|
|
|
| 1754-1763
|
French-Indian War
|
BIG IDEAS:
- caused by westward expansion of colonists into French territory west of the Appalachian Mts
- Britain (England) defeated France and seized all of Canada and lands east of the Mississippi
|
| 1763-83
|
American Revolution
|
BIG IDEAS:
- after French-Indian War, England
- imposed new taxes on the colonists
- imposed rules and restrictions on trade
- prohibited the colonists from settling in the new lands west of the Appalachian Mts ("Indian Territory)
- the colonists begin to protest
- key events of the American Revolution
- 1765: Stamp Act, tax and regulations imposed by Britain
- a series of other taxes were imposed, such as the "Tea Act"
- as well as a law to force Americans to house ("Quartering Act") British soldiers
- and appointments of colonial governors by the King and not from colonial vote
- 1770: Boston Massacre, British soldiers shoot into crowd of protesters
- 1773: Boston Tea Party, protest against trade restrictions
- and British response with the "Intolerable Acts" and blockade of Boston harbor
- 1775: "Common Sense" by Thomas Paine, argues against monarchy (king)
- 1776: Declaration of Independence, colonies declare independence from England
|
| 1774-1789
|
Continental Congress & the Articles of Confederation
|
BIG IDEAS:
- a "congress" is a meeting of representatives from different places
- the "Continental Congress" is the organization of the 13 Colonies that joined together for common cause to oppose British rule
- the Continental Congress started after the British passed the "Intolerable Acts" and blockaded Boston harbor in response to the Boston Tea Party
- there were three periods: First Continental Congress (1774), Second Continental Congress (1774-1781) and the First and Second Congresses of (1774–1781) and the Congress of the Confederation (1781–1789)
- the Articles of Confederation (1781-1789) were a set of agreements between the 13 states to organize and guide their cooperation
- the Articles were approved in 1777, but only approved by all states in 1781
- the Articles did not create a strong national government
- they proved incapable of resolving many difficulties and disagreements
|
| 1775-83
|
American Revolutionary War
|
BIG IDEAS:
- in 1775 fighting started between colonial "militia" (private soldiers) and British soldiers in Massachusetts
- on July 4, 1776, representatives of the 13 colonies signed the "Declaration of Independence" which "declared" (stated as fact) that the colonies were now independent from Britain
|
| 1787-1789
|
Constitutional Convention and adoption of the US Constitution
|
BIG IDEAS
- at the end of the Revolutionary War in 1781, the Continental Congress reorganized in order to form a new, independent nation
- they called it the "United States of America"
- it was a loose "confederation" of the states in order to make common decisions, such as the signing of the peace treaty with Great Britain in 1783 that officially ended the Revolutionary War
- it was called the "Congress of the Confederation
|
| 1791
|
Adoption of the US Constition
|
BIG IDEAS
- as the new country developed from 1783-1789, many problems arose, such as
- lack of common (or uniform), national currency (money)
- lack of common laws
- lack of ability for the national government to pay its debts due to inability to tax
- lack of general organization and standardization (rules) for relations between the states
- George Washington recognized these deficiencies and called for a convention (gathering) of states at Annapolis, Maryland in 1786
- the assembly at Annapolis didn't achieve much, but decided upon calling for another convention the next year at Philadelphia
- the 1787 Constitutional Convention met at Philadelphia and proposed a new form of government among the states
- called the US Constitution
- it was proposed to the states, which debated it and voted for or against
- by 1788, enough states had agreed upon adopting the new Constitution, so the government was set to open in 1791
|
|
|
|
|