1763
|
February 10 |
The French and Indian War ends with the Peace of Paris |
|
October 7 |
The Proclamation of 1763 bans all westward migration in the colonies |
|
May–November |
Chief Pontiac leads an Indian rebellion in the Ohio Valley |
1764
|
April 5 and 9 |
Parliament passes the Sugar and Currency Acts |
1765
|
March 22 |
Parliament passes the Stamp Act |
|
May 15 |
Parliament passes the Quartering Act of 1765 |
|
October 7 |
The Stamp Act Congress convenes |
1766
|
March 18 |
Parliament repeals the Stamp Act and passes the Declaratory Act |
1767
|
June 29 |
Parliament passes the Townshend Acts |
|
November 5 |
John Dickinson’s Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania begins publication |
1768
|
February 11 |
Samuel Adams composes the Massachusetts “circular letter” |
|
June 8 |
British troops are sent to Boston |
1770
|
March 5 |
Boston Massacre |
|
April 12 |
The Townshend duties are repealed, except for the duty on tea |
1772
|
June 9 |
The British ship Gaspée burned off Rhode Island |
|
November 2 |
Bostonians publish The Votes and Proceedings, enumerating British violations of American rights |
1773
|
January 6 |
Massachusetts governor Hutchinson argues the supremacy of Parliament before the General Court |
|
May 10 |
Parliament passes the Tea Act |
|
December 16 |
Boston Tea Party |
1774
|
March 31–June 22 |
Parliament passes the Coercive Acts and the Quebec Act |
|
September 5– |
|
|
October 26 |
First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia |
1775
|
April 18 |
Paul Revere’s ride |
|
April 19 |
Battles of Lexington and Concord |
|
May 10 |
American forces capture Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain |
|
May 10 |
Second Continental Congress convenes |
|
June 15 |
George Washington is appointed commander of the Continental Army |
|
June 17 |
Battle of Bunker Hill |
|
August 23 |
King George III declares the colonies in open rebellion |
|
December 31 |
Colonists are defeated at Quebec |
1776
|
January 10 |
Thomas Paine publishes Common Sense |
|
March 17 |
British troops evacuate Boston |
|
July 4 |
Continental Congress approves the Declaration of Independence |
|
August 27 |
Battle of Long Island, New York; British take New York City |
|
December 25–26 |
Washington crosses the Delaware River; battle of Trenton |
1777
|
January 3 |
Battle of Princeton |
|
September 11 |
Battle of Brandywine |
|
October 4 |
Washington is defeated at Germantown; his army retires to Valley Forge for winter |
|
October 17 |
British general Burgoyne surrenders at Saratoga |
|
November 15 |
Articles of Confederation are approved by Congress and sent to states for ratification |
1778
|
February 6 |
France and the United States form an alliance |
1780
|
May 12 |
British capture Charleston, South Carolina |
|
September 25 |
Benedict Arnold flees to the British after spying for them for more than a year |
|
October 7 |
British general Cornwallis’s troops are forced to retreat from North Carolina |
1781
|
January 17 |
Battle of Cowpens, South Carolina |
|
March 1 |
Articles of Confederation are ratified |
|
March 15 |
Battle of Guilford Courthouse, North Carolina |
|
October 19 |
Cornwallis surrenders to Washington at Yorktown, Pennsylvania |
1783
|
September 3 |
Treaty of Peace between the Americans and British is signed |
1786
|
August |
Shays’s Rebellion in western Massachusetts |
|
September 11 |
Annapolis Convention |
1787
|
May 25 |
Constitutional Convention opens in Philadelphia |
|
July 13 |
Northwest Ordinance is enacted by Congress |
|
September 17 |
Constitutional Convention approves the newly drafted Constitution and sends it to Congress |
|
October 27 |
First of Hamilton, Madison, and Jay’s Federalist Papers appears |