The American Revolution grew out of a long argument about who had the right to tax the colonies. After the French and Indian War left Britain deep in debt, Parliament passed new taxes such as the Stamp Act of 1765. Colonists protested that they had no representatives in Parliament, summed up in the slogan "no taxation without representation." Tension built through the Boston Massacre in 1770 and the Boston Tea Party in 1773, and Britain answered with the Intolerable Acts, which closed Boston Harbor.
Fighting broke out at Lexington and Concord in April 1775. In July 1776 the Second Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence. The war was hard for the Continental Army, especially during the winter at Valley Forge, but the American victory at Saratoga in 1777 persuaded France to join as an ally. With French help, Washington trapped the British at Yorktown in 1781, and the Treaty of Paris in 1783 recognized the United States as independent. These questions help you put the events in order and explain why each one mattered.
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Answer: 1765
The Stamp Act of 1765 taxed printed papers such as newspapers and legal documents. Colonial protest was so strong that it was repealed the next year.
Answer: C) Colonists should not be taxed by a Parliament they could not elect members to
Colonists argued that only their own elected assemblies could tax them, because they had no members in Parliament.
Answer: A) The Boston Massacre
Five colonists were killed in the Boston Massacre. Patriots such as Paul Revere used it as propaganda against British rule.
Answer: 1773
In December 1773, protesters dumped 342 chests of East India Company tea into Boston Harbor to oppose the Tea Act.
Answer: B) It passed the Intolerable Acts, closing Boston Harbor
The Coercive Acts, called the Intolerable Acts in the colonies, closed Boston Harbor until the tea was paid for and limited self-government in Massachusetts.
Answer: Lexington and Concord (also accepted: Concord and Lexington, Lexington, Concord, Lexington & Concord)
British troops marched to seize colonial weapons at Concord. Militia met them at Lexington and Concord, starting the war.
Answer: 1776
The Second Continental Congress approved the Declaration on July 4, 1776.
Answer: D) Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft. Franklin and Adams, also on the drafting committee, suggested changes.
Answer: A) It persuaded France to form an alliance with the Americans
The American victory at Saratoga in 1777 showed the Americans could win, and France signed a treaty of alliance in 1778.
Answer: 1777
The battles near Saratoga, New York, ended with the British general Burgoyne surrendering in October 1777.
Answer: B) Hard conditions, then better training under Baron von Steuben
Soldiers suffered from cold, hunger and disease in the winter of 1777 to 1778, but von Steuben's drilling turned them into a stronger army.
Answer: C) Yorktown
American and French forces trapped Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia, while the French navy blocked help from the sea.
Answer: Treaty of Paris (also accepted: the Treaty of Paris, Paris, Treaty of Paris 1783)
The Treaty of Paris of 1783 recognized the United States and set its western border at the Mississippi River.
Answer: 1783
It was signed in September 1783, two years after the surrender at Yorktown.
The first battles, at Lexington and Concord, happened in April 1775. The Declaration of Independence came more than a year later, in July 1776.
Yorktown in 1781 was the last major battle, but the war only formally ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1783.
Saratoga was not the final battle. It was the turning point because it convinced France to sign an alliance with the Americans.
The Boston Massacre (1770) was a shooting in the street; the Boston Tea Party (1773) was the dumping of tea into the harbor. Keep the dates and actions separate.
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Open the student portal βNew British taxes and laws after 1763, the lack of colonial representation in Parliament, and harsh responses to protest such as the Intolerable Acts.
France supplied money, soldiers and a navy. The French fleet blocked British escape by sea at Yorktown, which forced the surrender.