1. B Y : B R I T T A N Y H A M N I N G
Important Events Leading Up to
the American Revolutionary War

2. French and Indian War
 War fought between Great Britain and its two enemies,
the French and the Indians of North America. Most of the
battles were in Canada.

3. Sugar Act
 1764 Act that put a three-cent tax on foreign refined
sugar and increased taxes on coffee, indigo, and
certain kinds of wine. It banned importation of rum
and French wines.

4. Stamp Act
 Instituted in November, 1765. Every newspaper, pamphlet,
and other public and legal document had to have a Stamp.
Or British seal, on it. The Stamp, of course, cost money.

5. Boston Massacre
 Shooting of five American colonists by British troops
on March 5, 1770. One person, an African-American
man named Crispus Attacks, was killed. Nearly every
part of the story is disputed by both sides.

6. Boston Tea Party
 Angry and frustrated at a new tax on tea, disguised
as Mohawk Native Americans boarded three British
ships and dumped 342 whole crates of British tea
into Boston harbor on December 16, 1773.

7. The Continental Congress
 Two groups of people from all over the 13 Colonies who
came together to discuss liberty. The First Continental
Congress was a group of 56 delegates from 12 colonies
who met in Philadelphia in September of 1774.

8. Bunker Hill
 Two-day engagement between British forces under the
command of General William Howe and American forces
under Colonel William Prescott. The Americans had
occupied Breed's Hill in Charlestown on June 16, 1775, in
order to protect the shipyard of nearby Boston.

9. Thomas Paine, “Common Sense”
 Patriot and American soldier whose main contribution was in writing.
His pamphlets, including Common Sense and The Crisis, inflamed the
American population and furthered the Revolutionary cause.

10. The Declaration of Independence
 Document declaring the 13 American Colonies independent
from Great Britain. Written by Thomas Jefferson and
declared in effect by the Continental Congress on July 4,
1776. Great Britain's response was to continue the war.