Chapter 5- The Road to
Revolution
7th Grade US History
Mr. Bennett 2015-2016
Section 2
Essential Question:
How did the French and Indian War draw the colonists closer
together but increase friction with Britain?
Results of the French and
Indian War
Great Britain now controlled territory from the Mississippi
in the west, to the Atlantic Ocean in the east.
France lost most of its land in North America
American colonists were proud of their effort in helping the
British defeat the French.
Colonists developed a greater sense of unity
British had massive war debts to pay off.
Conflict with Native Americans
Problem:
American colonists wanted to move into the Ohio River
Valley.
Native Americans lived their and wanted to keep their land.
This led to…
Another War
Pontiac’s War
Fought between Natives and British/Americans
Natives destroyed 6 military forts and killed more than 2,000
settlers
British eventually win
Because of the war, Britain decides to do something about
the problem with the Native Americans in the west. They…
Proclamation of 1763
Issue the Proclamation of 1763
To avoid future conflicts with the Natives they draw line in
the Appalachian Mountains that prohibits white settlement
west of the mountains.
Effect of the Proclamation
Angered the colonists
Believed they had a right to settle anywhere they wanted
Ignored the line and settled there anyways.
British Rule Leads to Conflict
War had brought colonists together. Saw themselves as loose
collection of colonies
Saw themselves as more American than British even though
many were still loyal to the British.
British still saw the colonies as a source of making money
War had left British deeply in debt.
Decide to use the colonies to pay off debts.
Sources of the Conflict
British had to keep troops in the colonies in case the French
tried to attack again.
Taxes, taxes, and more taxes
British decide to pay off their debts, they would tax the colonies
Sugar Act
British placed a duty or tax on several goods including sugar
and molasses.
Prohibited smuggling of the goods.
Merchants protested
Quartering Act
Parliament passed the Quartering Act which said that the
British could force the American colonists to house and
feed British soldiers stationed in the colonies.
Colonists complained that this violated their rights.
The Stamp Act (1765)
Parliament levied a tax on official documents and other
goods used by the colonists.
Included: newspapers, wills, licenses, insurance policies,
land deeds, and contracts.
The Act greatly angered the colonists
Virginia House of Burgesses claimed that they alone had the
power to tax its citizens.
Patrick Henry, a member of the House of Burgesses gave a
speech where he threatened to assassinate King George III
Stamp Act Consequences
Merchants in NYC, Boston, and Philadelphia boycotted
goods that had the special tax put on it.
Protests soon spread to all of the colonies
9 of the colonies held a meeting and created a petition that
they sent to King George III and Parliament demanding an
end to the Sugar Act and Stamp Act taxes.
The petition worked to a small degree.
Parliament repealed the Stamp Act but
Issued the Declaratory Act- said Parliament had total authority
over the colonies.
Protests Spread
British wanted to tax the colonists but also didn't’t want to
anger them.
Passed the Townshend Acts
Allowed British customs officials to search and seize goods
from the colonists.
Angered colonists, they continued to boycott British goods.
Protests and boycotts worked. British repealed the
Townshend Acts.
Removed taxes on all items except tea.
Boston Massacre
March 5, 1770
Angry group of sailors and workers surrounded British
soldiers.
Threw rocks and snowballs at the soldiers
British soldiers responded by opening up fire on the mob.
Killed 5.
Soldiers put on trial were defended by John Adams.
Only 2 were found guilty.
Committees of
Correspondence
Started by Samuel Adams as a way to spread news of
British injustices throughout the colonies.
5.3- From Protest to Rebellion
Objectives:
Identify the causes of the Boston Tea Party
Explain how the colonists protested the Intolerable Acts
Describe the events that took place on April 19, 1775 at
Lexington and Concord.
Essential Question: How did British tax policies move the
colonists closer to rebellion?
A Dispute Over Tea
Parliament had repealed taxes on all goods except tea.
Colonists were upset because they drank lots of tea and the tax
was created without their consent.
1773- Britain passes the Tea Act:
Actually lowered the price of tea
Tea was now shipped directly from India to the colonies
Angered the colonists because it gave the East India Company a
monopoly on tea sales.
Monopoly= total control of a market for a certain product.
Monopoly hurt colonial tea merchants.
Boston Tea Party
Sons of Liberty- a group that interfered with the British tea
trade.
Would organize in port cities and stop the tea from being
unloaded in the colonies.
Would threaten ship captains
12/16/1773
A group dressed as Native Americans boarded a ship in Boston
Harbor and started dumping the tea.
Dumped 90,000 pounds of tea worth thousands of dollars
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xSrZaze14k
The Intolerable Acts
Tea party outraged the British government and the King.
Set out to punish Massachusetts.
Parliament passes four laws that become called the Intolerable Acts:
1.
Closed the port of Boston
2.
Abolished the power of the Massachusetts legislature and cut the
powers of town meetings
3.
Anyone accused of murdering a British official would now be tried in
England
4.
Strengthened the Quartering Act
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deU_9QzH5sQ
Quebec Act
Passed by Parliament.
Claimed lands in between Ohio Valley and Missouri Valley
for Canada
Took land away from Western settlers.
Blocked colonists from moving west.
Colonists Band Together
Responded by helping the citizens of Boston
Sent supplies that they could not get because of the port
being closed.
First Continental Congress
Organized by the Committee of Correspondence
Philadelphia, September and October 1774
12/13 colonies sent delegates
Demanded the repeal of the Intolerable Acts
Colonies had a right to tax and govern themselves
Started training militias
New boycott on British goods
Vowed to meet again in May 1775 if demands were not met.
The Shot Heard Round the World
British would not meet the Congress’s demands.
Used force to exert control
Colonists formed citizen armies of militiamen called
minutemen- citizen soldiers who could be ready to fight at a
minute’s notice.
Massachusetts governor, General Thomas Gage sent troops
to investigate a claim that colonists were storing arms in
Concord, a town 20 miles from Boston.
British troops demanded the arms be taken…
The Shot Heard Round the World
News of the conflict traveled quickly
Paul Revere and William Dawes rode through the night to
tell the minutemen that the British had 700 troops ready to
fight.
Five miles away, in Lexington, a group of 77 minutemen
organized.
British troops told them to disperse.
They did not.
Shots fired. No one knows who fired first..
The First Shot of the American
Revolution
Larger battle broke out in Concord.
4,000 Americans fired on and killed or wounded 300 British
soldiers.
British soldiers retreated back to Boston.
Was now clear that the conflict would be resolved with war.
Section 4- The War Begins
EQ: How did the American
Revolution Begin?
After Battles of Lexington and Concord, the Colonists
thought the war would be over quickly and the British would
surrender.
They were wrong. Instead, the British sent more troops.
Objectives:
What issues faced the Second Continental Congress?
Describe the differences between Patriots and Loyalists?
What was the Olive Branch Petition and why did it fail?
Explain the significance of the Battle of Bunker Hill
The Second Continental
Congress
Many Americans were still loyal to the British
Second Congress met in Philadelphia in May of 1775.
Couldn’t all agree on independence
First step was to prepare an army.
Chose George Washington as the general of the
Continental Army.
Started printing money to pay the army.
Congress started to act like a government.
Patriots Against Loyalists
Patriots- colonists that wanted independence and were
willing to fight for it.
Loyalists- colonists who wanted to remain loyal to Britain
and the king. About 1/3 of colonists.
Many were wealthy and had gotten their jobs from the British
government.
Thousands fought alongside the British in the war.
About 100,000 fled to Canada after the war.
Petitioning the King
Second Continental Congress still hoped that peace could be
reached.
Sent the Olive Branch Petition to King George III
Asked the King to stop the fighting
Congress passed the Declaration of the Causes and
Necessities of Taking up Arms.
“colonists were ready to “die freemen rather than die slaves.”
King George ignored the Olive Branch… the fighting
would continue.
An Important American Victory
Fort Ticonderoga, NY
Important for two reasons:
Main route between Canada and Hudson River Valley
Held cannons and lots of ammo
Americans, the Green Mountain Boys seized the Fort by
surprising the British late at night.
Cannons later moved to Boston where Washington would
use them to drive the British from the city.
Early Battles
June 1775, British had about 10,000 troops in Boston
1600 occupied Breed’s Hill which overlooked the city and
could be used to fire upon ships in the harbor.
Americans held the hill next to it, Bunker Hill
Battle of Bunker Hill
Americans needed to gain position on Breed’s Hill so they
could attack British ships in the Harbor.
Led by General William Howe, the British decided to attack
straight up Breed’s Hill.
Americans, lacking ammo, waited until the British got close,
within 150 feet, opened fire, killing and wounding hundreds
of British soldiers.
British kept charging. They eventually forced the Americans
to retreat but suffered tremendous losses.
Effects of Bunker Hill
Convinced Americans they could fight the well-trained
British army
American soldiers still surrounded the city of Boston
George Washington took over control of the army
He strategically placed the cannons the Green Mountain
Boys had stolen from Vermont on higher ground.
British realized they could no longer defend the city.
They withdrew and never returned.
War far from over
Great Britain’s Advantages:
Strongest navy in the world which was used to transport
supplies and troops and set up a blockade- shutting off of ports
to keep people or supplies from moving in or out.
Hired mercenaries- soldiers who serve another country for
money.
Invading Canada
Washington trained troops in Boston
Two others moved into Canada
One led by Richard Montgomery
The other by Benedict Arnold
Americans suffered losses trying to invade Quebec and were forced
to withdraw from Canada.
King George III was confident after Bunker Hill that he could
restore order in the colonies.
Americans were not sure if they could defeat the strong British
army