unit 3 american revolution

• when did parliament closes the port of boston

  march 1774
• the quebec act date

  june 1774
• the first continental congress date

  september-october 1774
• the fighting at lexington and concord date

  april 1775
• the second continental congress date


  may 1775
• the battle of bunker hill date

  june 1775
• the declaration of independence adopted by congress date

  july 1775
• the first mayor campaign date

  may-december 1775
• the washington retreats from the new york into philadelphia date

  may-december 1775
• the battle of trenton date


  december 1776
• the british take philadelphia date

  september 1777
• the british surrender at saratoga

  october 1777
• france recognises american independance date


  february 1778
• spain joins war date

  june 1779
• british surrender at yorktown date

  october 1781
• the paris peace treaty signed date

  september 1783
• boston tea party date


  december 1773
• major turning point in relations between britain and the colonists

  boston tea party
• the boston tea party was not so much because it was a well-supported revolutionary act but because of the reaction of...

  the British authorities
• what so-called act went far further in provoking resistance than the issues of taxation since 1763

  intolerable acts
• the intolerable acts created support for a widespread rejection of british authority in 1774 and 1775, which some historians have seen as a revolution
• however, the protests which gathered peace in 1774 were not in themselves revolutionary
• the colonists had a long history of direct action against unpopular measures
• these had often been successful, as had been seen in the 1760s when the stamp act was repealed
• only a minority of colonists wanted total independence and there was every reason to think that protests might bring concessions and that there could be a shared sovereignty between britain and the colonists
• this might involve the colonists being responsible for their domestic affairs, which had been the situation in some colonies anyway, while the british monarchy was still recognised as having the ultimate authority over his subjects
• by 1776, this possibility had ended and there was a complete break from britain with the declaration of independence
• since 1763, there had been a build-up of tension, but the situation deteriorated rapidly in 1774 and 1775
• the ongoing british reaction to protest and disorder together with a determination on the part of george iii and his ministers not to share sovereignty but to insist on british control
• second the actions of colonists in overthrowing british authority
• by 1776, even though most resistance had been concentrated in new england, effective british governance of the colonies had come to an end and was limited to boston
• though there were substantial numbers of loyalists who disliked the fast-moving events of 1774 to 1776, the numbers of people involved in opposing british authority were considerable and it could be considered a revolutionary movement with the likely outcome of a full-scale rejection not only of actual british authority, but of the british right to rule at all
• the british saw these measures- the closing of boston port; the suspending of the massachusetts charter; the justice act; the quartering act- as necessary measures to regain control
• intolerable acts was a major political error, however, to pass the quebec act restricting western expansion at the same time as these measures
• long-term policy towards settlement was linked in colonial eyes to acts punishing the colonists for disorder and disobedience
• the intolerable acts were indicative of a change of attitude by george iii and his government
• in 1776, the government had bowed to pressure to repeal the stamp act
• in 1770, most of the townshend duties had been removed
• however this appeasement of the colonists, justified in terms of the need to protect commerce, had been reluctantly made
• lord north reffered, in 1770, to inconsistency, 'our conduct has already varied greatly with respect to america. these variations had been the greatest cause of difficulty'