Causes of the Revolutionary War
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The Enlightenment The Age of Enlightment - The Age of Enlightenment, also called the Age of Reason, was a fundamental shift in thinking that occurred in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. It had a profound impact on both the American and French Revolutions, and greatly influenced American founding fathers such as Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and James Madison. 
French and Indian War French and Indian War - The French and Indian War, also known as the Seven Years War, began in the Spring in 1754. The dispute arose over the presence of British and French settlers in the Ohio River Valley (in and around present day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), but resulted in battles that were fought far from there. 
French and Indian War Royal Proclamation of 1763 - Issued on October 2, 1763, the Royal Proclamation of 1763 was intended to regulate the lands west of the Appalachian Mountains awarded to the British in the Treaty of Paris
French and Indian War Pontiac's Rebellion - Pontiac's Rebellion was a war waged by Indians of the Great Lakes region against British rule after the French and Indian War. The Indians, who had formed alliances with the defeated French, were dissatisfied with treatment from British officials.
The Sugar Act of 1764 - The Sugar Act of 1764 was a British law passed by the British government in order to raise revenue from the American colonies. The law placed a tax on sugar and other goods imported into the colonies, and was intended to help pay off the large debt the British government had accumulated during the French and Indian War.
Stamp Act

Stamp Act - Parliament passed the Stamp Act on March 22, 1765. The Stamp Act required Americans to purchase tax stamps for any printed documents including newspapers, legal documents, marriage licenses and more.
Townshend Acts

The Townshend Acts - Tension between the British and Americans grew even more intense when Parliament passed the 1767 Townshend Act. The Townshend Act authorized Parliament to issue a new set of taxes on in demand imports such as glass, lead, paint, paper and tea. 
Treaty of Fort Stanwix Treaty of Fort Stanwix - The Treaty of Fort Stanwix was a treaty signed on November 5, 1768, between representatives of the British Crown and the Iroquois Confederacy, which established a boundary line between British colonial settlements and Indian lands in what is now western New York state.
Boston Massacre

The Boston Massacre - On March 5, 1770, five Americans were killed by British soldiers who fired into an unruly mob. Was it murder? Self-defense?

 

In Depth: The John Adams Defense | The Bloody Massacre Woodcut

Boston Tea Party

The Boston Tea Party and Intolerable Acts - On December 16, 1773, the Sons of Liberty, led by Samuel Adams, planned to show Parliament how they felt about the Tea Act. They boarded the British ship Dartmouth docked in Boston Harbor, dressed up as Indians,and dumped the entire load of tea into the water. This event came to be known as the Boston Tea Party.

In Depth: The East India Company | Mob Etiquette in the Boston Tea Party | Sons of Liberty
Boston Tea Party

The Hutchinson Affair - The Hutchinson Affair involved the leak of private letters from Massachusetts Governor Thomas Hutchinson, revealing his support for harsh British control over the colonies and the suppression of colonial freedoms.

 
First Continental Congress The First Continental Congress - In response to the Intolerable Acts, America’s first Continental Congress met on September 5, 1774. 56 delegates from 12 colonies met at Carpenter’s Hall in Philadelphia to discuss a unified position and Parliament’s assertion that it could control the colonies. Georgia was the only colony that refused to send a delegate.
First Continental Congress Second Continental Congress -The Second Continental Congress met in 1775 after the start of the American Revolution and began acting as the government for the colonies. It created the Continental Army, appointed George Washington as its leader, and eventually approved the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
Olive Branch Petition The Olive Branch Petition - The Olive Branch Petition was a document sent by the Continental Congress to King George III in July 1775, during the early stages of the American Revolutionary War. The petition was a last ditch effort by the colonists to avoid an all-out war with Britain and to reconcile with the British government.
Declaration of Independence The Declaration of Independence - The Declaration of Independence is a historic document written in 1776 that explained why the American colonies chose to break away from British rule. It stated that all people have rights and that governments must have the consent of the governed to be legitimate.