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POLITICAL BACKDROP OF REVOLUTION

� All colonies had bicameral legislatures

� Lower House Elected

� Voted on taxation (with representation — get it?)

� Governors/Upper Houses chosen differently

� 8 colonies (NH, MA, NY, NJ, VA, NC, SC) chosen by the

crown

� 3 (MD, PA, DE) appointed by proprietors

� 2 (CT, RI) had elected governors

� Local Government most important to people

� New England: Town meetings

� South: Sheriff/county administrators

WHAT ISSUES LED TO THE

AMERICAN REVOLUTION?

The French & Indian War

Changing British Policy

Rising Tensions in the Colonies

The First Continental Congress

The Shot Heard Around the World

The Declaration of Independence

The Navigation Acts

• A series of British laws intended to protect British shipping and merchants

• Basically stated that all goods coming or going from a British colony must first go to England

• Which means even if a shipper in New York

wanted to ship lumber to New Jersey – the next colony – it had to go to England first!

• This raised the costs and frustrated colonists

• It led to illegal smuggling and a resentment of British policies to the colonies that would continue to grow

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The Molasses Act – 1733• The first British law that imposed a tax on

molasses, sugar and rum from non-British

colonies• British wanted a monopoly on sugarcane

from British West Indies to American

colonies• Tried to inhibit or stop colonial trade with

the French West Indies

• Failed to stop illegal smuggling• Later modified into the Sugar Act

THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR

• 1754 to 1763 war fought over the land in America between the English and French.

• It was called the Seven Years War in Europe.• Became a true World War.• Called the French and Indian War because

the Indians helped the French in the war against the British and the colonists. The Indians had nothing to lose. The British were taking their land, the French were not.

• The British won, but at a cost of a lot of money.

The French and Indian War

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� Treaty of Paris- signed in 1763, ended the 7 Year’s War

in England and the French and Indian War in North

America.

� Britain gained all land east of Mississippi River

including land in Canada.

� Gave Britain a mighty empire.

� Spain gave up Florida, but gained Louisiana Territory

from French.

� French kept a few islands in Canada and regained

some Caribbean islands.

Shipbuilders, ironworkers, and farmers

all profited by supplying the army.

Carolina and Georgia benefited from

the acquisition of Florida.

Forced colonists to unite and work

together.

England gained an empire, but felt

colonists should pay for the expenses

of war.

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The colonists did not support the war enough (soldiers, $$$)

The British Felt

The Colonists

Felt

British military leadership was

weak

So they demanded Colonial Leaders!

That’s Treason

Says the

British

QUESTIONS

1. Why is the French and Indian War important?

2. Name a result of the war.

PROCLAMATION OF 1763

Forbid colonists to settle west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Created to protect colonists from the Indians but most did not see it that way.

Many colonists reacted with anger toward the Proclamation. They did not like being told what to do or where they could live.

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THE BRITISH NEED MONEY

British in debt from war

Expected the colonists to help them pay for it – After all, it was to help them

How could the British make the colonies pay?

1764: Sugar Act

• British Action:

– Raised taxes on goods like…

• Sugar

• Textiles

• Wine

• Coffee

• Indigo

• Colonial Response:

– First time a tax had been passed to raise revenue rather than

regulate trade

– Colonial merchants protested the increased duties

– Was an indirect tax

1765: The Stamp Act

• British Action:– Taxed all documents,

newspapers, and playing cards by forcing colonists to

place a special stamp on the items

– Direct tax

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COLONIAL REACTION

“No taxation without representation”

�Colonists felt they should not be taxed

because they did not get to elect anyone

to Parliament

� Boycotted English goods

�Boycott = refusal to buy or use

� Sons of Liberty was formed

� Group that opposed English Rule and advocated

independence

BRITISH RESPONSE…

� Parliament repealed the Stamp Act

� Boycotts so successful not one stamp was

ever sold

1765: Quartering Act

• British Action:

– Colonists had to keep British troops in their homes

– Purpose to keep troops in the colonies and reduce the cost

• Colonial Response:

– Colonists did not get along with army and did not want them there permanently

– They despised the British “occupation” and the soldiers

– Began to form meetings about the Acts they disliked

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QUESTIONS

1. Why is the Proclamation of 1763 important?

2. What was the Sugar Act?

3. What was the Stamp Act?

4. What was the Quartering Act?

SAM ADAMS AND THE

SONS OF LIBERTY

• Samuel Adams led the protests in Boston against the taxes.

• He also brewed beer.• He began a secret

society called the Sons of Liberty.

• They started a boycott, or a refusal to buy certain goods, from the British.

Join, or Die Political Cartoon by Benjamin Franklin

A political cartoon calling for American colonies to band together for protection against Indians and the French. First published in the

Pennsylvania Gazette on May 9, 1754.

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TAR AND FEATHER

• The Sons of Liberty used violence to scare off the tax collectors.

• The Stamp Act was repealed (to do away with) in 1766 because of all the protests.

MORE TAXES!

Townshend Acts – 1767�Impose duties on glass, paper, paint,

and tea

�Another indirect tax

�Money used to pay royal governments in the colonies

Violence Erupts…

THE BOSTON MASSACRE

MARCH 5, 1770

• Colonial men were shouting insults at the British soldiers. • They started throwing things, probably snow balls and

rocks at the soldiers. • Someone yelled “fire” and the Red Coats (what the

British soldiers were called) shot into the crowd.• Five colonists, including Crispus Attucks, a free Black

sailor, were killed. These were the first Americans killed in the War for Independence.

• Sam Adams started calling the incident the Boston Massacre. He used the incident to get more people angry at the British.

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RESULTS OF THE BOSTON MASSACRERESULTS OF THE BOSTON MASSACRERESULTS OF THE BOSTON MASSACRERESULTS OF THE BOSTON MASSACRE

Parliament canceled the

Townshend taxes

Except for the tax on tea

1772: COMMITTEES OF

CORRESPONDENCE FORMED

� Started by

Samuel Adams

� Used to pass

information

between the

colonies

� It was a secret

organization

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A TAX ON TEA

• Parliament passed the Tea Act in 1773 and began taxing it. Tea was the most important beverage in the colonies.

• The cost was actually cheaper than before, even with the tax, but had to buy from the British East India Company.

• The colonists decided to boycott all British tea instead.

THE BOSTON TEA PARTY

• Colonists dressed up like Mohawk Indians and boarded three British ships full of tea in Boston harbor.

• The colonists dumped all the tea into the harbor, about 90,000 pounds.

• King George III was furious!• Other “Tea Parties” were held in other

colonies.The Tea Act of 1773

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� Designed to punish the colonists for Tea PartyDesigned to punish the colonists for Tea PartyDesigned to punish the colonists for Tea PartyDesigned to punish the colonists for Tea Party

� Closed Boston HarborClosed Boston HarborClosed Boston HarborClosed Boston Harbor

� Restricted trial by juryRestricted trial by juryRestricted trial by juryRestricted trial by jury

� Searches without warrantsSearches without warrantsSearches without warrantsSearches without warrants

� Quartering troops without permissionQuartering troops without permissionQuartering troops without permissionQuartering troops without permission

� No town meetings allowed in Massachusetts No town meetings allowed in Massachusetts No town meetings allowed in Massachusetts No town meetings allowed in Massachusetts ––––

Boston under military rule Boston under military rule Boston under military rule Boston under military rule –––– Martial LawMartial LawMartial LawMartial Law

� Trying to isolate Massachusetts, but only Trying to isolate Massachusetts, but only Trying to isolate Massachusetts, but only Trying to isolate Massachusetts, but only

strengthened the colonies unitystrengthened the colonies unitystrengthened the colonies unitystrengthened the colonies unity

The Intolerable/Coercive

Acts - Spring 1774

QUESTIONS

1. What were the Townshend Acts?

2. Why was the Boston Massacre important?

3. What were the problems with tea?

4. What were the Intolerable/Coercive Acts?

FIRST CONTINENTAL

CONGRESS

� September 5, 1774 met in

Philadelphia – From all colonies-except Georgia

� Plan a response to Intolerable Acts

� Boycott English goods

� Get out your guns

� Sent the King a message…

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Loyalty to the empire

Poor unity within the colonies

Upper class feared mob rule

Middle class feared decline in business

All feared the British army & navy Irish rebels had been hanged, drawn, & quartered

Just a small minority of rebel-rousers? SOMEWHAT – Brits mistakenly thought by capturing

leaders in the colonies, the militia would disband. Many were on the fence.

Up to 16% were loyalists, mostly in the lower southern colonies.

Why not declare independence?

CATALYSTS FOR INDEPENDENCE

� Harsh British actions � Burning of Falmouth and Norfolk

� Hiring of Hessians

� Common Sense pamphlet

� Experience running their own governments

� Acceptable “umbrella of language” to shield colonists against criticism that they were rebelling against God.

� June 1776 Richard Henry Lee moves that the United Colonies be free and independent states. The motion is passed July 1776.

Revolutionary War –

Military Strategies

Attrition [the Brits had a long supply line].

Guerilla tactics [fight an insurgent war you don’t have to win a battle, just wear the British down]

Make an alliance with one of Britain’s enemies.

The Americans The British

Break the colonies in half by getting between the No. & the So.

Blockade the ports to prevent the flow of goods and supplies from an ally.

“Divide and Conquer” use the Loyalists.

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BATTLES OF

LEXINGTON &

CONCORD

� Rebels/Patriots (Colonists)

� April 19, 1775, 800 British troops moved from Boston to Concord

�They were after guns & ammunition stockpiled by the Patriots/Rebels.

�Paul Revere (and others) learns of plan rides on horseback to alert Patriot Leaders (Paul Revere actually captured by British – Did not warn anyone!)

THE SHOT HEARD ROUND THE

WORLD

� Patriots are waiting for the Red Coats

� British are victorious at first but then defeated

�¼ of British soldiers killed or wounded

The Shot Heard Round the World

THE SECOND CONTINENTAL

CONGRESS – MAY 10, 1775

• The Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia to discuss the next move of the colonists.

• Appointed George Washington as commander of the colonial army.

• Appointed diplomats.• Made treaties with other nations.• War with Great Britain was imminent.

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QUESTIONS

1. What was the difference between the First and

Second Continental Congress?

2. Compare the British and the Colonial armies.

3. What was the Shot Heard Round the World?

THE DECLARATION OF

INDEPENDENCE 1776

� All the events and battles we have read

about so far occurred before the colonies

declared their independence from

England.

� By the summer of 1776, it was clear that

there could be no turning back.

� The Second Continental Congress

appointed a committee to draft a

document declaring the colonies to be

free and independent states.

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

� An eloquent appeal of why secession is needed must be created – a formal explanation.

� Would be used to help enlist foreign aid Task falls to Thomas Jefferson

On July 4, 1776, Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence.

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Phase I: The Northern Campaign[1775-1776]

Phase II:

NY & PA[1777-1778]

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Saratoga:

“Turning Point”

of the War?

A modern-day re-enactment

FIGHTING AT SEAAmericans had almost no Navy, but in

1778, John Paul Jones on board his

ship, The Bonhomme RichardBonhomme RichardBonhomme RichardBonhomme Richard,

managed to overtake the British

ship SerapisSerapisSerapisSerapis. Privateers also helped

the Americans fight the British Navy.

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FIGHTING IN THE WEST

Colonists who crossed the Appalachian Mountains to settle new lands found themselves fighting against the British, as well as Indians whom the British encouraged to fight the colonists. Lt. Col. George Rogers Clark was sent to strike back. He seized British forts along the frontier.

Phase III: The Southern Strategy [1780-1781]

The Battle of Yorktown (1781)

Count de Rochambeau

AdmiralDe Grasse

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Cornwallis’ Surrender at Yorktown:

Painted by John Trumbull, 1797

TREATY OF PARIS OF 1783

� Britain recognized the independence of the US

� Borders from Atlanta, to Mississippi, to the Great Lakes, to Florida.

� Americans must stop persecuting Loyalists and recommend their property be restored.

� British creditors could still collect payment.

� France agrees to all parts – end to conflict

� Slips towards bankruptcy and bloody revolution

�Americans also gained fishing

rights off the coast of

Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.

Britain gave Florida to Spain in the

Treaty of Versailles.

�Nearly 26,000 Americans lost their

lives from battle and disease in the

American Revolution. British

looses totaled about 10,000.

TREATY OF PARIS OF 1783

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North America After the

Treaty of Paris, 1783

QUESTIONS

1. What exactly was the Declaration of

Independence?

2. Why was the Battle of Saratoga important?

3. What were the results of the Treaty of Paris?

• First constitutional document to try and unite the new states, written in 1777.

• Consisted of only one branch of government: the legislative branch, or Congress.

• Congress carried out the duties of both the legislative and executive branches.

• No national court system existed.

• Congress could declare war and borrow money, but lacked the power to tax.

THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION

The Articles of Confederation

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State Claims to Western Lands

Land Ordinance of 1785

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

One of the major accomplishments of the Confederation Congress!

Statehood achieved in three stages:

1. Congress appointed 3 judges & a governor to govern the territory.

2. When population reached 5,000 adult male landowners elect territorial legislature.

3. When population reached 60,000 elect delegates to a state constitutional convention.

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UNDER THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION, THE STATES HAD MOST OF THE POWER WHILE THE

NATIONAL GOVERNMENT WAS WEAK.

SHAYS REBELLION – GIVING THE NATIONALIST SUPPORT

The Causes:� The wealthy loaned states dollars to

fight the revolution.� After the war wealthy lenders

demanded payment.� To get payment they forced state

government to raise taxes - dollars to repay loans.

� This led to foreclosures on the mortgages of farmers

“This is taxation without representation”

The farmers complain to the state legislature to:

� Take back the taxes

� The legislature refused

� The courts seized their possessions

THE EFFECTS OF SHAYS REBELLION

Realizing they were helpless in restoring order-

� No army� No aid to the states

Congressional leaders decided to meet in Philadelphia to fix the articles and strengthen the federal government.

Shay’s Rebellion

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THE REVOLT

The farmers:� Drove off the tax collectors

� Forced the courts to close

� Rioted

� Marched to the gun depot in Springfield.

Congress was helpless

QUESTIONS

1. What exactly was the Declaration of

Independence?

2. Why was the Battle of Saratoga important?

3. Were the Articles of Confederation good or

bad?

4. Why was Shay’s Rebellion important?