Government Types
(Anarchy)
 Total lack of government
 No Rules, No Leader
(Democracy)
 Rule by the masses/people
 No Leader All Decisions made by the
community
 Created in ancient Athens
 True Democracies only work in small
groups
(Theocracy)
 Rule by Religion
 Leader: The Priest or Main Religious
Figure
 Example: The Nations of Iran, Vatican
City,
?????
 What would be some of the problems with
having a government based on a specific
religion ?
(Monarchy)
 Rule by a single Leader, typically chosen
by (Divine Right)
 (Absolute Monarchy) – leader with total
power.
(Oligarchy)
 Rule by a few individuals
(Aristocracy)
 Rule by the Wealthy
 Example: The countries of Bahrain, United
Arab Emirates
(Republic)
 Rule by people’s representatives
 Created in the ancient Roman empire
 People’s Representative = (Senator)
????
 What type of government does the United
States have ?
The Enlightenment
 The period in the 18th century (1700s)
theories about society, politics, science and
life in general was explained by reason.
 Most (philosphes) were (Deists)- that the
world could be explained by reason, not
through religion.
 It was centered in France
– Controlled by an Absolute Monarch
 England had some Enlightenment thinkers, but since their
Parliament ran the country, they had more freedoms
already.
 Some rulers tried to adopt Enlightenment ideas (The
Enlightened Despots)
– Catherine the Great of Russia
– Joseph II of Austria
– They allowed some freedom of speech and religion for a while,
but when their power was threatened, they returned to their old
traditions.
 Some rulers tried to adopt Enlightenment ideas
(The Enlightened Despots)
– Catherine the Great of Russia
– Joseph II of Austria
– They allowed some freedom of speech and religion for
a while, but when their power was threatened, they
returned to their old traditions.
 For Enlightenment ideas to grow it had to be a
country that did not have a king directly ruling it.
The American
Revolution
Contributing Ideas
 English Common Law
 The Magna Carta
 English Bill of Rights
– Right to petition and bear arms
 The Enlightenment
–
–
–
–
Natural Rights
Equality for all
Freedom of Speech and Religion
Free Trade
Who fought
The Americans
(George Washington)
 Commander of American forces
 Experience in 7 Years War
 Virginian Farmer
(Thomas Jefferson)
 Author of Declaration of Independence
 Member of Continental Congress
 Virginian farmer, lawyer,
 Scientist
(Alexander Hamilton)
 Officer under Washington
 Lawyer
 First Secretary of the Treasury
 Co-wrote the Federalist Papers- called for a
strong central government
(Benjamin Franklin)
 Assisted with Declaration of Independence
 Member of Continental Congress
 Member of Constitutional
Convention
 Printer, Scientist, Politician
 Ambassador to France
(James Madison)
 Lawyer
 Greatly influenced the
 US Constitution
 Secretary of State, Congressman,
 President
(The Continental Congress)
 Representative members of the 13 colonies
met throughout the Revolution, deciding
on policy, raising funds for the military,
and continued the propaganda campaign
Sam Adams and
the Sons of Liberty
(Samuel Adams) was the
ringleader of the Boston Tea Party
(Sons of Liberty), secret patriotic
society organized in the American
colonies in 1765 to oppose the Stamp
Act. Its leaders included Samuel
Adams and Paul Revere.
American Allies
 (Marquis de Lafayette)- French
military leader and statesman,
who fought on the side of the
colonists during the American
Revolution
The British
(George III)
 king of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland (17601820), who presided over the loss
of Britain's American colonies
(General Charles Cornwallis)
 British general and statesman,
whose defeat at Yorktown,
Virginia, in 1781, was decisive in
ending the American Revolution.
Why did they fight
1. Excessive Taxation
 1764 (Sugar Act)- tax on non-British
goods shipped to the colonies.
 1765 (Stamp Act)- Parliament's first
direct tax on the American colonies, It
taxed all printed materials. It paid for the
expenses of fighting the French and Indian
War
 1767 (Townshend Acts). To help pay for
governing the American colonies,
Parliament taxed glass, lead, paint, paper,
and tea.
 1773 –(Tea Act) Reduced the tax on
imported British tea, gave British
merchants an unfair advantage
Political Representation
From 1660 to 1696 Navigation Acts
Goods to or from colonies had to be shipped in
English ships, and that certain agricultural
products could go only to England.
 1765 (Quartering Act). The British required the
colonies to provide barracks and supplies to
British troops.
Where did they fight
 Battles were primarily in the 13 colonies,
 Some sea battles of the Eastern coast and
in Caribbean.
 France fought England in other foreign
colonies including India.
How did they fight
 Americans

 Primarily volunteer 
forces.
 Some trained officers
 Guerrilla Warfare
 Some traditional
tactics

British
Hired Mercenaries(Hessians)
Professionally trained
troops
 Loyalist Troops
 Traditional European
tactics
When did they fight- Events
1760: King George III ascends to the throne
of England.
1763: Treaty signed between England and
France ending the French and Indian War.
1765
 1765 - In July, the Sons of Liberty, is
formed in a number of colonial towns.
1766
 In March, King George III signs a bill
repealing the Stamp Act , and the English
Parliament passes The Declaratory Act
stating that the British government has
total power to legislate any laws governing
the American colonies.
1770
March 5, 1770 - The Boston Massacre
A mob harasses British soldiers who then fire
their muskets pointblank into the crowd,
killing three instantly, mortally wounding
two others and injuring six.
Boston Massacre
1773
 1773 - May 10, the Tea Act takes effect. It kept a
three penny per pound import tax on tea arriving
in the colonies . It also gives the near bankrupt
British East India Company a virtual tea
monopoly
 December 16, 1773 - The Boston Tea Party
occurs as colonial activists disguise themselves
as Mohawk Indians then board the ships and
dump all 342 containers of tea into the harbor to
protest the Tea Act.
Boston Tea Party
1774
 1774 - September 5 to October 26, the First
Continental Congress meets in
Philadelphia with 56 delegates,
representing every colony, except Georgia.
Attendants include Patrick Henry, George
Washington, Sam Adams and John
Hancock.
1775
 1775 - March 23, in Virginia, Patrick
Henry delivers a speech against British
rule, stating, "Give me liberty or give me
death!"
1775
 April 14, 1775 - Massachusetts Governor Gage
is secretly ordered by the British to suppress
"open rebellion" among colonists by using all
necessary force.
 April 18, 1775 - General Gage orders 700 British
soldiers to Concord to destroy the colonists'
weapons depot, Paul Revere and William Dawes
are sent from Boston to warn colonists.
(April 19, 1775)
 About 70 armed Massachusetts militiamen
stand face to face on Lexington Green with
the British advance guard. An unordered
'shot heard around the world' begins the
American Revolution.
Minutemen of Concord
Spirit of 1776
 May 10, 1775 - The Second Continental Congress
convenes in Philadelphia,
 June 15, the Congress votes to appoint George
Washington general and commander-in-chief of
the new Continental Army.
 June 17, 1775 - The first major fight between
British and American troops occurs at Boston in
the Battle of Bunker Hill.
 July 3, 1775 - At Cambridge, Massachusetts,
George Washington takes command of the
Continental Army which now has about 17,000
men.
Battle of Bunker Hill
Washington Takes Command
1776




January 9, 1776 - Thomas Paine's
"Common Sense" is published in
Philadelphia.
June-July, 1776 - On June 7, Richard Henry
Lee, presents a formal resolution calling for
America to declare its independence from
Britain.
 On June 11, Congress appoints a committee to
draft a declaration of independence. Committee
members are Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin
Franklin, John Adams, Roger Livingston and
Roger Sherman.
(July 4 1776)
 Signing of Declaration of Independence in
Philadelphia.

Independence Hall, Philadelphia
 December 25-26, 1776 - On Christmas,
George Washington takes 2400 of his men
and recrosses the Delaware River. Then he
leads a surprise raid on 1500 BritishHessians (German mercenaries) at Trenton,
New Jersey.
1777
 June 14, 1777 - The flag of the United States
consisting of 13 stars and 13 white and red stripes
is mandated by Congress;
 July 27, 1777 - Marquis de Lafayette, a 19 year
old French aristocrat, volunteers to serve without
pay. Congress appoints him as a major general .
 October 7, 1777 - The Battle of Saratoga results
in the first major American victory of the
Revolutionary War
 December 17, 1777 - At Valley Forge in
Pennsylvania, the Continental Army led by
Washington sets up winter quarters.
 February 6, 1778 - American and French
representatives sign a Treaty of Amity and
Commerce and a Treaty of Alliance. France now
officially recognizes the United States and will
soon become the major supplier of military
supplies to Washington's army.
 September 23, 1779 - Off the coast of England,
John Paul Jones fights a desperate battle with a
British frigate. When the British demand his
surrender, Jones responds, "I have not yet begun
to fight!" Jones then captures the frigate before
his own ship sinks.
1779
 September 27, 1779 - John Adams is appointed
by Congress to negotiate peace with England.
 October 17, 1779 - Washington sets up winter
quarters at Morristown, New Jersey, where his
troops will suffer another harsh winter without
desperately needed supplies, resulting in low
morale, desertions and attempts at mutiny.
1780
 May 12, 1780 - The worst American defeat of the
Revolutionary War occurs as the British capture
Charleston and its 5400-man garrison (the entire
southern American Army) along with four ships
and a military arsenal. British losses are only
225.
 August 3, 1780 - Benedict Arnold is appointed
commander of West Point. Unknown to the
Americans, he has been secretly collaborating
with British Gen. Clinton since May of 1779 by
supplying information on Gen. Washington's
tactics.
1781
 September 28, 1781- October 17, 1781 -The
Siege of Yorktown- Gen. Washington, with a
combined Allied army of 17,000 men, attacked
Cornwallis’s troops. Gen. Washington and Gen.
Cornwallis work out terms of surrender.
 October 19, 1781 - As their band plays the tune,
"The world turned upside down," the British army
marches out in formation and surrenders at
Yorktown.
Surrender at Yorktown
1782
 November 10, 1782 - The final battle of
the Revolutionary War occurs as
Americans retaliate against Loyalist and
Indian forces by attacking a Shawnee
Indian village in the Ohio territory.
1783
 February 4, 1783 - England officially declares an
end to hostilities in America.
 April 11, 1783 - Congress officially declares an
end to the Revolutionary War.
 September 3, 1783 - The Treaty of Paris is signed
by the United States and Great Britain.
 December 23, 1783 - George Washington,
victorious commander in chief of the American
Revolutionary Army, appears before Congress and
voluntarily resigns his commission, an event
unprecedented in history.
What happened After
 The United States creates the world’s first
Democratic Republic.
 The British Empire starts its slow decline
 The French government has millions of
dollars of debt due to wars with England.
 Articles of Confederation, which gave
strong state power, and weak national
power.
 The Articles did not work, in 1787, a
Constitutional Convention was called to
create a new style of government.
 1787: The Constitutional convention
finishes writing the Constitution,
 1791: The Bill of Rights is passed by the
1st Congress of the US (Freedom of
Speech, Press, Religion, etc. . .)