Road to Independence

1754-1776

1754: The French & Indian War

In 1754, the British colonies wanted

____________ of the Ohio Valley. Ohio had

rich soil and was part of the „fur trade‟. The

French and ______________ went to war

with Britain and the colonies. The colonists

were responsible for most of the fighting. The

war cost a great deal of ___________, but the

colonies finally won in 1763. George

Washington was also a general for the British

during this time period.

1776: Declaration of Independence

On July 4th, _________, the Second

Continental Congress to ______________ the

Declaration of Independence. This was a

document that listed _________________

with King George III and declared the

colonies were no longer ______________

British ______________. However, shortly

after this event Britain and the colonies

officially went to war.

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1775: Lexington & Concord

In April 1775, British troops marched from

_____________ to Lexington and Concord.

British Troops were looking for ___________.

Paul Revere rode through the night to warn

the colonists soldiers, also known as

“________________”. At dawn, British

troops arrived and a battle began. The

Minutemen forced the British to return to

Boston. This was our first _______________!

Proclamation of 1763

In order to help maintain ____________

between the Indians and colonists, King

George III made a _________that prevented

colonists from crossing the Appalachian

Mountains. This angered the colonist who

______________ in the French and Indian

War. The colonist wanted the Ohio Valley

because of the rich soil and lumber.

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1763: Writs of Assistance

In 1763 King George III made a ________

that allowed British officials to enter any

____________ to look for contraband (illegal

items). This included _______,__________,

_________________, and other valuable

goods. British officials often took valuable

items to ____________ for themselves.

1774: First Continental Congress

In 1774 the colonies to sent representatives to

Philadelphia, PA to make form the First

Continental Congress. The representatives

discussed how to become a free nation.

However, many representatives did not want

to break free. King George III became upset

with this meeting and said the representatives

were “traitors”.

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1773: The Boston Tea Party

The colonist were upset with the __________

and decided to ______________. The

colonists dressed as Mohawk Indians and

dumped 342 crates of _________ into the

water. This made King George III and English

business owners ____________. After this

event, British soldiers were ____________ to

Boston to maintain ______________

.

1765: The Stamp Act

In order to pay for the French and Indian

War, King George III ______________taxes.

A Stamp tax was put into ____________ that

required colonists to get a stamp on all paper

products. This stamp cost colonist money for

___________________ goods such as

newspapers or playing cards.

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1765: The Quartering Act

In order to save ___________ and

_______________ the colonists, King George

III made a ___________ that required

colonists to house and __________ British

soldiers. This prevented colonists from

disobeying the Proclamation of ___________.

Colonists believed the King was using the

soldiers as “baby-sitters”.

1773: The Tea Tax

As the colonies grew, so did their businesses.

English business owners __________ this

because they were losing __________ because

of colonists goods, such as tea. King George

III put a _________a large tax on ________

made in the colonies. This was to prevent the

colonist from buying local ________, while

forcing them to buy _______ tea. The colonist

were outraged.

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1766:The Declaratory Act

After violent ______________, King

George decided to get rid of the Stamp

Act. He ___________ the Stamp Act with

the Declaratory Act, which allowed his

governors to _________ rules and laws

they whenever they wanted. Colonists

became __________because they weren‟t

allowed to vote on the laws. The colonist

did not have a _____________.

1770: The Boston Massacre

On March 5th, 1770, an argument between a

_____________ soldiers and __________ took

place. As the two men began to argue, other

colonists joined in the argument. Soon some

colonists began throwing _____________ and

sticks at the soldiers. Other soldiers came to

help, but someone yelled, “___________”

British soldiers opened fired and killed five

colonists. This outraged colonist and they

said, “It‟s time for King George to

______________”.

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