: Influenced by Enlightenment ideals, colonists championed liberty, equality, and self-governance. Timeline of Key Events

: Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army and later the first U.S. President.

: High-ranking American general who famously defected to the British in 1780. Global Legacy

: Primary author of the Declaration of Independence.

Formally ended the war and recognized American independence. Key Figures

: The British Parliament imposed taxes like the Stamp Act (1765) and Tea Act (1773) to repay debts from the French and Indian War.

Harsh winter quarters where the army was drilled into a professional force. Siege of Yorktown