Timeline of the American Revolution

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Timeline of the American Revolution (1760−1791) — timeline of the political upheaval in the 18th century in which Thirteen Colonies in North America joined together for independence from the British Empire, and after victory in the Revolutionary War combining to form the United States of America.

The American Revolution includes political, social, and military aspects. The Revolutionary era is generally considered to have begun with the passage of the Stamp Act in 1765 and ended with the ratification of the United States Bill of Rights in 1791. The military phase of the Revolution, the American Revolutionary War, lasted from 1775 to 1783.

1760s

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1760
1761
  • 1761 - New England Planters immigrate to Nova Scotia, Canada (1759-1768) to take up lands left vacant after the Expulsion of the Acadians.
1763
The extent of America's territorial growth prior to the Revolution. The westward border established by the Royal Proclamation of 1763 is shown.
  • 1763 – King George's Royal Proclamation of 1763 (October 7) establishes administration in territories newly ceded by France. To prevent further violence between settlers and Native Americans, the Proclamation sets a western boundary on the American colonies.
1764
  • 1764 – The Sugar Act (April 5), intended to raise revenues, and the Currency Act (September 1), prohibiting the colonies from issuing paper money, are passed by Parliament. These Acts, coming during the economic slump that followed the French and Indian War, are resented by the colonists and lead to protests.
1765
  • 1765 – To help defray the cost of keeping troops in America, Parliament enacts (March 22) the Stamp Act, imposing a tax on many types of printed materials used in the colonies. Seen as a violation of rights, the Act sparks violent demonstrations in several Colonies. Virginia's House of Burgesses adopts (May 29) the Virginia Resolves claiming that, under British law, Virginians could be taxed only by an assembly to which they had elected representatives. Delegates from nine colonies attend the Stamp Act Congress which adopts (October 19) a Declaration of Rights and Grievances and petitions Parliament and the king to repeal the Act.
  • 1765 – Parliament enacts (March 24) the Quartering Act, requiring the Colonies to provide housing, food, and other provisions to British troops. The act is resisted or circumvented in most of the colonies. In 1767 and again in 1769, Parliament suspended the governor and legislature of New York for failure to comply.
1766
  • 1766 – The British Parliament repeals (March 18) the unpopular Stamp Act of the previous year, but, in the simultaneous Declaratory Act, asserts its "full power and authority to make laws and statutes ... to bind the colonies and people of America ... in all cases whatsoever".
  • 1766 – Liberty Pole erected in New York City commons in celebration of the Stamp Act repeal (May 21). An intermittent skirmish with the British garrison over the removal of this and other poles, and their replacement by the Sons of Liberty, rages until the Province of New York is under the control of the revolutionary New York Provincial Congress in 1775
1767
1768
  • 1768 - In April, England's Secretary of State for the Colonies, Lord Hillsborough, orders colonial governors to stop their own assemblies from endorsing Adams' circular letter. Hillsborough also orders the governor of Massachusetts to dissolve the general court if the Massachusetts assembly does not revoke the letter. By month's end, the assemblies of New Hampshire, Connecticut and New Jersey have endorsed the letter.
  • 1768 - In May, a British warship armed with 50 cannons sails into Boston harbor after a call for help from custom commissioners who are constantly being harassed by Boston agitators. In June, a customs official is locked up in the cabin of the Liberty, a sloop owned by John Hancock. Imported wine is then unloaded illegally into Boston without payment of duties. Following this incident, customs officials seize Hancock's sloop. After threats of violence from Bostonians, the customs officials escape to an island off Boston, then request the intervention of British troops.
  • 1768 - In July, the governor of Massachusetts dissolves the general court after the legislature defies his order to revoke Adams' circular letter. In August, in Boston and New York, merchants agree to boycott most British goods until the Townshend Acts are repealed. In September, at a town meeting in Boston, residents are urged to arm themselves. Later in September, English warships sail into Boston Harbor, then two regiments of English infantry land in Boston and set up permanent residence to keep order.
1769
  • 1769 – To the Betrayed Inhabitants of the City and Colony of New York broadside published by the local Sons of Liberty (c. December)

1770s

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1770
  • 1770 – Golden Hill incident in which British troops wound civilians, including one death (January 19)
  • 1770 – Lord North becomes Prime Minister of Great Britain (January 28)
"The Boston Massacre," an engraving by patriot Paul Revere.
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
Washington Crossing the Delaware
1777
Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga
1778
1779

1780s

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1780
Cornwallis's surrender at Yorktown
1781
1782
  • February 27 – The British House of Commons votes against further war, informally recognizing American independence.
  • December 14 – British evacuate Charleston, South Carolina
1783
Washington's Entry into New York by Currier & Ives
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789

1790s

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See also

Further reading

  • Fremont-Barnes, Gregory, and Richard Alan Ryerson, eds. The Encyclopedia of the American Revolutionary War: A Political, Social, and Military History (5 vol. 2006)
  • Morris, Richard B. Encyclopedia of American History (7th ed. 1996)

External links