The Seven Years War in America
 The Imperial Crisis in British North America
 “Save Your Money & Save Your Country”
 From Resistance to Rebellion
 Deciding for Independence
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Key Topics:
The final struggle among G. Britain, France,
and natives for control of eastern North
America
American nationalism in the aftermath of
the French- Indian War
Great Britain’s changing policy towards its
North American colonies
The political assumptions of American
Republicanism
The colonies’ efforts to achieve unity
Section 1
Also known as the
French Indian War
from 1754 to 1763.
It was the last
north America
War between
Britain & France.
The war
produced native
allies on both
sides.
The war ended
with the French
defeat.

Cooperation seen
among colonial
leaders to fight the
French and natives
for the lands
between the Miss
River & Appalachian
Mts. It also laid the
groundwork for
conflict between the
colonists and the
British.

Colonial leaders met
with the Iroquois
Nation to form an
alliance but the
natives walked out.
The conference
adopted Ben Franklin’s
Albany Plan of Union,
which called for
colonial unity
regarding native
affairs, western
settlement,
commerce and
communication. British
authorities were against it
& colonial assemblies
voted against it.
Importance- Showed the
colonists staring to come
together and attempting
to form a powerful entity.
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Treaty of Paris ended the war & France
gave up all North American claims
except New Orleans, which was ceded
to Spain.
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Spain ceded Florida to Britain in
exchange for Caribbean Islands.

Britain- Territories in North America
stretched from Hudson Bay to the
Caribbean; from the Atlantic to the Miss
River.
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France- Territory reduced to two small
islands.
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Spain-Cuba, the Philippines, Louisiana
and California.
How did overwhelming
British success in the
French-Indian’s War
lead to an imperial crisis
in British North America?
During the Revolution, differences
between colonists & the British emerged:
 Discipline, name calling, similar
experiences, a developing national
identity
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The Press- Weekly
newspapers
functioned as am
mouthpiece for the
gov’t.
Peter Zenger Casewas jailed due to
criticizing the
governor of NY. The
issue of debate was
freedom of the press.
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Peter Zenger CaseAlexander Hamilton
argued that freedom
of the press was a
right citizens. Zenger
was eventually
acquitted.
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Republicanism- The ideas and values that
influenced American political behavior during
the 18th and 19th centuries.
ideas:
A just society provided the greatest liberty to
citizens.
A ruler’s authority should be conditional & not
absolute.
The power of people to remove a ruler from
office.
Private ownership of property & representative
government.
“…there shall be raised, levied, collected, and paid, unto His
Majesty, his heirs, and successors, for and upon all white or clay
sugars of the produce or manufacture of any colony or plantation in
America…”
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Sugar Act 1764
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British Parliament
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Purpose- To raise
revenue in the
colonies to help pay
for the French- Indian
War.
 A tax was placed on
imported sugar &
regulations for ships
became stricter.
 The movement for
nonimportation began
in Boston.
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Stamp Act
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1765- Law passed by Parliament to raise $
in America. A tax was placed on any
legal documents like paper, licenses,
legal documents, publications and
playing cards.
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The real issue was not taxes but colonial
representation in Parliament.
The colonists argued they couldn’t be
axed because they were not represented
in Parliament.
Their rallying cry became, “ NO TAXATION
WITHOUT REPRESENTATION !”
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Virtual
RepresentationMembers of
Parliament represent
all citizens of the
British Empire.
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Actual
Representation- the
practice of having
elected
representatives that
reside in your district
and represent local
interests in
Parliament.
In 1766,
Parliament
repealed the
Stamp Act after a
growing
nonimportation
movement in the
colonies worried
British officials.
Britain also passed
the Declaratory
Act which stated
Parliament had
the authority to
make laws for the
colonists in all
areas.
How did political and
economic problems in Britain
contribute to unrest in the
colonies?
The Townshend Revenue
Acts
England was suffering
from massive
unemployment, high
prices and national debt.
Parliament passed the
Revenue Act, which was
a revenue measure that
placed a tax on lead,
glass, paint, paper and
tea.
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Colonial ResponseLetters From a Farmer
in Pennsylvania.
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Nonimportation &
nonconsumption
associations.
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The Boston Massacre- The problems began in NY with
the Sons of Liberty, radicals, clashing with British
soldiers.
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In Boston, the relations between soldiers and colonists
continued to decline…. Competition for jobs,
protests, taunts, rock throwing.
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After being attacked by a job of civilians, a British
soldier was defended by a larger group of Br. Soldiers
and they opened fire upon of a crowd of civilians.
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Result- The Townshend Act was repealed.
What were the principal
events leading to the
beginning of armed
conflict at Lexington &
Concord?
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1773- Parliament
passed the Tea Act
permitted the East
India Company to
sell tea through
middlemen & not
pay a duty tax, thus
reducing the retail
price. Other tea
companies still had
to pay the duty.
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The Boston Tea PartyWhen the governor
of MA demanded
tea ships to be
unloaded & the
nonimportation
agreements broken,
colonists dumped
tea into Boston
Harbor.
Tea Parties followed in NYC, Annapolis, Charleston
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In response to the Boston Tea Party, Parliament
passed the Intolerable Acts (1774) which was
aimed at weakening Boston radicals &
strengthening Britain.
A. Boston Port Bill
B. MA Government Act
C. Town meetings ended- no more self-rule
D. Administration of Justice Act
E. Quartering Act
F. Quebec Act
G. General Thomas Gage replaced the
governor
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Boston Port BillProhibited the
loading or unloading
of any ship in Boston
Harbor until the
damaged tea &
property were paid
for, including 3 ships
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MA Government
Act- annulled the
MA colonial charter;
all colonial officials
were under direct
control of the King.
Administration
of Justice ActProtected
British officials
from colonial
courts,
encouraged
suppression of
colonists and
any British
official/soldier
accused of
wrong doing
would be tried
in Britain.
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Quartering ActLegalized the
housing of troops of
colonial public
expense in private
homes, taverns,
abandoned
buildings
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Quebec ActParliament
appointed a
Governor for
Canada and
became the
authority for the
entire
region…threatened
colonial liberty.
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General Thomas
Gage, the infamous
British General, took
control of Boston
and imposed martial
law.
Philadelphia 1774- Meeting of colonial
delegates in response to the Intolerable
Acts. They endorsed the:
 Suffolk Resolves
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September 1, 1774General Gage sent
British soldiers to
Concord to gain
control of the militia’s
armories. The Ma
militia, minutemen,
were sent to meet
them by the
Committee of
Safety.
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Militiamen met the British at Lexington
where shots were fired & 8 Americans
were killed. The British marched to
Concord where they were outnumbered
& attacked by militiamen. The British
burned down the armory & marched
back to Boston. They were attacked all
the way back.
British: Dead73, wounded202
Americans: 95
casualties out
of 4,000
The Second Continental Congress
 Opened on May 10, 1775
 Wrote the Olive Branch Petition, which
asked the king to end hostilities and work
to a resolution.
 Congress resolved to put their colonies in
a state of defense.
 George Washington was nominated as
Commander-in –Chief of the Continental
Army.
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Second Continental
Congress- Also
passed the
Declaration of the
Causes and
Necessities of Taking
Up Arms, which the
men promised to
fight than remain
under the tight
control of the King.
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Colonists: 2nd Continental Congress
assumed role of new gov’t, they
organized an army, declared British ships
open to capture and authorized
privateering, contacted foreign powers,
opened ports to trade with all nations
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British: King proclaimed the colonies were
in rebellion, mobilize more troops
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We fight not to
enslave, but to set a
country free, and to
make room upon the
earth for honest men
to live in.
Thomas Paine, The
Crisis, no. 4,
September 11, 1777
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Thomas Paine wrote,
Common Sense, a
pamphlet defending
the colonists’ break
from Britain and how
“common sense” the
decision was. The
publication became
the most widely read
item in 1776.