Revolutionary War

The British government ruled the colonies. They passed laws (or acts) about all parts of a colonist's life. There were taxes on hats, paper, playing cards, coffee, tea....The list goes on and on. The colonists wanted to have a voice in the British government. They wanted to be able to send a person to represent them. The British refused.

Finally, the colonists became tired of the British government. One night they boarded a ship in Boston harbor and threw all the barrels of tea overboard. This is called the Boston Tea Party. This enraged the British government.

The colonists began meeting to decide what they were going to do about this situation. They held the first Continental Congress. They began hoarding weapons so they could fight the British.

The British found out they were stockpiling weapons at Lexington and Concord. They decided to raid these towns and seize all the weapons. This is what made Paul Revere famous. He road into the night warning the colonists. The first battle of the Revolution began here. A year later the Declaration of Independence was signed, separating the colonies from the British.
Revolutionary War pictures