EVENTS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION – CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES, AND CHRONOLOGY

1754 – The Albany Plan of UnionWhen Benjamin Franklin proposed the Albany Plan of Union in 1754, his intention was to inspire the American Colonies to join their English homeland in a war against the French and Indians. Just over twenty years later, the same political cartoon would have a completely different meaning. In 1775, Franklin meant to encourage the American Colonies to band together against the English – and the French were our allies in the effort.

1763 – The Treaty of Paris of 1763

The Treaty of Paris of 1763 brought the French and Indian War to a close. The English, who had emerged victorious in the war, would vanquish the French of all of their territory in North America. Aside from a couple of fishing islands near Canada and their sugar island possession in the Caribbean, all French presence in North American was ousted. Unfortunately for the English, they had also exhausted the Treasury in the process.

1763 – The Proclamation of 1763

After the French surrendered and abandoned all of their claims to the continent of North America, American colonists were overjoyed. They believed that they would now be able to take command of the Ohio River Valley. This was the territory which the war had been fought over! Since we had won, Americans felt entitled to settle upon and control the land. King George III, however, feared another war with Native Americans. The land to the west of the Appalachians was declared off limits!

1765 – The Stamp Act is Repealed!Rarely has a law which never actually went into effect had such an overwhelming influence on history. So many Americans protested the Stamp Act – by legal proclamations, by boycotts and non-importation treaties, and by physical assaults or threats of physical assault – that it was repealed before a single pound ₤ was ever collected! Nevertheless, Americans had found a unified voice in opposition to the British. “No taxation without representation!” was a battle cry.

1767 – The Townshend Acts Resume…This set of taxes on glass, lead, paint, and other products was an internal tax put in place by Parliament in order to replace the failed Stamp Act. In 1766, the Parliament had passed the so-called Declaratory Act. Even though they were repealing the Stamp Act, they claimed the right to tax their American subjects whenever they chose to do so. Americans were so excited about their victory that they disregarded the Declaratory Act – until taxation resumed in 1767!

The Boston Massacre, March 5, 1770

Well, that’s not really what happened. But, suffice to say, there were five unarmed Americans who died at the hands of the British on March 5, 1770. The dead:

Crispus Attucks, African-American and Native American shipmate.

Samuel Gray – rope-maker

James Caldwell – ship mate.

Samuel Maverick – teenager, unemployed.

Patrick Carr – leatherworker.

Christopher Monk – who died of injuries sustained during the event several years later.

1773 – The Committees of CorrespondenceAfter the Gaspee Affair, during which a group of rabble rousing Americans set fire to a British customs ship, Thomas Jefferson proposed that American Patriots maintain formal lines of communication between the colonies. The result was a sort of letter writing campaign executed by leaders of the American Revolution in each colony. Some would call these “committees” a version of a shadow-government. Pro-Revolution leaders kept in close contact in order to stay informed of every transgression by the British and to make plans as to how to govern the colonies in the event of war.

December, 16, 1773 – The Boston Tea Party

During this event, which took place in December of 1773, the Sons of Liberty dressed themselves as Mohawk Indians and tossed 342 chests of English tea into Boston Harbor – in the most orderly and polite way!

Early 1774 – The Coercive Acts

These laws were passed to punish Bostonians for the role that they had played in the Boston Tea Party and for resisting British Rule during the 1760s and 1770s:

1. A military Governor, Thomas Gage, was appointed to the city.

2. Thousands of soldiers were sent to occupy the city.

3. The Boston Harbor was completely closed to trade until all of the tea tossed into the harbor during the Boston Tea Party was paid for.

4. Town hall meetings were banned, and the colonial legislature was dissolved.

September 1774 – The Suffolk Resolves

The Suffolk Resolves were a series of resolutions which condoned the collection of arms and the training of militias to protect American colonists from eminent British invasion. The so called “Minutemen” of New England were born of these resolutions, and began training on the outskirts of Boston. When the war came in April of 1775, the men of Lexington and Concord traced their militia’s births to this resolution.

April 18, 1775 – The Battles of Lexington & Concord “The Shot Heard ‘Round the

World” was fired at Lexington Green and later immortalized in the poem “Concord Hymn” by Ralph Waldo Emerson. And then there was “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere,” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, which attributes to Paul Revere a bit more credit than he probably deserved for his role in the conflict. William Dawes and Dr. Samuel Prescott were also warning Americans that “The Redcoats are A-Coming!” All three were arrested during the course of the night. Revere lost his horse in the process…

June 16, 1775 – The Battle of Bunker Hill

During this battle, which took place a full year before the Declaration of Independence was issued, American soldiers were ultimately defeated. The Continental Army fought bravely enough on Breed’s Hill (where the battle actually took place!); however, they ran out of ammunition, and were forced to retreat. The British suffered heavy casualties, but controlled the heights of Boston by the end of the engagement. They would not hold the territory for long.

January, 1776 – Common SenseThomas Paine, a former corset-maker who was devoted to the cause of liberty, published this 46-page pamphlet at the start of 1776 in order to convince Americans that it was time to declare their independence from England. It seems difficult to believe now; but the Battles at Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill all took place long before the Declaration of Independence was written. Many were still seeking reconciliation with England at this poing.

July 4, 1776 – The Declaration of

IndependenceThomas Jefferson was the principle author of the Declaration of Independence, although both John Adams and Ben Franklin served on the committee assigned with writing the document. Jefferson confirmed Americans’ believe that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights – that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. John Hancock signed it first!

October 1777 – The Battle of Saratoga This battle is considered the

turning point in the Revolutionary War, largely because of the diplomatic victory which followed. The result of the battle was positive enough for Americans. General John Burgoyne’s army was slowed by the terrain, surrounded by the Americans, and forced to surrender to the forces of Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold. After the battle, France was inclined to sign a Treaty of Alliance with the Americans in 1778. The War for Independence changed immeasurably.

September 1779 – The Defeat of the HMS Serapis

The American naval hero John Paul Jones, commanding the Bonhomme Richard, was able to claim this victory over the British; it was one of very few naval victories over the English by Americans during the war. Americans, after all, had no navy to speak of, only a group of privateers (mercenaries?). When the French entered the war, everything changed. Now, the Americans had a formidable navy to help them with their War for Independence.

October 19, 1781 – The Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown

In this decisive victory of the Revolutionary War, Americans under the leadership of George Washington cooperated with Admiral de Grasse – the French Admiral – and Rochambeau, a French commander and siege specialist, to force Lord Charles Cornwallis to surrender his army. Although several small battles would take place in the following year and the British continued to occupy several major American cities, the Parliament defunded the war and refused to send more troops to America. The war was over!

The Treaty of Paris of 1783This Treaty ended the Revolutionary War, and granted the United States its independence before the eyes of all European Powers. It also granted the United States all of the territory east of the Mississippi River. Americans promised to pay their debts to England and to restore to the Loyalists all of their property; we had no intention of ever restoring that property, however. The English said they would remove all troops from the Ohio River Valley; they did not… The War of 1812 would resolve these matters later.