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The Townshend Acts were a series of measures, passed by the British Parliament in 1767, that taxed goods imported to the American colonies.  The act further tightened tensions between Britain and the colonies. (Taxation without representation)

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The Boston Massacre was a deadly riot that occurred on March 5, 1770, on King Street in Boston. It began as a street brawl between American colonists and a lone British soldier. When colonists were killed, it sparked support for anti-British sentiments and helped the revolution gather momentum.

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The Boston Tea Party was a political protest that occurred on December 16, 1773, at Griffin’s Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts. American colonists, frustrated and angry at Britain for imposing “taxation without representation,” threw boxes of tea into the harbor. The event was the first major act of defiance to British rule over the colonists.

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Upset by the Bostan tea party and other blatant acts of destruction of British property by American colonists, the British Parliament enacts the Coercive Acts, to the outrage of American Patriots, on March 28, 1774.  The Coercive Acts were a series of four acts established by the British government. The Boston Port Act, which closed the port of Boston until damages from the Boston Tea Party were paid.

The Massachusetts Government Act, which restricted Massachusetts; democratic town meetings and turned the governor’s council into an appointed body.

The Administration of Justice Act, which made British officials immune to criminal prosecution in Massachusetts.

The Quartering Act, which required colonists to house and quarter British troops on demand, including in their private homes as a last resort.

The acts aimed to punish the colonists for showing signs of rebellion.

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1775: The battles of Lexington and Concord

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1775: The battles of Lexington and Concord

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Signaled the start of the American Revolutionary War when on the night of April 18, 1775, hundreds of British troops marched from Boston to nearby Concord in order to seize an arms cache. Paul Revere and other riders sounded the alarm, and colonial militiamen began mobilizing to intercept the Redcoat column. A confrontation on the Lexington town green started off the fighting, and soon the British were hastily retreating under intense fire. Many more battles followed, and in 1783 the colonists formally won their independence.

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1776: The Declaration of Independence is ratified

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1776: The Declaration of Independence is ratified

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The delegates to Congress adopted strict rules of secrecy to protect the cause of American liberty and their own lives. They appointed a Committee of Five to write an announcement explaining the reasons for independence. Thomas Jefferson, who chaired the committee and had established himself as a bold and talented political writer, wrote the first draft.

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1778: France and the United States form an alliance

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1778: France and the United States form an alliance

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During the Revolutionary War, representatives from the United States and France sign the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance in Paris.  The Treaty of Amity and Commerce recognized the United States as an independent nation and encouraged trade between France and the Americas, while the Treaty of Alliance provided for a military alliance against Great Britain, stipulating that the absolute independence of the United States be recognized as a condition for peace.

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Benedict Arnold (1741-1801) was an early American hero of the Revolutionary War (1775-83) who later became one of the most infamous traitors in U.S. history after he switched sides and fought for the British.  In 1779, he entered into secret negotiations with the British, agreeing to turn over the U.S. post at West Point in return for money and a command in the British army. The plot was discovered, but Arnold escaped to British lines. His name has since become synonymous with the word “traitor.”

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1781: Articles of Confederation ratified

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1781: Articles of Confederation ratified

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The Articles were signed by Congress and sent to the individual states for ratification on November 15, 1777, after 16 months of debate.  Maryland finally approved the Articles on March 1, 1781, affirming the Articles as the outline of the official government of the United States. The nation was guided by the Articles of Confederation until the implementation of the current U.S. Constitution in 1789.

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The Treaty of Paris of 1783 formally ended the American Revolutionary War. American statesmen Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and John Jay negotiated the peace treaty with representatives of King George III of Great Britain. In the Treaty of Paris, the British Crown formally recognized American independence and ceded most of its territory east of the Mississippi River to the United States, doubling the size of the new nation.  In 1782, the newly elected British Prime Minister Lord Shelburne saw American independence as an opportunity to build a lucrative trade alliance with the new nation without the administrative and military costs of running and defending the colonies. As a result, Treaty of Paris terms were very favorable to the United States with Great Britain making major concessions.