Important people: Private Hugh White, Captain Thomas Preston, Crispus Attucks, Samual Gray, Sailor James Caldwell, Samuel Maverick and Patrick Carr.

Description: The Boston Massacre was a bloody riot ignited by colonists protesting the newly imposed British tax laws. The high tensions and previous bloodshed set the scene for violence. The conflict started between a single British soldier and a group of colonists but soon escalated and became a deadly historical event when soldiers opened fire on the crowd of protesting colonists, killing 5 and wounding 6.

Important people: John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Benedict Arnold, Patrick Henry, and Paul Revere (The Sons of Liberty). As well as George Hewes, Governor Thomas Hutchison, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Francis Akeley, King George III, and the British Parliament.

Description: Colonists' efforts to get taxes repealed were semi-successful as Britain repealed taxes imposed on colonists except for the tea tax. In May of 1773, Britain passed the Tea Act, making tea cheaper to export but still taxing colonists once it arrived in the colonies' harbors. Colonists protested by smuggling in tea from other nations such as Dutch tea, however, over time the tea being smuggled in was more costly for the colonists than the tea produced by the British East Indian Company. The morning of December 16th, 1773, three ships arrived with more than 90,000 pounds of tea but colonists refused to let the tea be unloaded, stored, used, sold, or taxed. That night a large group of men including the Sons of Liberty, disguised themselves as Natives and used tomahawks to split the chests and throw them overboard. 342 chests of tea were thrown into the harbor.

Important people: King George III, and the British Parliament.

Description: The Currency Act of 1764 prohibited colonists from printing their own money, thus causing the value of paper money to decrease significantly within the colonies.

Important people: King George III, and the British Parliament.

Description: On the same day of the repeal of the Stamp Act, the Declaratory Act was passed and established the British parliament's power over the colonies, including the right to legislate over the colonies "in all cases" despite colonial resistance.

Important people: King George III, and the British Parliament.

Description: The Coercive Acts included 4 acts: The Boston Port Bill, the Massachusetts Government Act, the Administration of Justice Act, and the Quartering Act alongside the Quebec Act. These acts became known by colonists as the Intolerable Acts and were established by Britain primarily to serve as colonial atonement for the Boston Tea Party. The Boston Port Bill would announce the closing of the Boston Harbor until the tea soiled in the Boston Tea Party was paid for. The Massachusetts Government Act cut and limited the number of local town hall meetings colonial communities could hold annually, which many power-holding colonists believed to be a threat to self-governance. The Administration of Justice Act allowed British officials accused of crimes in the colonies to be tried in Britain, meaning officials like the soldiers who killed colonists during the Boston Massacre were given an opportunity for protection. The Quartering Act allowed for Britain to house soldiers in empty buildings in port cities, resulting in an increase in military presence in the city of Boston. The Quebec Act claimed the territory between Ohio and the Mississippi River as Quebec's, angering colonists who wished to expand westward. Although these acts were meant to punish Massachusets, specifically Boston, the other 12 colonies grew concerned Parliament may attempt to enact the same or similar laws onto them creating unity within the colonies, excluding Georgia, to boycott trade.

Important people: King George III, and the British Parliament.

Description: The Navigation Acts were British trading laws designed to make more profit for Britain. The Navigation Acts were composed of 3 laws. In 1660, the first act was passed and made it so colonial trade was exclusively through English ships. The second act, imposed in 1663, mandated that goods arriving in the colonies passed through Britain. The third act enacted in 1673, created stricter regulations and stronger enforcement to strengthen the previous acts

Important people: King George III, and the British Parliament.

Description: The Quartering Act mandated that colonies were to house British troops. Soldiers were to be housed in barracks provided by the colonies. If soldiers remain unhoused, they should be accommodated in local inns, livery stables, ale and victualling houses, barns, and wine sellers. All soldiers were required to be made to fit within the colonies.

Important people: Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Adams, King George III, and the British Parliament.

Description: The Stamp Act directly taxed colonists on paper documents. The act obliged colonists to use unique stamped paper and have an embossed stamp on legal and commercial papers. This tax was a main contributor to the idea of no taxation without representation. Samuel Adams composed the Sons of Liberty, a secret organization to plan protests against the act and the British government. In March of 1766, the Stamp Act was repealed on the same day the Declaratory Act was implemented after an appeal by Benjamin Franklin.

Important people: 27 Delegates, King George III, and the British Parliament.

Description: The Stamp Act Congress was a group of 29 representatives from 9 colonies including, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, who met in New York to deliberate about the disapproval of the newly enacted Stamp Act and the lack of colonial representation in the British Parliament. Because there were no representatives of the colonies in Parliament, colonists did not have a decision on laws being made and enforced on the colonies. The main goal of the Congress was to combat the British government and have the Stamp Act repealed.

Important people: King George III, and the British Parliament.

Description: The Sugar Act was a high tariff on imported refined sugar and other goods in the colonies passed in 1764. Colonists were not in favor of the Sugar Act however, because it was hidden in the cost of import taxes most colonists accepted the act.

Important people: King George III, and the British Parliament.

Description: The East India Company was a key factor in the British economy however after the 7 Years War the company was failing. In an attempt to save the company, the British government passed the Tea Act in 1773 which granted the East India Company a monopoly over tea trade in the colonies. Colonial resentment of the unconstitutionality of the act built up and erupted into the Boston Tea Party.

Important people: King George III, and the British Parliament.

Description: The Townshend Acts were a series of acts implementing taxes on imported goods in the colonies such as china, lead, paint, paper, and tea. These taxes were designed to use the colonies as a source of revenue after Britain was so far in debt from the 7 Years War. However, many colonists saw these taxes as an abuse of power and thought them to be unconstitutional resulting in the boycott of British goods.

Important people: Women in Colonial America

Description: The Daughters of Liberty were a congregation of the women of colonial America formed before and active during the American Revolution. These women supported the fight for Independence from Britain and demonstrated their support through activism and organized boycotts.

Important people: John Hancock, Benjamin Edes, Samuel Adams, Benedict Arnold, John Gill, Patrick Henry, and Paul Revere

Description: Samuel Adams led the Sons of Liberty, a secret organization to plan protests against the Stamp Act and the British government. The Sons of Liberty is believed to have started as the Loyal 9. The Sons of Liberty was made up of common people like tradesmen and sometimes resorted to violence to levy their point, for example, the Boston Tea Party.

Important people: British troops, Native Americans, Spanish troops, and French troops.

Description: The French and Indian War also referred to as the Seven Years' War, was a territorial dispute between France, Spain, and Native American tribes and Britain, sparked when France expanded into the Ohio River valley because it disagreed with British claims on the colonies, more specifically, Virginia. After wins and losses on both sides, the war ended with the victory of Britain and the signing of the Treaty of Paris, where Spain surrendered Florida and France surrendered Canada, however Britain allowed France to keep its sugar lands and gifted Louisiana to Spain.

Important people: British troops, and Colonial Militia.

Description: Tensions had been rising between the British government and the colonists, especially in Massachusetts. The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first battles of the American Revolutionary War. The battles began when a fleet of British troops marched from Boston to Concord to seize arms. Paul Revere and more sounded the colonial alarms and the Redcoats and colonial militia met on the Lexington green where the first shots of the American Revolution were fired. In response, the British swiftly retreated.

Important people: British troops, General Burgoyne, German troops, and the Colonial Militia.

Description: The first battle of Saratoga occurred on Loyalist John Freeman's abandoned farm in New York. The battle had reached a stalemate with neither side making significant progress until General Burgoyne ordered German troops as reinforcement due to the diminishing number of British soldiers resulting in the American soldiers pulling out of the battle. However, British troops suffered twice the number of casualties, meaning they couldn't advance setting the American army up for a victory in the Battles of Saratoga.

Important people: British troops, General Cornwallis, General Washington, French troops, and the Colonial Militia.

Description: The battle of Yorktown is often referred to as the most important battle of the American Revolutionary War. The battle consisted of 17,000 French and Colonial troops commanded by George Washington against 9,000 British troops commanded by General Cornwallis. By September 28th Washingtons troops had completely surrounded Cornwallis' troops blocking their escape. In the Yorktown field, on October 17, 1781, Cornwallis surrendered to General Washington ending the Revolutionary War and making America an independent nation.

Important people: Continental Congress, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Thomas Paine, Robert R. Livingston, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and King George III

Description: The fight for independence was growing more urgent after the Revolutionary War started. In June 1776 the Continental Congress tasked a group of 5 men to draft a formal document explaining the break of the colonies from Great Britain which would later be known as the Declaration of Independence. The document was formally adopted in Philidelphia on July 4th, 1776, known now as Independence day.

Important people: Continental Congress, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, Henry Laurens, and Prime Minister Shelburne.

Description: The Revolutionary War ended with the victory of America and the signing of the Treaty of Paris, an alliance between the US and Britain that gave the US more rights than before, and defined the boundaries between British North America and the United States, and opening the Mississippi River for navigation for both nations.