Road to Revolution
1754-1763 French and Indian War
-Began as the Seven Years’ War in Europe between
Britain and France. War spread to the colonies.
-France allied with the Algonquian. Britain allied
with the Iroquois. Colonists are also largely
involved.
-Great Britain wins.
-Treaty gave all of Canada and eastern US to the
British.
Stamp Act (1765)
-imposed by Prime Minister George Grenville
- Tax payed based on having a stamp. Stamps
were included on over fifty different items
including: newspapers, pamphlets, licenses,
etc.
- Why did the British impose this tax?
- How did the colonists oppose this tax?
-Virtual Representation
-Parliament represents all British citizens,
including those living in the British colonies.
-The colonists believed Parliament had
legislative authority in the colonies but not the
ability to tax them.
Intolerable Acts (1774)
-restricted the rights of the colonists and ability
to self-govern.
-Trying to make an example of Massachusetts
for the Boston Tea Party
-Included:
-restrictions on town meetings (freedom of
speech and freedom of assembly)
-Colonists responded with the First Continental
Congress in which they began organizing
resistance (not yet a revolution)
Road to Revolution Cont.
• Lexington and Concord 1775
-Britain’s attempt to seize colonial gunpowder.
Colonists fight to protect it. First moment of
bloodshed.
• Second Continental Congress
-Called together in response to Lexington and
Concord.
-They wrote appeals to the King, began to raise
money for an army and navy.
Popular Movements and Colonial
Unity
• POL-2.0: Explain how popular movements, reform
efforts, and activist groups have sought to change
American society and institutions.
• -Great Awakening (fist to five)
• Albany Plan 1754 - the colonies met during the French
and Indian War to discuss bolstering a defense against
the French.
– Delegates approved of it, but colonies and the British denied
it.
– First organized movement toward colonial unity.
• Stamp Act Congress 1765-27 delegates from 9
colonies came together to discuss the…
• Nonimportation agreement- decision to not
purchase British goods.
• Reliance on homespun, clothes made a home.
This gave a role to women to participate in
the protests
• Sons of Liberty and Daughters of Liberty
• Popular groups who enforced the
nonimportation agreements and organized
acts of violence in support of protest. Tar and
feather those trying to collect taxes.
• Non-Importation agreement succeeded and
Stamp Act was repealed in 1766
• Boston Massacre 1770 (during the Townshend
Acts)
• Committees of Correspondence 1772organized by Samuel Adams, they soon spread
throughout the colonies. Purpose was to
organize spirit of revolution and spread
information and idea.
• Boston Tea Party (1773)
Cont. (POL 2)
• First Continental Congress (1774)
-In response to the “Intolerable Acts”
-They decided that they would work towards an
American home rule under British direction
(still not complete independence)
• The Association
-most significant action of the Continental
Congress. Complete boycott of British goods.
• Second Continental Congress (May 1775)
-In response to Lexington and Concord.
-They wrote appeals to the King. Also, began
adopting measures to raise money for an army. They
drafted Washington as their leader
• Olive Branch Petition (July 1775)
-In response to Bunker Hill
-Congress professed loyalty to the Crown and begged
for the King to listen before further hostilities.
• Declaration of Independence (July 1776)…
Why did the Founding Fathers write
the Declaration of Independence?
The Enlightenment 1680-1800
• Social critics, called philosophes, began to
question the way that society was run as well
as the nature of man
• Scientific Revolution showed that all things
could be figured out through reason
• Progress to better societies through reason
-Social Contract Theory- all citizens of a nation enter
into a “contract” in which they must give up some
rights to be a member.
-It is the ruler’s responsibility to protect his
people’s rights and maintain order
-John Locke (1632-1704)
-People are naturally good, therefore, they
should govern themselves
-Natural Rights: life, liberty and property
-Right to rebel if a government blocks any of
these rights
Jean Jacques Rousseau
-Expanded on the Social Contract Theory
-Believed people should make their own laws,
not from the King
Baron de Montesquieu
-A nation should make its own laws
-They should be derived from reason
-Separation of powers in government
Other ideas
-Voltaire- Separation of church and state
-Reason, individualism, democracy, what is
freedom, equality, humanism, secularism,
progress
• The Enlightenment had a baby.
• They named it the United States of America.
Forming new nation: themes
• NAT-2.0: Explain how interpretations of the
Constitution and debates over rights, liberties, and
definitions of citizenship have affected American
values, politics, and society.
• POL-1.0: Explain how and why political ideas, beliefs,
institutions, party systems, and alignments have
developed and changed.
• POL-3.0: Explain how different beliefs about the federal
government’s role in U.S. social and economic life have
affected political debates and policies.
Forming a New Nation
Issues
-Each colony felt they should be sovereign, independent
from each other. They created their own new state
constitutions.
-”firm league of friendship”
-What to do with western lands.
-How should each state be represented.
-State v. National control (Federalists v. Anti-Federalists)
-Power of Congress v. states v. judicial. (no executive, they
did not want another king)
Articles of Confederation
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Weak association between the colonies
No standing army
No ability to tax or coin money
Sovereignty was held by the states
Each state received one vote in decisions (not
fair for larger states), needed unanimous vote
for amendments
• Could not regulate commerce
Guided Instruction
Problems following Articles of Confederation
-Shay’s Rebellion 1786: farmers in debt in
Massachusetts losing their farms. They called
for less taxes, issuing more paper money, and
suspension of property takeovers.
-Mass. militia put down the rebellion.
- Call for stronger national government
-People felt state govt. granted too much
liberty for democracy and revolt
-Foreign Relations
-Britain: maintained Navigation laws,
restricted American trade, kept fur trade along
Canadian border, American debt to Loyalists
-Spain: closed Mississippi to Americans,
territory disputes
-France: loans (debt)
-North Africa: pirate activity affected
commerce
Articles of Conf. Success
-Land Ordinance of 1785: Lands in the “west”
given to the federal government to be sold to
alleviate public debt.
-Northwest Ordinance of 1787: created rules for
this territory applying for statehood
-abolished slavery in this area
TPS: Why was there so much
disagreement amongst the colonies?