Timeline
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1 Dec 1763Patrick Henry argues the Parson's Cause in the Hanover County Courthouse, arguing that the king has no authority to interfere with Virginia's taxation laws.
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22 Mar 1765The Stamp Act of 1765 is approved by Parliament and King George III, sparking protest in the American colonies.
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31 May 1765The Virginia House of Burgesses passes the Virginia Resolves, asserting the colonists' rights as Englishmen and denying Parliament's authority to tax them.
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14 Aug 1765In Boston, Massachusetts, a mob attacks the home of stamp distributor Andrew Oliver in protest of the Stamp Act; this marks the birth of the Sons of Liberty.
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7 Oct 1765 - 25 Oct 1765The Stamp Act Congress meets in New York City to protest the Stamp Act; a Declaration of Rights and Grievances is issued.
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18 Mar 1766The unpopular Stamp Act is repealed by an act of Parliament .
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Jun 1767 - Mar 1768The Parliament of Great Britain passes the Townshend Acts to tax and regulate the thirteen American colonies.
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10 Jun 1768The Liberty, a sloop owned by Boston merchant John Hancock, is seized by British officials leading to widespread riots in Boston.
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1 Oct 1768British soldiers arrive in Boston in the wake of several riots.
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5 Mar 1770The Boston Massacre occurs; nine British soldiers fire into a crowd of American colonists, killing five and wounding six others.
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Apr 1770The Townshend Acts are repealed except for a tax on tea.
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16 Dec 1773A party of colonial Bostonians, some dressed as Mohawks, dump 342 crates of tea into Boston Harbor, in the Boston Tea Party.
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Mar 1774 - Jun 1774British Parliament passes the Intolerable Acts to punish the Thirteen Colonies for the Boston Tea Party.
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5 Sep 1774 - 26 Oct 1774The First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to coordinate a response to the Intolerable Acts.
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19 Apr 1775The Battles of Lexington and Concord kick off the American War of Independence.
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10 May 1775The Second Continental Congress convenes in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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5 Jun 1775The Second Continental Congress adopts the Olive Branch Petition in a final attempt at reconciliation with Great Britain.
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15 Jun 1775The Second Continental Congress adopts the Continental Army, names George Washington as commander-in-chief.
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22 Jun 1775The Continental Congress issues $2 million in a new paper currency, called 'Continentals', to fund the Revolution.
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13 Oct 1775The Second Continental Congress votes to establish the Continental Navy.
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1776Thomas Paine publishes his revolutionary pamphlet Common Sense.
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4 Jul 1776The Second Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence; the United States of America is established.
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Dec 1776The Second Continental Congress is forced to evacuate Philadelphia at the approach of the British army; Washington is granted near dictatorial powers.
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26 Sep 1777Philadelphia is captured by a British army; Congress flees to York, Pennsylvania.
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Nov 1777 - Apr 1778The Conway Cabal threatens to remove George Washington from his role as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army but is ultimately thwarted.
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15 Nov 1777The Second Continental Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation, which are sent to the states for ratification.
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1778France enters into a military alliance with the thirteen colonies, declares war on Britain.
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23 Mar 1779Benjamin Franklin is named ambassador to France.
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24 Jun 1779 - 7 Feb 1783The Great Siege of Gibraltar is fought. A combined Franco-Spanish army fails to seize the fortress from Great Britain.
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1780Catherine the Great establishes the League of Armed Neutrality seeking to protect shipments during the American Revolution.
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1781Jacques Necker, French Director of Finance, publishes the Compte rendu au roi, the first record of royal finances ever made public.
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3 Sep 1783The Treaty of Paris ends the American Revolutionary War. The treaty acknowledges the United States as a sovereign and independent nation.
