American Revolution Project by Jess

The French and Indian War

djesse7699 — 2015-10-21 17:37:15 UTC

The French and Indian war lasted from 1756 to 1763. The fight was between the French and the British, despite how the name makes it sound. Many natives sided with the French which is why it's called the French and Indian war.

King George III

djesse7699 — 2015-10-21 17:44:16 UTC

King George was The British Monarch at the time of the Revolution. George was a brutal king to the colonists. He treated them as slaves, basically. He forced them to fight his war, and then taxed them unfairly on EVERYTHING to pay for it. He opposed their independence to the bitter end, but he lost them eventually.

General George Washington

djesse7699 — 2015-10-21 17:59:40 UTC

George Washington is best known among elementary school kids as the first president of the United States of America. Before that, he served as commander in chief of the colonial armies in the American Revolution. Washington expressly stated that he didn't want political parties to form in America. Too bad parties were already forming.

Proclamation of 1763

djesse7699 — 2015-10-21 18:09:20 UTC

October 7th, 1763. King George issued the proclamation to prohibit further settlement past a line drawn through the Appalachian Mountains.

The Stamp Act

djesse7699 — 2015-10-23 14:41:59 UTC

The stamp act was enacted in 1756 to tax all paper in America. It was basically the kings way of getting the colonists to pay for his war.

The Tea Act

djesse7699 — 2015-10-23 14:45:30 UTC

The tea act was similar to the stamp act in that it taxed the colonists on all tea. This doesn't sound that bad to us now, but tea was very important to them. It was sort of like the straw that broke the camel's back, or rather, it broke the colonist's bank. It was a major catalyst for the Boston Tea Party.

The Sugar Act.

djesse7699 — 2015-10-23 14:50:07 UTC

The sugar act was also similar to the stamp act and tea act. The sugar act imposed a tax on all sugar and products containing sugar. Once again, that doesn't seem so bad, but so many things contain sugar that you might not immediately think of. Sugar is a preservative, and is found in about as much as salt.

The Boston Massacre

djesse7699 — 2015-10-23 14:53:19 UTC

The Boston massacre started out with a few drunk colonists throwing stuff at some British soldiers. Eventually, it started getting somewhat out of hand. The soldiers were ordered not to shoot, but someone panicked and fired. Then a whole bunch of others panicked and fired. The patriots kind of saw this as a way to get some more colonists riled up, so they started telling everybody what happened, but seriously embellishing it. They acted like it really was a massacre when it was just a drunken brawl.

Boston Tea Party

djesse7699 — 2015-10-23 14:59:56 UTC

The Boston Tea Party was a political protest by the Sons of Liberty. They dressed up as "Indians" (took off their shirts, wore some feathers, maybe some paint) and ran around and got on a British ship and dumped a bunch of tea overboard. The costumes weren't a disguise, they were more of a jab at the British for their loss in the French and Indian war.

1st Continental Congress

djesse7699 — 2015-10-23 15:24:08 UTC

The first Continental Congress was a big meeting where delegates from all but one of the colonies met from September 5th to October 27th, 1774. They met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at Carpenters Hall. They met to discuss the Intolerable acts.

2nd Continental Congress

djesse7699 — 2015-10-29 17:25:21 UTC

At the second Continental Congress, all colonies sent delegates. It began in the summer of 1775. It was held in Philadelphia like the first one. War began soon after.

Lexington and Concord

djesse7699 — 2015-10-29 17:29:29 UTC

The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the fights that kickstarted the war. They occurred on April 19th, 1775. The British were planning to march into Concord to seize the Americans weapons, but the colonists knew and they intercepted them in Lexington and basically started the war.

Lord Cornwallis

djesse7699 — 2015-10-29 17:38:06 UTC

Cornwallis was a British general who lost to the colonists. He was really a great strategist, but not good enough when he had to surrender at the Siege of Yorktown in 1781.

Paul Revere

djesse7699 — 2015-10-29 17:43:42 UTC

Paul Revere was a well known patriot. He alerted the Lexington Minutemen that the British troops were coming with a simple but effective lantern system he came up with. He put one lantern in the window to let them know if they were coming by land, and two if they were coming by sea. Fun fact: he had 16 kids. 16 of them. That's so many.

John Adams

djesse7699 — 2015-10-29 17:54:42 UTC

John Adams was the second president of the United States. He supported a strong central government and a limited state government. He was the leader of the Federalists.

John Hancock

djesse7699 — 2015-10-29 17:59:31 UTC

Hancock was the president of the 2nd Continental Congress. He signed the declaration of independence in a really big and flourishing way, and is well known for that. He was also the first and third governor of Massachusetts.

The Declaration of Independence

djesse7699 — 2015-10-29 18:04:38 UTC

The Declaration was the document that officially declared that the 13 colonies recognized themselves as independent states no longer under British rule. It was written by Thomas Jefferson. Congress voted for independence on July 2nd, 1776, over a year after the war started. The document was ratified on July 4th.

The Battles of Saratoga

djesse7699 — 2015-10-29 18:10:59 UTC

The battles occurred September 19th and October 7, 1777. Saratoga was a major turning point in the war. General Burgoyne of the British army led troops down to Saratoga from Canada, where they were defeated.

Siege of Yorktown

djesse7699 — 2015-10-29 18:15:14 UTC

Also called the Battle of Yorktown, the Siege of Yorktown was the most important battle in the Revolutionary War. It happened on September 28th, 1781. This was the battle that General Cornwallis lost, and the Americans won the war.

Treaty of Paris

djesse7699 — 2015-10-29 22:26:38 UTC

The Treaty of Paris was signed in Paris, France in 1783. It was signed by representatives of the king and the colonists to negotiate peace between Britain and America and ended the war.

Thomas Jefferson

djesse7699 — 2015-10-29 22:30:42 UTC

Thomas Jefferson was the vice president to the second president, John Adams. He was also the third president. He supported a strong state government and a limited central government. He was the leader of the Democratic-Republicans.

Benjamin Franklin

djesse7699 — 2015-10-29 22:42:26 UTC

Benjamin Franklin Played a huge role in early America. He led the effort to have Britain repeal the Stamp Act. He was also America's ambassador to France.