1765–1783
The long Revolution
The United States did not appear in a single afternoon. Protest, war, alliance, and negotiation changed what independence could mean.
The Stamp Act
Parliament taxed printed materials, intensifying arguments about representation and the limits of imperial power.
Library of Congress source (opens in a new tab)The Boston Massacre
British soldiers fired into a Boston crowd. Competing accounts and Paul Revere’s influential print turned the event into powerful propaganda.
Library of Congress source (opens in a new tab)The Boston Tea Party
Protesters destroyed East India Company tea, and Parliament answered with punitive laws that brought colonies closer together.
National Park Service source (opens in a new tab)Lexington and Concord
Fighting began in Massachusetts on April 19, transforming years of political conflict into open war.
National Park Service source (opens in a new tab)Independence declared
Congress adopted the Declaration on July 4. John Dunlap’s first printed copies began carrying the words outward the next day.
National Archives source (opens in a new tab)Saratoga
An American victory in New York helped persuade France to enter the war as an ally, reshaping the conflict.
National Park Service source (opens in a new tab)Yorktown
A combined American and French campaign trapped Cornwallis, ending the war’s last major battle.
National Park Service source (opens in a new tab)The Treaty of Paris
The treaty formally ended the war and recognized the United States as free, sovereign, and independent.
National Archives source (opens in a new tab)