The American
Revolution
A Change in 1763
• The conclusion of
the Seven Year’s
War (The French
and Indian War)
• War costs money
• England needs to
pay its debts
Royal Proclamation of
1763
Hope to avoid further
conflict between
colonists
and native Americans
Restricts western
settlement
to the Appalachian
Mountains
The Stamp Act (1765)
• Britain tries to raise
money
• Tax on printed materials,
playing cards, official
documents
• British enforcement was
un-democratic
o No Jury Trials
Who is affected by the
Stamp Act?
• Attorneys
• Colonial legislatures feel undermined
• Government officials
• Sailors and gamblers
Reactions to the new
Taxes
• Colonial Assemblies
pass resolutions
against the taxes
• Sons of Liberty
• Boycotts
• Militia and police
join demonstrations
Philosophical Reactions
• Natural Rights
o Taxation without
Representation
o Right to a jury trial
• Colonial Rights – are the
colonists “Englishmen?”
Outcomes from the Stamp
Act
• Stamp Act Repealed
• England passes “Declaratory Act”
o The right to tax
• Philosophy linked to self interest
• Legitimizes boycotts and mass-demonstrations
Townshend Acts
• Tax on glass, paper,
and tea
• Boycotts in Boston
The Boston Massacre
March 5, 1770
The Boston Tea Party
December 16, 1773
The “Intolerable Acts” of
1774-75
1. Massachusetts Government Act
2. Administration of Justice Act
o
All British soldiers to be tried in Britain, not in the
colonies
3. Boston Port Act
o Britain demands payment for goods lost in the
Boston Tea Party
4. Quartering Acts
Quartering Act
Committees of
Correspondence (1772)
• Include all 13 colonies
• Spread information about problems
facing the other colonies
• Colonial Propaganda
• A nationalizing experience
First Continental
Congress
September 15, 1774
First Continental
Congress
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Agree to boycott British goods
o British imports dropped by 97% in 1775
• Agree to meet in the Second
Continental Congress, to be convened
on May 10, 1775
A Revolutionary War
Battle of Lexington and
Concord
o April 19, 1775
o “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World”
Battle of Bunker Hill
June 17, 1775
Second Continental
Congress, 1775
• Congress
creates a
Continental
Army
• The Olive
Branch Petition
The Declaration of
Independence
The Declaration of
Independence
• Thomas Jefferson
• July 4, 1776
The Main Arguments:
• Preamble
• Identifies injuries caused by King George III
• Denounces the British, argues that revolution
is justified
• Conclusion that the colonies must create a
new government
The Philosophy behind
the Declaration
• “We hold these truths to be self evident,
that all men are created equal, that they
are endowed by their Creator with
certain inalienable Rights, that among
these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness.
John Locke
• The Second Treatise
of Government
• Life, Liberty, and
Property
• Laws of Nature