Topic / What was it? / Why was it important?
The French & Indian War
Proclamation of 1763 / (1754-1763) Global conflict between European super powers & native American allies for control of colonial areas.
King George III’s official stance on reorganizing the New North American empire & stabilize relations with Native Americans. / England won and gained a large area of North America from French. Georgia colony expanded.
It closed off the frontier for colonial expansion which angered many colonists who fought FOR gaining access to this area.
Tories—another term for loyalists or royalists; those who supported England’s monarchy.
Patriots—a colonist who wanted to become independent from Great Britain. (also known as Whigs, Liberty Boys, Colonials, Sons and Daughters of Liberty.)
Sugar Act – 1764 An attempt by England to enforce an existing tax; this focus was on imported molasses.
Stamp Act—1765 An attempt by the British government to help repay cost of French and Indian War. One of the first direct taxes placed on the colonies by the British government, the act placed a tax on all legal documents (including newspapers). It was repealed in 1766.
Townshend Revenue Act—1767 Taxes on glass, paint, oil, lead, paper, and tea were applied with the design of raising £40,000 a year for the administration of the colonies.
Tea Act—1773 Not a new tax on the colonies but an attempt to help the East India Trade Company by shipping their unsold products directly to the colonies and sold at a cheaper price. / It “disrupted the colonial economy by reducing the markets to which the colonies could sell, and the amount of currency available to them for the purchase of British manufactured goods.” (Kindig)
It caused a great deal of protest amongst the colonists. (Georgia was the only colony that actually implemented the tax and it caused the one newspaper to stop publication since it couldn’t absorb the cost.)
A resurrection of colonial hostilities created by the Stamp Act. (Kindig)
Undercut business of local merchants; radicals use this to take action against England’s policy via the Boston Tea Party. (Kindig)
Boston Tea Party-1773 / An act of protest on December 16, 1773; a group of patriots dressed as Native Americans dumped 342 chests of tea in the Boston Harbor to protest the Tea Act. / Due to this expensive civil protest, the British instituted the Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts) to punish the colonists and to attempt to regain the monetary loss incurred by the dump.
Coercive Acts/ “Intolerable” Acts / A group of five acts issued by Parliament designed to punish the Massachusetts colony for the Boston Tea Party.
Boston Port Act, Administration of Justice Act, Massachusetts Gov. Act, Quebec Act, & Quartering Act / Enraged colonists and help unify the patriot cause and garner support for independence.
First Continental Congress / (1774) First convention of delegates from 12 colonies who gathered to discuss reaction to the Intolerable Acts. (This meeting lasted almost two months.) / First attempt at combined unity of 12 previously separate and distinct colonies.
Georgia did not send a delegate due to the influence of a strong royal governor.
Boston Massacre/
Incident on King Street / A street fight between colonists and British soldiers where five colonists were killed. / Episode was used to ignite the ire of colonists.
Second Continental Congress / Convention of delegates from all 13 colonies and acted like a temporary government of what becomes the U.S. / Officially declared independence from Great Britain, raised an army, appointed diplomats, and made treaties.
Declaration of Independence / Three part document that explained to the world the colonists’ philosophy on natural rights of humans and outlined the wrongs committed by King George III. / Officially served as final and collective break from England’s imperial hold on the colonies and ultimately established 13 separate nation states in lieu of colonies.
Lexington & Concord / First military engagement of the American Revolution. (“the shot heard ‘round the world…”) / Marked outbreak of open armed conflict between Great Britain and her 13 colonies.
Yorktown
Treaty of Paris / Decisive victory of Continental Army (+ French) over British Army.
“Official” paperwork ending American Revolution. / Cornwallis’ surrender to Washington signaled the end of the war.
Legitimized new nation to rest of world.
King George III / Monarch of England who came to power during the French and Indian War. He believed in handling his New England colonies with a firm hand. / Considered a tyrant by many colonists, his policies on taxation and limiting trade of colonies led to rebellion and loss of England’s colonies in New World.
George Washington / Commander in chief of the Continental Army who was later elected first president of the independent nation.
Battle of Kettle Creek / February 14, 1779. Small Revolutionary War battle in Georgia where patriot forces, led by Elijah Clarke, defeated 600 loyalists. / One of the few patriot victories in the state of Georgia.
Siege of Savannah / A failed attempt by the French and Americans to recapture Savannah during the Revolution. / Georgia was firmly held by the British for most of the war.
Nancy Hart / Frontierswoman who killed several Tories. / Evidence that women played a significant role in the Revolutionary War.
Austin Dabney / A slave who fought at the Battle of Kettle Creek. He was wounded. / Despite Georgia’s policy on slavery, Austin Dabney was awarded his freedom and a land grant by the state for his heroics.
Elijah Clarke / Lieutenant Colonel of patriot forces who led a battle against loyalists on February 14 of 1779. (The Battle of Kettle Creek.) / He helped achieve victory at a battle in Georgia and this helped bolster the patriot sentiment in Georgia.
Button Gwinnett / Signed the Declaration of Independence; Killed in a duel with Lachland McIntosh. / Demonstrates that Georgia eventually aligned itself with the patriot cause.
Lyman Hall / Signed the Declaration of Independence; served as a governor of Georgia. / Demonstrates that Georgia eventually aligned itself with the patriot cause.
George Walton / Signed the Declaration of Independence; Georgia governor and U.S. Senator. / Demonstrates that Georgia eventually aligned itself with the patriot cause.
Sons of Liberty / Colonial group established to protest the Stamp Act and other English taxes. (Sam Adams +) / `
Thomas Paine / Passionate patriot who used the power of the pen to promote independence. / Ignited a passion for independence from Britain.
Pirates & Privateers / Played a pivotal role in fighting the war at sea by attacking British vessels. / Colonies would not have secured victory without their aid.