Chapter 4 Sections 1 and 2
Causes of the American Revolution
and the Beginning of the American
Revolution
Objectives
• List examples of colonial resistance to taxation.
• Explain the battle of Lexington and Concord.
• Explain efforts made to avoid bloodshed as the
colonies hovered between war and peace.
• Analyze the philosophical and political ideas of the
Declaration of Independence.
• Contrast the attitudes of Patriots and Loyalists.
Why did the colonists protest
Britain’s taxes?
• 1765- Stamp Act (colonists
had to buy and place
stamps on items like wills,
playing cards) Directly
taxed the people.
• Sons of Liberty led by
Samuel Adams led
boycotts. (No taxation
without representation)
• Patrick Henry(Virginian)“Give me Liberty or give
me Death.”
What were the Townshend Acts?
• Passed in 1767.
• Placed taxes on glass,
paint, lead, and tea
• Protest by colonists
led to British troops
being stationed in
America.
What was the Boston Massacre
(1770)?
• Group of Boston
protesters threw snow
balls at British
soldiers.
• The British soldiers
fired and killed 5
colonists including
African American
Crispus Attucks.
What were the committees of
correspondence?
• Allowed colonies to
communicate with
one another.
• Helped unite colonies.
What was the Boston Tea Party
(1773)?
• Colonists were angry
at another tea tax
passed with the Tea
Act.
• Sons of Liberty
dressed as American
Indians dumped
thousands of pounds
of tea in Boston
Harbor.
What were the Intolerable and
Coercive Acts (1774)?
• Boston Tea Party
angered King George
III.
• Parliament passed
these acts that put
Boston under martial
law and closed
Boston Harbor.
What happened at Lexington and
Concord (1775)?
• 1st Battle of the American
Revolution
• Minutemen- colonial
civilian soldiers
• British seize weapons at
Concord
• Paul Revere warned the
British were coming.
• Lexington lasted 15
minutes.
• Concord many British
soldiers were killed.
What was the Second
Continental Congress (1775)?
• Urged independence
from Great Britain
• Created Continental
Army under the
leadership of George
Washington.
• Approved the Olive
Branch and then the
Declaration of
Independence.
What was the Battle of Bunker
Hill (1775)?
• More than 1,000
British soldiers killed.
• Colonists lost 311
men.
• Deadliest battle of
the war.
• “Don’t fire until you
see the whites of their
eyes”
What was the Olive Branch
Petition (1775)?
• Continental Congress
sent a peace offering to
King George III.
• Return to harmony prior
to the war.
• Rejected by King George
III.
• Ordered Parliament to
blockade America.
What was the importance of
Common Sense (1776)?
• Written by Thomas
Paine in January
1776.
• Independence would
lead to a better
American society.
• Colonies had
outgrown relationship
with Britain.
What are the main ideas of
Declaration of Independence?
• Written July 4 1776 by
Thomas Jefferson.
• Used Enlightenment
theories of natural rights
from John Locke.
• Social contract of
government
• Right to Revolution
• Consent of the governed
• “All men are created
equal”
Who were the Patriots?
• Those colonists who
supported
independence from
England.
• Only 1/3 of colonists
were Patriots.
• Farmers, landowners,
artisans, merchants,
Quakers, some African
Americans.
Who were the Loyalists?
• Supported the British and
were loyal to the King.
• Also called Tories.
• Felt the King could protect
their rights better than
the colonial government.
• 1/3 of colonists were
Loyalists.
• Most American Indians
and some African
Americans supported the
British.
Objectives
• List examples of colonial resistance to taxation.
• Explain the battle of Lexington and Concord.
• Explain efforts made to avoid bloodshed as the
colonies hovered between war and peace.
• Analyze the philosophical and political ideas of the
Declaration of Independence.
• Contrast the attitudes of Patriots and Loyalists.