Chapter 4 – Creating a Nation
Section 1 – The Colonies Fight for their Rights
• Constant conflict between
and France in Europe spreads to
the new colonies
• 1740 – French and British set their
sights on the Ohio River Valley
• Both sides began building forts to
claim the territory
• George Washington was asked to
intervene for the British and expel the
French.
• The British government suggested that the American colonies
form an alliance with the Iroquois.
Albany Conference – meeting between the colonists and the
Iroquois
• the Iroquois agreed to remain neutral
• colonists agreed that Britain should name one supreme
commander of all the British troops in the colonies.
Albany Plan of Union—
the first suggestion that
the colonies unite to
form a federal
government.
• In 1755 French and Native American forces ambushed the British
troops near Fort Duquesne in western Pennsylvania.
• Washington’s leadership saved the British from disaster.
• For the next two years, the French and Indian War was fought on
the frontier.
Fort Duquesne
• The turning point of the war in North America occurred with a
British victory at Quebec.
• The Treaty of Paris finally ended the war in 1763, and for the most
part eliminated French power in North America.
Why did the British want its colonies to form an alliance with
the Iroquois?
The Iroquois controlled western New York, which was the
territory the French would need to pass through to reach the
Ohio River.
The Colonies Grow Discontented
• The British victory caused an enormous British debt.
• Britain looked to its colonies to help pay for the war.
• In the spring of 1763 several Native American groups go to war
against the British.
• They attacked forts and towns along the frontier.
• The British government did not want to pay for another war, so it
issued the Royal Proclamation of 1763 that limited western
settlement.
* Why might this Royal
Proclamation upset the colonists?
• Colonists were not allowed
to settle in certain areas
without the government’s
permission.
• The proclamation angered
many farmers and land
speculators.
King George (England) levies new taxes on the
colonists
• to pay off Britain’s debts
• pay for British troops in North America
Because of these new taxes:
Merchants smuggled goods in and out of America
to avoid customs duties, or taxes paid on imports
and exports.
The King also introduced the Sugar Act in the colonies.
This act changed tax rates for raw sugar and molasses imported from
foreign colonies.
Sugar was taxed so that only rich people were able to afford sugar.
The picture shows King George and Queen Charlotte, drinking tea with sugar in it. In the
background several women are sitting and drinking tea as well - but they have a sad facial
expression, because they do not have sugar in their tea. King George says: "O delicious!
delicious!" and Charlotte says: "O my dear Creatures, do but Taste it! You can't think how
nice it is without Sugar:- and then consider how much Work you'll save the poor
Blackamoors by leaving off the use of it! 'and above all, remember how much expence it
will save your poor Papa! O its charming cooling Drink."
Merchants felt the Sugar Act hurt trade and argued that it violated
traditional English rights.
Colonists argued that they were being taxed without representation
in Parliament.
To slow inflation (a general rise in the prices of most goods and
services because money has lost its value) Parliament passed the
Currency Act of 1764.
This banned the use of paper
money in the colonies,
angering colonial farmers and
artisans who used paper
money to pay back loans.
What policies did the British government adopt to help pay its debts
from the French and Indian War?
King George implemented new tax policies in the colonies to pay for
the French and Indian War.
The Sugar Act in the colonies changed tax rates for raw sugar and
molasses imported from foreign colonies.
To slow inflation, Parliament passed the Currency Act of 1764. This
banned the use of paper money in the colonies, angering colonial
farmers and artisans who used paper money to pay back loans.
The Stamp Act Crisis
To raise more money to pay for the war, Parliament passed the Stamp
Act in 1765.
• Stamps were required on most printed materials.
• The stamp tax was the first direct tax Britain had ever placed on the
colonists.
By the summer of 1765, mass meetings and demonstrations against
the stamp tax took place in the colonies.
• When the Stamp Act took effect, the colonists ignored it.
• A movement began to boycott British goods.
• Colonial merchants signed a nonimportation agreement, agreeing
not to buy any British goods until the Stamp Act was repealed.
Protests led to
the Stamp Act
being repealed
in 1766.
Parliament, in an effort to assert its
control over the colonies, passed
the Declaratory Act, which gave
them the power to make laws for
the colonies.
In 1767 British finance minister Charles
Townshend introduced a new set of
regulations and taxes known as the
Townshend Acts.
• One of these acts, the Revenue Act of
1767, placed new customs duties on
glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea
imported into the colonies.
The Sons of Liberty encouraged colonists to support the boycott of
British goods.
On March 5, 1770, British troops fired into a crowd of colonists in
Boston –known now as the Boston Massacre.
What acts did Parliament pass to raise money to pay for the
government’s expenses in America?
To raise more money to pay for the war, Parliament passed the
Stamp Act in 1765. Stamps were required on most printed
materials.
The Quartering Act, passed by Parliament in 1765, forced the
colonists to pay more for their own defense by providing places to
stay for British troops in the colonies.
How did colonists react to the Townshend Acts?
The Townshend Acts angered colonists. John Dickinson published
a series of essays called Letters from a Pennsylvania Farmer, which
stressed that only assemblies elected by colonists had the right to
tax them.
Merchants signed nonimportation agreements promising not to
import any goods from Britain.
Americans stopped drinking British tea. The Daughters of Liberty
began spinning their own cloth instead of buying from Britain. The
Sons of Liberty encouraged colonists to support the boycott
of British goods.
Match the terms on the right with their definitions on the left.
__ 1.
the loss of value of money
A. customs duty
__ 2.
a tax on imports and
exports
B. inflation
__ 3.
a pledge by merchants not
to buy imported goods
from a particular source
C. nonimportation agreement
Section 2
Massachusetts defies Britain
In the spring of 1772, the British government introduced several new
policies that angered American colonists.
• Thomas Jefferson suggests
each colony create a
committee of
correspondence to
communicate with other
colonies about British
activities.
• This helped unify the colonies
and coordinate plans for
British resistance.
The British East India Company was almost bankrupt.
• Parliament passed the Tea Act of 1773, which made East India’s
tea cheaper than smuggled Dutch tea.
• American merchants feared it was the first step by the British to
force them out of business.
December 1773 – Boston Tea Party
Tea ships from the East India
Company arrived in Boston
Harbor.
Colonists boarded the ship and
dumped the tea into the
harbor.
For King George – the Tea Party was the straw that broke the camel’s
back –
Coercive Acts – 4 new laws
• closed Boston Harbor until the destroyed tea was paid for
• all Massachusetts government officials appointed by the King
• trial of all British soldiers moved to England
• required locals to provide lodging for British soldiers
These 4 laws combined with the Quebec Act (look it up!) became
known as the Intolerable Acts among the colonists.
First Continental Congress
September 5, 1774 – Philadelphia
• composed the Declaration of Rights and Grievances
• expressed loyalty to the king (??!)
• condemned the Coercive Acts
Revolution Begins
Loyalists and Patriots
• Loyalists = Tories = Americans who backed Britain
• Patriots = Whigs = Americans who believed the British had
become tyrants
Lexington and Concord
• British government attempts to seize
Massachusetts supply depot at Concord
• Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Dr.
Samuel Prescott sound the alarm
• at Lexington – British patrol order American minutemen to
disperse – a shot is fired, and the Revolution has begun
Decision for Independence
January 1776 – Thomas Paine publishes Common Sense
• incited the colonists against the King, not just Parliament
July 4, 1776 – John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, Robert
Livingston, and Thomas Jefferson present the Declaration of
Independence to the Continental Congress
Section 3 – The War for Independence
Opposing Sides
Colonial Advantages
British Advantages
Fighting on home ground
Well-trained, well-supplied
army and navy
Good decisions by generals
Wealth of resources
Fighting for their rights and
freedoms
Strong central government
French alliance: loans, navy,
troops
Colonial Disadvantages
British Disadvantages
Untrained soldiers; small army
Fighting in unfamiliar, hostile
territory
Food and ammunition
shortages
Fighting far away from Britain
and resources
Weak and divided central
government
Troops indifferent; halfhearted
support at home
British Commander – General William Howe
• two-part strategy
• military – intimidation, capture major cities
• diplomatic – invited delegates from Continental Congress to a
peace conference
British capture New York (their headquarters for the war)
Also capture American
spy – Nathan Hale
“I regret I have but one
life to give for my
country.”
French Marquis de Lafayette arrives to train/improve moral among
American troops
At Saratoga, NY – British and Iroquois troops were held off and driven
back by General Benedict Arnold and American forces
• turning point – improved morale and convinced France to send
troops
American delegates
sign their first treaty
to ally with France in
Feb 1778
Notable American war heroes:
• George Rogers Clark – successfully fought the British in the
westernmost areas (not the West)
• John Paul Jones – naval officer whose ship attacked a British
warship and was nearly sunk – when called upon to surrender,
responded “I have not yet begun to fight!” (British end up
surrendering to him!)
Jones’ ship – Bonnehomme
Richard at battle with the
British warship Seraphis
British troops eventually surrender at Yorktown
March 1782 – Parliament begins peace negotiations
• (Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, and John Adams for the US)
The Treaty of Paris
Sept. 3, 1783 –
• Britain recognizes the US as a new
nation
• Britain gives Florida back to Spain
• France receives colonies in Africa
and the Caribbean
Revolutionary War is over.
Why were the French reluctant at first to sign an alliance with the
colonies?
How has the artist portrayed the condition of Washington’s army
the painting here?
The March to Valley
Forge – William BT
Trego
Bet You Didn’t Know – Revolutionary War - history.com video
http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/videos#bet-youdidnt-know-revolutionary-war
Running time - 2:38
Section 4
The War Changes American Society
New Political Ideas
• Republic: a form of government where power is held by the
citizens – elected representatives
* What’s the conflict here?
The rich still thought of themselves as “better”
than the poor – and therefore had trouble with
equal rights under the law – not to mention
slavery!
Image shows George Mason, author of Virginia’s Declaration of
Rights – their state Constitution
Changes in American Society –
• emancipation of slaves became a discussion – Northern states took
steps to free their slaves… the South…? Not so much.
• as part of this: manumission – the voluntary freeing of slaves
(in Virginia only) – was encouraged
• Loyalists fled
• American culture
• art – artists like
John Trumbull and
Charles Willson Peale
• education –
American leaders
believed the only
way to be
successful was with
an educated public
The Peale Family – Charles Willson Peale
What aspects of American daily life are portrayed here?