Founding of America
Map of the War
Timeline
Map of Colonies
Founding of America
Settlement of
America
Colonial Political
Experience
The American
Colonial Period
The European
Tradition
Causes of the
Revolution
The American
Revolution
I.
Map of American Colonial Situation
II.
Map of American Revolutionary War
Saratoga
Ft. Ticonderoga
Lexington and Concord
Valley Forge
Trenton
Vincennes
Yorktown
Cowpens
III. Timeline of the Founding of America
A Bill of
Rights is
created in
England
1689
English
establish
Jamestown
colony
1607
1600
Lexington
and
Concord
1775
1620
Pilgrims
establish
Plymouth
Colony
1620
1640
1660
1680
Declaration of
Independence
1776
1700
1720
1740
1760
French and
Indian War
starts
1754
1780
British
surrender
1781
Articles of
Confederati
on approved
1781
1800
IV. American Colonial Period
Settling America
The Native Americans

Relations with European Settlers:
- Relations with Europeans varied from place to place – sometimes coexisting and sometimes
in conflict
- Differing cultural values led to many conflicts

Trade:
- Europeans depended on trade with Native peoples for survival initially
- Some native tribes, such as the Iroquois, came to dominate areas of trade with the Europeans

Alliances
-various alliances between native people and European powers existed, failed, and became
created again and again over time
- Iroquois alliances helped them dominate the fur trade in the northeast
- The Powhatan Confederacy influenced the initial survival of the Jamestown Colony

Warfare:
- Early fighting lessoned the threat of the Powhatan Confederacy in the Virginia area
- King Philip’s War: New England tribes fought against growing European expansion
o French and Indian War:
- Between France and England
(French and Native Americans against the English colonist)
- In Europe (called the Seven Years War there) and America
- Fought for control of the Ohio River Valley area mostly
Africans
 Free Blacks:
- early Africans were considered “indentured servants” – freed when their contract ended

Enslaved Blacks
- Large plantation farms in the south required many workers
- Africans were brought to work on these farms as enslaved workers
- smaller farms and a more diverse economy required less slaves in the northern colonies
The Europeans
- many different European cultures were represented in the colonies
- the English dominated though, and came to influence the development of the 13 different
colonies the most of any of the European peoples
- They came for religious, economic, and political reasons
The Colonial Political Experience
Experiments of Democracy:

Mayflower Compact:
- 1620 – Pilgrims signed contract before landing at Plymouth to consent to be
governed by a body that they created themselves
- this established the precedent of self-government in the colonies

Virginia House of Burgesses:
- prototype for colonial legislative bodies – based on the two-house system similar
to the English Parliament
- This further established the tradition of republican government in America

Northeast Town Meetings:
- In New England – the “Town” was the local center of government
- Citizens would hold “Town Meetings” and vote directly on issues

Albany Plan of Union:
- representatives from the colonies gathered to create a common “union”
governmental body
- initially designed to help protect the colonies against the French
- was a plan to share governmental responsibilities between the colonies on a
central level
- was rejected by the colonies because the feared losing local control
- became a model for later centralized governmental ideas such as the US
Constitution

John Peter Zenger – Freedom of the press
- Zenger was arrested for accusing the governor of NY of doing things he
want supposed to be doing
- his lawyer argued that it was a crime – if what he printed was accurate
- the jury freed Zenger – establishing the case of freedom of the press
V.
The American Revolution
European Democratic Traditions
Much of what later became a part of the American experience of democracy,
came from ideas and events that took place in Europe before and during the American
Colonial Period
Events
 Magna Carta
- document signed in 1215 – limited the powers of the monarchy for the first time

English Bill of Rights
- Late 1600’s – England – established representative government in England and
the idea that the “rule of law” was more important than the powers of a monarch
Enlightenment Connection: the ideas of these political thinkers greatly influenced
American politics

John Locke
- people have certain rights (life-liberty-property)
- if the government fails to protect people’s rights – people can overthrow that
government

Barron de Montesquieu:
- separation of powers was a good idea (Legislative – Judicial – Executive)

Jean Jacques Rousseau:
- “Social Contract” – people can choose their government – but must agree to
follow its rules - the idea that the “majority rules”
Causes of the Revolutionary War
1.
Mercantilism:
- the idea that colonies exist to support the economy of the “Mother
Country”
- the colonies were used to provide raw materials and markets for English goods
2.
Salutary Neglect:
- the British government did not pay much attention to the day-to-day political
activities of the
colonists, allowing them to rule themselves as they saw fit
- was seen as both a negative (the British didn’t care about them) and a positive
(the colonists
learned how to do things on their own)
3.
Proclamation of 1763:
- British rule that prohibited colonists from moving west into lands won from
France after the French and Indian War
4.
Taxation Issues: several new taxes caused increasing resentment in the colonies
British Act
Colonial Response
Sugar Act: tax on imported sugar
- smuggling, reduced consumption
Stamp Act: tax on all written
documents, newspapers, letters, legal
papers, playing cards
- boycott of products, Stamp Act Congress
Townsend Acts: variety of taxes
(lead, glass, tea) Provides for the firs
search warrants against colonists
- continued boycott of products
Tea Act: tax on non-British Tea
- gave a monopoly to the British East
India Company for sale of tea in colonies
- Boston Tea Party
Intolerable Acts: Response to Boston
Tea party, closure of Boston Harbor,
Suspension of self-government (New
England town meeting) Also called the
“Coercive Acts”
- continued protests, prelude to war
5.
Natural Rights: the basic tenants of the Enlightenment caused the colonists to
eventually decide to make a political break from Great Britain

Common Sense:
- written by Thomas Paine
- appealed to rational thought
- propaganda for action by the common man in the colonies
- increased support for the fight for independence

Declaration of Independence
- Delegates from all colonies met in Philadelphia in June, 1776
- This document stated the colonies’ intention to declare their
independence from Britain, and then gave the reasons why they
did so
- Agreed to by the representatives on July 4th – marking the
beginning of the United States of America
- written by Thomas Jefferson
- most of the document was based on the ideas of the Enlightenment (natural
rights, consent of the governed, etc.)
VI. Essential Questions
1. In what ways, was the social make-up of the colonies in America significantly
different from the culture in Great Britain?

Though dominated by the English culture, the colonists were also made up of
Scottish, Irish, German, Dutch, French, and many other European cultures

The experiences and relationships the colonists had with the Native Americans
was significantly different than anything Europeans ever dealt with.

The reliance on Africans for labor, created a unique economic environment in the
colonies, in addition to the social and cultural effects on the community
2. In what ways did aspects of European culture contribute to a desire by colonists
to claim their independence?

The documents of the Magna Carta and English Bill of Rights had established a
tradition of questioning and limiting the powers of a monarchy

The ideas of the European Enlightenment thinkers greatly influenced the minds of
the colonists and the creators of the new political system in the Americas
3. What part of the colonial experience in America helped colonists feel confident in
both their ability and right to declare their independence from Great Britain?

The mixing of different cultures created a new culture that was not entirely
similar to the “home culture” – a feeling of cultural independence existed

The effects of “salutatory neglect” gave colonist motivation and confidence to
establish a government that would look after their own interests