The Beginning of the American Revolution: The Boston Massacre

     By 1770 many British troops were already stationed in Boston. They were there to enforce the rules and protect the city. 1000 red coats were stationed in Boston. On March 5, 1770 a street fight broke out. The fight was between the British soldiers and the American citizens. Suddenly the fight got out of hand - America was going crazy. British troops were getting worried: they thought that they would be killed. They picked up their muskets and fired blindly into the American crowd. They killed five innocent people on the spot, seven were injured, and two died at a later date. America was furious with Great Britain. To spread propaganda, America named the event "The Boston Massacre."

The Beginning of the American Revolution: Townshend acts and the Boston Tea Party.

     Before the war, British Parliament had placed acts on America. These acts basically taxed for all goods imported to America from Britain. After a few years, Britain removed all Townshend acts except for the one on tea. To hurt British tea companies, merchants would smuggle tea into America from the Netherlands. This did in fact hurt tea companies drastically. A little while later a man named Sam Prescott led a group of rebels, dressed up as Mohawk Indians, on to a British tea ship. Once aboard, the group started to throw crates of tea overboard. This infuriated Great Britain. They placed the Intolerable acts upon America; these acts closed the Boston Harbor until America paid for the damage and learned to respect Great Britain. A convention of delegates of colonists formed to resist the acts. This group was later known as the Continental Congress.

During the War: Lexington and Concord

     On April 18, 1775 a man named Paul Revere rode on horseback through Lexington and Concord. He was shouting "The British are coming! The British are coming!" to warn the townspeople. These people all got weapons and gathered at a nearby hill. Near dawn of April 19,1775 the "minutemen", townspeople, could see British troops approaching. They ambushed the soldiers: they weren't successful. Britain shot back. In the end, seven townspeople died where as only one British troop got injured.

During the War: Bunker Hill

     A few months after the battle of Lexington and Concord, Britain had attacked America's defenses on Breed's Hill. "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!" Commander George Washington told American troops. This motto saved them a lot of ammo and allowed them to defend themselves longer. This was the bloodiest battle of the entire Revolutionary War. America ended up winning it. In the end, about 1000 British soldiers were killed and only 400 Americans died. This battle took place on June 17, 1775.

After the War

     The Revolutionary War ended in 1783. America had defeated Great Britain. America was no longer controlled by a ruler: a monarchy. America was free and had independence. They chose to become a democracy. A democracy is when the citizens get to vote and pick their own leader. America had now broken free of Britain's grasp and had become their own, more independent country. They controlled what was being imported, they didn't have any taxes, and all of the money went to the country. America was now free and their own country; with no one to tell them what they can or cant do.