Events that lead to Independence

It took more than a decade to make colonists determined to seek independence. Here in timeline form, is the presentation of the events that lead them to do so:

1765-Stamp Act. This was the first Parliament attempt to tax the British colonists. This was when the whole Taxation Without Representation things started. Parliament just wouldnt understand or listen. If they had done it the American Revolution wouldve never take place.

1767-Townshend Acts. This were passed by Charles Townshend. It imposed taxes on everyday materials such as lead, paint, paper, and tea. The colonists protested and this taxes were repealed-except for the one in tea. That same year the "Declaratory Acts" were passed by Parliament which declared that Parliament had the right to tax colonists. As you see, this only caused more anger in the colonists.

1770- Boston Massacre. This happened between an angry mob of colonists and British sentinels. It started when the angry mob were picking on a British sentinel. The situation got so tense that more sentinels had to go for support. A shot followed another and 5 colonists were killed. This aggriavated tensions between the colonists and the British soldiers.

1773- Boston Tea Party. This wasnt a common tea party, in fact it wasnt even a tea party. A group of Patriots dressed as Mohawk indians dumped aproximmately 300 chests of imported British tea into the Boston Harbor. This was a symbolic action of the Patriots to claim for their rights. This was a spark of the American Revolution.

1774- Coercive Acts. This were passed after the Boston Tea Party. They were specially for Massachusetts. There were 5 Coercive Acts. You can read about them by clicking in one of our entries in the right of these page. The Coercive Acts lead to the First Continental Congress which united the 12 colonies that attended it (Georgia didnt attend).

1775- Lexington Battle. General Thomas Gage was the governor of Massachusetts. He sent troops to Lexington to capture Samuel Adams and John Hancock. They had a stockpile of weapons hidden in there. When they got there, specifically Lexington Green the militia were waiting for them and told them to disperse. 8 militia were killed. When the troops got back from Lexington, some militia attacked them from hiding places and 200 lobster backs were either killed or wounded.  

Lexington Battle

1775- Common Sense by Thomas Paine. This was a 51 page pamphlet that exposed radical ideas about independence and separation from Great Britain. This greatly impacted the Patriots because some of the feelings they had were expressed in these pamphlet. It also influenced the colonists in general because of the radical ideas it proposed inclding the formation of a Republican government.

Spring 1776- Jefferson wrote the draft of the Declaration of Independence.

July 4, 1776- Delegates, including John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Samuel Adams, get together to write and sign the Declaration of Independence.