Acts of Parliament
Road to Revolution
Revolutionary Thinkers
Armies & Allies
Key Figures
100

This 1765 act required colonists to purchase specially stamped paper for legal documents.

Stamp Act

100

The British began taxing colonists because they felt colonists should help pay for the war that benefitted them most.

French and Indian War 

100

Thomas Jefferson drew heavily on the ideas of this Enlightenment philosopher.

John Locke

100

Some colonists stayed loyal to Britain for reasons including ties to the king, fear of rebellion, and isolation from major cities.

Loyalists

100

This French aristocrat volunteered to serve under Washington and later commanded troops at Yorktown.

Marquis de Lafayette 

200

This act halved the duty on foreign molasses to discourage smuggling.

Sugar Act

200

This protest group formed to oppose British policies in the colonies.

Sons of Liberty

200

Jefferson wrote that all men have the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of” this.

Happiness

200

These German mercenaries were hired by the British to fight the colonists.

Hessians

200

This British general refused to attend the surrender ceremony at Yorktown.

Cornwallis

300

This act allowed the British East India Company to sell tea directly to colonists.

This act allowed the British East India Company to sell tea directly to colonists.

300

The “Shot Heard Round the World” was fired at this battle.

Lexington and Concord

300

The writer of the pamphlet that argued colonists fighting for their independence. 

Thomas Paine 

300

This foreign nation joined the American cause after the victory at Saratoga.

France 

300

Some British politicians showed sympathy for the American cause, contributing to this weakness.

Weak British Leadership

400

These indirect taxes were placed on glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea.

Townshend Acts

400

This petition attempted to restore harmony between the colonies and England. This was the LAST attempt. 

What is the Olive Branch Petition?

400

Thomas Paine argued that it was absurd for an island to rule a continent in this famous pamphlet.

Common Sense 

400

Washington’s army suffered through a harsh winter at this encampment.

Valley Forge 

400

At Yorktown, the British band played this symbolic tune.

"The World Turned Upside Down" 

500

Passed after the Boston Tea Party, these acts shut down Boston Harbor and forced colonists to house British soldiers.

Intolerable Acts
500

This event occurred when Crispus Attucks and four others were killed by British soldiers outside a Boston bar.

Boston Massacre 

500

This river became the western boundary of the United States after the Treaty of Paris

Mississippi River

500

This Prussian officer trained colonial soldiers in discipline, maneuvering, and bayonet use.

Baron Von Steuben

500

One major weakness of the British army was that troops were unfamiliar with this.

Terrain