift to the south. The Continental Army’s performance in this hard-fought battle reflects the reforms in training and discipline instituted during the Valley Forge encampment.
Clark captures Kaskaskia (July 4, 1778):
Virginian George Rogers Clark leads an expedition of militia from Kentucky and western Virginia against the British-held village of Kaskaskia in the Illinois County. Native Americans and Frenchspeaking inhabitants find themselves caught up in the Anglo-American struggle for control of the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys.
Pennsylvania Gradual Abolition Act (March 1, 1780):
Pennsylvania becomes the first state to adopt an abolition law. This act prohibits the importation of enslaved people into the state, provides for the emancipation of enslaved people born after the passage of the act once they reach 28 years of age, and requires non-residents to free any enslaved person kept in the state longer than six months.
British capture Charleston (May 1780):
With the war in the north stalled, the British turn their attention to the south. Charleston, S.C., had repelled a powerful British naval assault in 1776, but the Americans surrender the city in 1780. The loss cripples the state’s government and leads to a devastating war across much of the south.
Battle of King’s Mountain (Oct. 7, 1780):
Vicious fighting between Loyalist and backcountry militia ends in the death, wounding or capture of an entire Loyalist force. This action halts the British invasion of North Carolina.
Britain declares war on the Netherlands (December 1780):
In response to the financial and military support that the Dutch had covertly or informally provided the American Congress and its allies, the British declare war on the Netherlands. The British government has no allies in Europe for the first time in a century.
Battle of Guilford Courthouse (March 15, 1781):
British forces defeat Americans under Nathanael Greene, but their control in the south begins to erode as British general Cornwallis invades Virginia.
Mum Bett and Quok Walker cases (August 1781):
Under the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780, all “inhabitants” are guaranteed “natural rights.” In 1781, two enslaved people, Elizabeth Freeman (sometimes referred to as “Mum Bett”) and Quok Walker, win their freedom in Massachusetts courts by asserting that, as inhabitants with natural rights, they cannot be legally enslaved.
Cornwallis surrenders (Oct. 19, 1781):
British General Charles Cornwallis surrendered to General George Washington at the Battle of Yorktown in 1781.
Treaty of Paris (Sep. 3, 1783):
Peace takes two years of careful diplomacy to finalize. Preliminary articles of peace adopted on Nov. 30, 1782, recognize American independence and give the United States a vast stretch of territory from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River. Ratified by the American Congress and King George III in 1784, this treaty ends the American War of Independence.
British forces leave New York City (Nov. 25, 1783):
The final ships carrying British troops and tens of thousands of white and Black Loyalists leave New York Harbor for destinations in Canada, Britain and the West Indies.
General Washington resigns (Dec. 23, 1783):
In the supreme act affirming civilian control of the American military, General George Washington resigns his commission in a moving ceremony at the Maryland State House in Annapolis.
Constitutional Convention (1787):
Presided over by George Washington, delegates convene in Philadelphia’s State House (now known as Independence Hall) to revise the Articles of Confederation. Over the course of the summer, this body frames the United States Constitution.
Washington’s Inauguration (April 30, 1789):
At a ceremony on the balcony of New York’s City Hall, George Washington is sworn in as the first President of the United States of America under its new Constitution.
Bill of Rights (Dec. 15, 1791):
The first Federal Congress adopts 10 amendments to the Federal Constitution, written in 1787. This “Bill of Rights” states and protects fundamental freedoms of speech, religion, defense and jurisprudence.
Star-Spangled Banner (Sep. 14, 1814):
Watching the British bombardment of Fort McHenry outside of Washington, D.C., Francis Scott Key composes the words of a song celebrating the American defense. He calls it the Star-Spangled Banner. Set to a popular English tune, it will later be adopted as the American National Anthem in 1931.