Britain and France

The Proclamation of 1763 drew an imaginary line at the crest of the Appalachian Mountains and prohibited colonists from settling west of the line. Colonists felt that they were entitled to settle here after helping win the war for that land. They felt Britain had no right to restrict state settlements.

As colonists protested many of the taxes, one run in with British troops turned deadly. Colonists threw snowballs and other things at British soldiers. One soldier opened fire and a brief skirmish ensued. Five people lay dead or dying.

Lexington

George Washington snuck troops across the Delaware River and captured Trenton. Then, on Jan. 2, when the British tried to retake Trenton, Washington laid a trap and snuck behind the British and defeated them again. It gave American troops hope because they were dealing with difficult conditions and were losing battles.

Because it provided them with a vital link to their claims along the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River (which empties into the Atlantic Ocean). They could ship goods in and out of the central part of the country.

Britain was looking for ways to pay for the war. They raised taxes on their own citizens and decided that colonists should help with the burden, since part of the war was fought in America.

Sam Adams and the Sons of Liberty met in the Old South Meeting House and sent a message to Mass. governor William Hutchinson demanding that three ships docked in Boston Harbor loaded with tea, be sent away. When Hutchinson declined to listen, a group of men dressed as American Indians headed for the harbor where they split open and destroyed 342 chests of tea.

The first major battle was the Battle of Bunker Hill. The British were repealed twice before winning Bunker Hill on their third attempt. More than 1,000 British were killed, while 400 Americans died.

Americans defeated the British and it ended the British threat in New England. It also convinced France that America could win the war and France became first country to ally with Americans.

The majority sided with France because the French were trappers and traders and they did not want to destroy Indian hunting grounds by clearing forests for farms. They weren't looking to settle the lands, only to use them much the same way the Indians were.

A tax that was placed on all legal documents such as wills, diplomas and marriage papers. In addition, colonists were taxed on newspapers, almanacs, playing cards and even dice.

The four Intolerable Acts were ... 1. Shut down the port of Boston. 2. Forbide colonists to hold town meetings more than once a year without governor's permission. 3. Allowed customs officers and other officials who might be tried for crimes to be tried in Britain or Canada. 4. Quartering Act, which forced colonists to house and feed British soldiers when no other housing was available.

Thomas Paine wrote the pamphlet "Common Sense." In it, he said that the colonists did not owe loyalty to a monarch and that all monarchs are useless.

Cornwallis ignored an order to send half his army to New York and instead retreated to the Yorktown Peninsula, where he planned to resupply his army from British ships. Washington saw his chance to set the trap by marching soldiers to Yorktown, and French naval commander Admiral de Grasse closed off Chesapeake Bay, trapping Cornwallis.

George Washington was sent to ask the French to leave the Ohio Valley. They refused, so Washington was sent back, this time to build a fort near present-day Pittsburgh. The French already had a fort there (Fort Duquesne), so Washington launched a surprise attack.

The Townsend Acts were taxes placed on goods such as paper, glass, paint, lead and tea.

The First Continental Congress was a meeting of colonial leaders in Philadelphia. Only Georgia did not send delegates. There, the congress approved a resolution backing Massachusetts in its struggle with Britain. A boycott was put on British goods, and an agreement to stop trading with Britain was put in place until the Intolerable Acts were lifted.

John Hancock

It marked the end of the Revolutionary War.

The Treaty of Paris brought the fighting to an end. It marked the end of French power in North America, as Britain gained Canada and all lands east of the Mississippi. Spain, which had sided with the French, lost Florida but retained all land west of the Mississippi.

Colonists proclaimed "No taxation without representation." Since the colonists had no representation in Parliament, they did not believe that Parliament had the right to impose taxes on them. Colonists were willing to pay taxes, but only if they were passed by their own legislatures.

After Lexington and Concord, the Continental Congress was still looking to avoid war so they sent a petition to King George III pledging loyalty to the king if he repealed the Intolerable Acts. King George III was furious and refused.

The first part discusses Natural Rights, the second part describes the grievances that led America to break away, and the third proclaims that America is independent of Britain.

Under the Treaty of Paris, Britain recognized the United States as an independent nation that began at the Atlantic Ocean and extended to the Mississippi River. The Northern Border stopped at the Great Lakes, and the southern border stopped at Florida, which was returned to Spain.