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"Give me liberty, or give me death!"
—Patrick Henry
The timeline of the American Revolution: British taxes sparked colonial unrest (1765-1773).
War erupted at Lexington (1775).
Congress declared independence (1776).
After victory at Saratoga (1777) and Yorktown (1781), Britain recognized American independence (1783).
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The French and Indian War (1754-1763) pitted British colonial forces against French troops and Native American allies in a battle for the Ohio River Valley.
Britain's victory secured Canada and parts of India but triggered heavy war debts, leading them to tax the American colonies.
These taxes, combined with ongoing Native American conflicts like Pontiac's Rebellion, sparked colonial anger.
In 1765, Britain's Stamp Act taxed colonial printed materials, from newspapers to playing cards, igniting fierce resistance across America.
The Sons of Liberty led protests, burning effigies of tax officials, while angry mobs in Boston ransacked the homes of Andrew Oliver and Thomas Hutchinson.
The Declaratory Act of 1766 asserted Parliament's complete authority to make laws binding the American colonies, prompting fierce resistance.
The act's stark language—claiming power "in all cases whatsoever"—sparked widespread opposition and helped fuel the growing movement against British rule.
On March 5, 1770, a clash between British soldiers and Boston colonists erupted into gunfire, killing five civilians.
This "Boston Massacre" sparked by Captain Preston's cornered troops became powerful propaganda for the colonial cause, despite defense attorney John Adams later winning their acquittal.
On December 16, 1773, colonial protesters disguised as Native Americans dumped 342 chests of British tea into Boston Harbor to oppose taxation without representation.
This would be known as the Boston Tea Party.
This triggered King George III to impose harsh penalties through the Intolerable Acts, which backfired by uniting the colonies.
In September 1774, twelve colonies sent representatives to Philadelphia's Carpenters' Hall for the First Continental Congress, responding to Britain's punitive Coercive Acts.
Leaders like Washington, Adams, and Henry crafted the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, which demanded colonial self-government while stopping short of independence.
On April 19, 1775, British troops and colonial militia clashed at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts.
An unknown shooter fired the first shot, sparking the American Revolutionary War.
Paul Revere had warned colonists of the British advance, while rebel leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock evaded capture in the surrounding countryside.
Colonial militias surrounded British forces in Boston from April 1775 to March 1776, cutting off their supplies and communication.
When Henry Knox hauled captured cannons from Fort Ticonderoga and positioned them on Dorchester Heights overlooking Boston Harbor, British General William Howe evacuated his troops, giving the Patriots their first major victory.
In 1775, in the wake of the initial skirmishes of the American Revolution, the Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia.
Comprising representatives from the Thirteen Colonies, this assembly sought to address escalating tensions with Britain.
Initially, there was no unanimous call for independence—many hoped for reconciliation.
In June 1775, British forces attacked American militia positions on Breed's Hill after learning of weapons stockpiled in nearby Charlestown.
Though the British captured the hill, they lost over 1,000 soldiers in the process.
American General Prescott commanded the defense with his famous order "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes," while General Gage and Howe led the costly assault.
In 1775, Christopher Gadsden created the rattlesnake-emblazoned "Don't Tread On Me" Gadsden flag that served as the Continental Navy's rallying symbol against British rule.
On December 31, 1775, American forces led by General Richard Montgomery attacked Quebec City in a failed attempt to seize it from British control.
Montgomery's death during the Battle of Quebec crushed American hopes of capturing Canada.
In 1776, five committee members including Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams drafted the Declaration of Independence, which formally announced the American colonies' break from British rule.
The document listed specific complaints against King George III, particularly taxation without representation, while asserting fundamental human rights drawn from Enlightenment philosophy.
Signed by colonial leaders like John Hancock, Dr. Benjamin Rush and George Washington, it became both a founding American document and a model for independence movements worldwide.
In August 1776, British General William Howe trapped the Continental Army on Brooklyn Heights during the Battle of Long Island.
His forces captured 1,000 American soldiers, drove George Washington's army from New York City, and demonstrated the British military's superior tactics.
On December 26, 1776, General George Washington led the Continental Army across the frozen Delaware River to strike the Hessian garrison at Trenton.
The surprise dawn attack overwhelmed Colonel Rall's forces, resulting in 22 Hessian deaths, 83 wounded, and 900 captured, while American losses numbered only 12.
This decisive victory revitalized the struggling American cause after months of defeats.
In September 1777, British General John Burgoyne led 6,000 troops south through New York, aiming to split the colonies.
American forces under General Horatio Gates defeated the British in two fierce battles (known as the Battle of Saratoga), forcing Burgoyne's surrender on October 17.
This American victory convinced France to join the war.
On September 11, 1777, British forces under General William Howe outmaneuvered American troops led by George Washington at Brandywine Creek, Pennsylvania.
Howe's flanking attack broke the American defensive line, forcing Washington to retreat and leaving Philadelphia vulnerable to British capture.
The battle included the wounding of Marquis de Lafayette.
On October 4, 1777, General Washington led Continental forces in a dawn attack against British troops at Germantown, Pennsylvania.
The Americans' coordinated assault faltered when thick fog sparked confusion in their ranks, while British commanders Howe and Cornwallis mounted an effective defense, securing a victory for the Brits.
On June 28, 1778, General George Washington's Continental Army faced British forces under Lieutenant General Clinton at Monmouth, New Jersey.
The daylong battle ended in a tactical stalemate, but proved strategically significant—the Continental Army's ability to hold its ground against Britain's professional military demonstrated its growing combat effectiveness and boosted American morale while shaking British confidence.
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In 1779, the American Revolution reached a critical phase as Spain's entry into the war strained British forces, while the Continental Army scored a decisive victory at Stony Point under General Wayne.
The British captured Savannah and launched their Southern Campaign, while Congress appointed John Adams as lead negotiator with Britain—all punctuated by John Paul Jones's defiant naval declaration, "I have not yet begun to fight!"
The British capture of Charleston in 1781.
General Clinton's forces methodically besieged the city until General Lincoln, facing dwindling supplies and mounting casualties, surrendered.
This defeat cost the Americans thousands of troops and gave Britain a strategic base.
Francis Marion led guerrilla raids against British forces in South Carolina, earning the name "Swamp Fox" for his skilled use of coastal marshlands to stage ambushes and escape pursuit.
His small-unit tactics of striking supply lines and disappearing into the wetlands weakened British control in the South.
Benedict Arnold, a decorated American Revolutionary commander, betrayed his cause in 1780 when financial troubles and perceived career slights drove him to negotiate with British forces to surrender West Point fortress.
The plot unraveled when American soldiers caught British Major John Andre carrying incriminating documents, leading to Andre's execution as a spy.
In 1781, British General Cornwallis fortified Yorktown, Virginia, only to face a siege by American and French forces under Washington and Rochambeau.
As French ships blocked British reinforcements, American artillery battered the town.
After weeks of bombardment and dwindling supplies, Cornwallis surrendered, effectively ending British hopes of retaining the colonies, though minor conflicts continued until 1783.
By 1782, the American Revolution was winding down after the decisive American-French victory at Yorktown had crippled British forces in 1781.
British Prime Minister Lord North's resignation in March sparked peace negotiations in Paris, though scattered fighting continued, notably in the British naval victory at the Saintes.
The Treaty of Paris (1783) ended the American Revolutionary War and established the United States as a sovereign nation.
American diplomats John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay negotiated with British representatives in Paris to secure independence for the thirteen colonies, set territorial boundaries extending to the Mississippi River, and gain fishing rights off Newfoundland.
In Philadelphia's humid summer of 1787, delegates from twelve states met for the Constitutional Convention to fix the Articles of Confederation's flaws.
Over four months, George Washington presided as Madison, Franklin, and Hamilton helped forge America's new framework.
The Great Compromise created a two-chamber Congress balancing state and population-based representation, while the Three-Fifths Compromise counted enslaved people as partial persons for congressional seats.
In September, delegates signed the Constitution, establishing federal powers with checks and balances, and sent it to states for approval.
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