1754–1763: French and Indian War
March 22, 1765: Stamp Act
June 15–July 2, 1767: Townshend Acts
March 5, 1770: Boston Massacre
December 16, 1773: Boston Tea Party
March–June 1774: Intolerable Acts
September 5, 1774: First Continental Congress convenes
March 23, 1775: Patrick Henry’s “Give me liberty or give me death” speech
April 18–19, 1775: Paul Revere’s Ride and the Battles of Lexington and Concord
June 17, 1775: Battle of Bunker Hill
January 1776: Thomas Paine’s Common Sense published
July 4, 1776: Declaration of Independence adopted
September 22, 1776: Nathan Hale executed
December 25–26, 1776: Washington crosses the Delaware
October 17, 1777: Burgoyne surrenders at Saratoga
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December 19, 1777–June 19, 1778: Washington winters at Valley Forge
February 6, 1778: France and the United States form an alliance
September 23, 1779: John Paul Jones: “I have not yet begun to fight!”
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September 1780: Benedict Arnold turns traitor
March 1, 1781: Articles of Confederation ratified
September–October 1781: Siege of Yorktown
September 3, 1783: Treaty of Paris ends the war