History 10
The American
Revolution
The American Revolution
1776 – 1783
• Following the collapse of the English
Monarchy, a ripple of democratic calls
was heard throughout the world.
• Citizens and philosophers of other
countries, ruled by powerful Kings and
Queens, began to ask for their own
independence and right to vote.
• Certain Monarchs became enlightened;
others peacefully negotiated a
democratic system.
• A few tried desperately to cling to their
absolute, ‘God-given,’ powers.
13 Colonies
• The United States of America
(known at this time as the 13
American Colonies) at this time was
a rapidly growing, aggressive colony
of England.
• As their population and wealth grew,
they started to question why they
were still under the rule of the
English King.
• The English people were under the
rule of an elected Parliament, not
their own King;
• Question: is it fair that the 13
American Colonies were still
answering to the English king?
Questions Arise
• ‘Why are we answering
to a king’ was starting to
anger many American
politicians and
businessmen.
• Why would Americans be
upset about being
governed by an elected
Parliament in England?
Thomas Paine
• In 1776, Thomas Paine wrote “Common
Sense.” This was a pamphlet distributed
to the people of the American Colonies.
In it he wrote:
• “I offer nothing more than simple facts,
plain arguments, and common sense. It
is repugnant to reason, to suppose that
this Continent can long remain subject
to any external power.”
• Although colonists controlled local
affairs, the British government regulated
colonial trade.
• The English Parliament passed the
Navigation Acts.
Navigation Acts
1. Required American businesses to
ship goods only on American or
English ships.
2. Americans could not buy goods
from Europe unless they first went
through England first, where
England taxed the goods and then
sent them to the U.S.
3. Lucrative American goods like
tobacco, cotton, and sugar could
only be traded to England, not
other European countries.
Stamp Act
• 1765 Stamp Act-again passed
by Britain.
• Britain raised taxes on the
colonies after a series of
British Colonial wars.
• The Stamp Act taxed among
other things: newspapers,
deeds, wills, dice, and playing
cards.
• 9 of 13 Colonies met and
agreed that Parliament cannot
tax citizens without
representation.
Taxation Without
Representation
• The American Assemblies
argued that since they did
not elect the English
Parliament, that the taxes
were not legal.
• They issued an order for
American people to
withhold their taxes to
Britain
• When the British
government tried to
enforce the taxes, riots
erupted throughout the 13
colonies.
Boston Massacre
• The Boston Massacre was an incident
between the British soldiers and a crowd of
colonists in Boston, Massachusetts
• It took place on March 5, 1770, when a
group of nine British soldiers opened fire on
the crowd, killing five and wounding six men
• The commander of the watch and his eight
soldiers were arrested by the next morning
which partly relieved the tensions in the city
• Soon after a series of pamphlets depicting
British soldiers shooting on a group of
peaceful colonists further increased antiBritish sentiment in the colonies
The Boston Tea Party
• Dec. 16th, 1773; A group of
angry Americans disguised
themselves as Indians.
• In the cover of darkness, they
boarded an English merchant
ship carrying thousands of
pounds of Tea which was to be
sold in Boston.
• The Tea was dumped overboard.
• The colonists’ celebrated this
act of protest.
The Intolerable Acts
• Parliament closes the
port of Boston, crippling
trade in the major city.
• Shut down the
Massachusetts
government building.
• Moved the British Army
into the streets of
Boston.
• Gave all the land west of
the Ohio River to the
First Nations people
The Colonies React
• Representatives from all the colonies, except Georgia, met in a
Continental Congress in Philadelphia
• They urged residents of Boston to ignore the Intolerable Acts
• They voted to boycott all British goods
War
• War was now inevitable
• The British Army went to
Concord Massachusetts
to seize illegal weapons.
• Angry colonists fired the
first shots.
• The declaration of war
was signed a day later in a
battle that would change
the shape of the world
forever
Battles of Lexington and Concord
• On the evening of April 18, 1775,
the British governor of
Massachusetts sent several
hundred British troops to seize
the colonists’ military stores at
Concord
• The British intentions were soon
discovered by the Patriot
colonists who decided to
prevent the British from carrying
out their plan
• Local militiamen gathered at
Lexington to intercept the British
troops
North Bridge
• The British troops managed
to repulse the outnumbered
militiamen in early morning
of April 19 and then
proceeded towards Concord
• There, the British clashed
with militiamen at the North
Bridge
• This time, however, the
British were defeated and
forced to withdraw to
Boston
Declaration of Independence
• Opened May 1775, the
Second Continental Congress
in Philadelphia
• On July 4, 1776, the delegates
agreed on a Declaration of
Independence
• Written by Thomas Jefferson,
he relied a great deal on
Locke and other French
philosophers
• Like Locke, Jefferson wrote
that people had natural rights
to life, liberty and the pursuit
of happiness
Battle of Saratoga
• The Battles of Saratoga that were
fought on the same grounds on
September 19 and October 7,
1777, marked the turning point of
the American Revolution and
encouraged France to openly
support the Americans against
Britain
• In the First Battle of Saratoga (also
known as the Battle of Freeman’s
Farm), the American troops
prevented the British to break
through their lines and join with
their troops at Albany
Bemis Heights
• After another failed attempt to
break through the American
lines at Bemis Heights (Second
Battle of Saratoga) on October
7, the British were surrounded
by a much larger Continental
Army
• By October 17, the British
commander John Burgoyne
accepted defeat and
surrendered.
French Support
• The colonists were victorious at
Trenton and Princeton in 1776
• After the British defeat at
Saratoga France signed an
alliance with America and sent
money and troops
• The weapons and troops and
naval support the French
provided would prove pivotal
The Battle of the Chesapeake
1781, the British surrendered
at Yorktown, Virginia
• After successful land and sea
campaign of joint American
and French armies in Virginia
in 1781, the British found
themselves trapped on the
Yorktown peninsula
• The British commander
Lieutenant General Lord
Cornwallis realized that he did
not have a slightest chance
against the Franco-American
army and tried to escape
• But his attempt failed
British Defeat
• On October 19, 1781,
Lord Cornwallis accepted
the terms of surrender
• Armed hostilities
continued but with the
Surrender of Yorktown,
the American War of
Independence was
practically over.
• King George III wanted to
continue but Parliament
would not
Treaty of Paris
• The American War of Independence
and with it, the American Revolution
formally ended with the Treaty of
Paris which was signed on September
3, 1783
• The British Empire accepted defeat
against its former colonies and
recognized independence of the
United States of America
• The Treaty of Paris also set the
boundaries of the United States;
• The Mississippi River in the west
• Great Lakes in the north
• 31st parallel in the south
• It also guaranteed American fishing
boats access to Newfoundland
An American Victory
• Revolution lasted from 1776 to
1783
• Britain had a well trained army
where the Colonists had none
• Colonists advantage, they were
fighting on their own ground
• British were thousands of miles
from home
• The colonists did manage to
find a military leader in George
Washington
Framing a Constitution
• Articles of Confederation
• Congress had limited powers
• It could not collect taxes
• States were independent
• Constitution
• Heavily influenced by Locke and Montesquieu
• Three separate branches of power
• Legislature
• Congress and Senate
• Executive
• President
• Judiciary
• Courts and Judges