Chapter 2 Section 2
UNITING FOR INDEPENDENCE
The Colonies on Their Own
 Colonists owed allegiance to the monarch and
British government
 Colonies served as a source of raw materials
 Colonist became accustomed to governing
themselves
 Colonists remained loyal in return for self-rule
and protection from the French and Indians.
Early Attempt at Colonial Unity
 Albany Plan of Union (1754)
 Benjamin Franklin
 Plan for uniting the colonies to deal with
trade issues and Indian attacks
 Colonies and the Crown rejected it
 Gave too much power to an assembly
made up of representatives from all 13
colonies
Britain Tightens Control
 French and Indian War (1754-1763)
 Tightened Britain’s hold on the continent
 Started as land struggle between France and Britain
 Great Britain won the war
Causes of Independence Movement
The British were left with a large war debt
– expected the colonies to help repay
New monarch, George III, had different ideas
about how the colonies
should be governed.
Causes of Independence Movement
 Proclamation of 1763: Closed the frontier
west of the Appalachians
 Quartering Act of 1765: Colonial towns had to
provide barracks and supplies for local
garrisons of British troops. British army could
commandeer inns, taverns, and other
structures to house troops.
Taxing the Colonies
 Import taxes were increased and new duties
levied on products such as tea, sugar, glass,
lead and paper.
Sugar Act (1763)
Townshend Acts (1767)
 Stamp Act (1765)
 First direct tax aimed solely at Americans
 Tax on legal documents, pamphlets, newspapers,
playing cards, etc.—things printed on paper had to
show a “stamp” indicating a tax had been paid.
Stamp Act Congress: 1st time colonies (9)
joined to oppose British government.
“No Taxation Without Representation!”
became slogan of the Sons of Liberty
 Britain’s revenue increased
 Colonial resentment grew:
Evasion of laws & sporadic violence
 “Boston Massacre” (1770)
Organized Protests
 Refusal to buy British goods (boycott)
 Boston Tea Party (1773) – British tea was dumped into
Boston Harbor in protest of taxation
British response to Colonial
protests:
 Intolerable Acts (1774)
(Referred to as the Coercive Acts in Great Britain)
 Closed the Boston Harbor
 Withdrew the right of MA to govern
itself
 British policies spurred an American sense
of community.
 Most Colonists of this era were born in the
New World, and began to think of
themselves as Americans.
Committees of Correspondence
 Colonial committees that urged
resistance to the British and kept in
touch with one another as events
unfolded
 Samuel Adams established first
committee in Boston (1772)
The First Continental Congress
 Delegates from all the colonies except
Georgia met in Philadelphia in 1774
 Sent Declaration of Rights to the king.
 Key Leaders
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Patrick Henry
Samuel Adams
Richard Henry Lee
George Washington
 Embargo – 1st Cont.Congresss issued an official
ban on trade or other commercial activity with
Great Britain
 King George III declared the New England
governments in a “…state of rebellion.”
 April 19, 1775
 British arrive – Battle of Lexington and Concord
 “Shot heard ‘round the world”
Second Continental Congress
 Assumed the powers of a central government in
May 1775.
 President – John Hancock
 Voted to organize an army and navy and
to issue money
 George Washington – commander of the
Continental Army
Second Continental Congress
 Served as the acting government of the
colonies throughout the war
 Purchased supplies, negotiated treaties,
rallied support for the colonists’ cause
Coming of Independence
 Common Sense
 Thomas Paine published pamphlet, Jan. 1776
 Argued that monarchy was a corrupt form of
government; George III was an enemy to liberty
 Samuel Adams declared that America was
already independent
The Declaration of Independence
 Committee to draft a Declaration of Independence:
 John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson,
Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman
 Jefferson was author.
 June 28, 1776 – edited draft to Congress
 July 4, 1776 – Congress approves final draft
 John Hancock first to sign
 56 delegate signatures
 “The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen
united States of America”
Purposes of the Declaration
Expressed ideals from thinkers such as Locke and Rousseau
 Set out colonists’ reasons for proclaiming independence
 Put forth the founding principles of the new nation
 Justify the revolution
Three Parts of Dec. of Ind.
No government at that time had been founded
on the principles of human liberty and
consent of the governed.
1) Preamble: begins with a statement of purpose
and basic human rights.
2) Grievances: the middle section lists specific
complaints against George III
3) Conclusion: states the colonists’ determination to
separate from Great Britain
The First State Constitutions
 Transformation of the colonies into states
subject to no higher authority
 By the end of 1776, 10 states had adopted
written constitutions
 Recognized the people as the sole source
of authority in a limited government with
only those powers given by the people
Common Features of New States
 Popular Sovereignty
 Limited Government
 Civil Rights and Liberties clearly defined (Bill
of Rights)
 Separation of Powers with Checks & Balances
(organized with independent branches of
government)