APUSH: American
Revolution
Mr. Weber
Room 217
Agenda
• Activator, agenda, and objective (10
minutes)
• Ch. 4 reading test (15 minutes)
• American Revolution lecture (45
minutes)
• Independent Reading (30-45
minutes)
• Exit ticket and homework (5
minutes)
Objective
• AP Topic #4:
– The American Revolutionary Era,
1754–1789
– The French and Indian War
– The Imperial Crisis and resistance to
Britain
– The War for Independence
– State constitutions and the Articles of
Confederation
– The federal Constitution
Unit 2: Revolutionary America and the
Early Republic 1763-1840
• Essential Questions:
• In what ways were the ideals of the Declaration, Revolution,
and Constitution contradicted by the realities of life in early
America (especially for African Americans, women, poor
people, and immigrants)?
• What unified and what divided the colonists at the time of the
Revolution?
• What were the ramifications of using slaves in the British and
Continental armies. Why did the British authorize the use of
slaves, why did the American colonists, and what were the
benefits for the slaves?
• Why did the colonists increasingly believe that British rule
threatened their liberty?
• How did Common Sense and the Declaration of
Independence reflect the idea put forth by philosophers like
John Locke that liberty was a natural right?
Chapter 5: American Revolution
Highlights
• Chapter concentrates on events leading
up to the war and the war itself.
• Anger against colonial governors
symbolized in mob violence against
Thomas Hutchinson in Massachusetts in
response to Stamp Act.
• Sons of Liberty begin claiming that the
British have “enslaved” the colonists.
• When war broke out in 1775
independence was not necessarily the
clear goal of the 1st Continental Congress.
American Revolution Highlights
(cont.)
• Thomas Paine’s Common Sense
articulates the concerns of the colonists.
• Question of whether slaves should fight
and on which side is explored in Lord
Dunmore’s Proclamation and George
Washington’s response.
• Not all colonists were “revolutionaries.”
Loyalists (loyal to British) like James
Chalmers of Maryland form an important
dissenting voice to the revolutionary
discourse.
The Crises Begins
• Before the Seven Years War, Britain had
loosely tried to regulate the colonies’
economy.
• After the war London insisted that the
colonists play a subordinate role to the
mother country to help pay for the
protection the British provided.
• Members of the British Parliament had
virtual representation.
• The colonists argued that London could
not tax them because they were not
represented in Parliament.
Taxing the Colonies
• The Sugar Act of 1764 and the revenue
act threatened the profits of colonial
merchants.
• The Stamp Act of 1765 was a direct tax
on printed materials.
• Opposition to the Stamp Act was the first
great drama of the revolutionary era.
• The Stamp Act Congress met in 1765 to
endorse the Virginia House of
Burgesses’ resolutions. Patrick Henry
took leading role.
Politics in the Streets
• The Sons of Liberty were organized to
resist the Stamp Act and enforce a
boycott of British goods.
• London repealed the Stamp Act but
replaced it with the Declaratory Act.
• Settlers also used “liberty” in regard to
land disputes.
• Land disputes were behind the
creation of Vermont (Ethan Allen takes
lead role).
Road to Revolution
• Townshend Act of 1767 imposed tax
on imported goods.
• Led to boycott and “homespun virtue.”
• Boston Massacre 1770 – 5 colonists
die including African American Crispus
Attucks.
• Tea Act, Intolerable Acts, and Quebec
Act as figurative last straws for many.
Coming of Independence
• Continental Congress organized in Philadelphia
in 1774 to resist the Intolerable Acts.
• Outbreak of war at Lexington and Concord.
– Battle of Bunker Hill (British victory)
– Second Continental Congress (elects Washington
as commander).
– Early war went badly (colonists deserting, etc.)
– Washington managed a surprise attack at Trenton
and Princeton.
– Battle of Saratoga 1777 (victory for colonists and
“turning point” of the war).
– French convinced to help the colonists.
– American troops surround general Cornwallis at
Yorktown where he surrenders in October of 1781.
– Treaty of Paris signed in 1783 (John Adams, Ben
Franklin, John Jay)
Supplemental Notes
More from the Revolution but not
necessarily from your reading
On the Eve of the
Revolution ?
Britain
Americans
Advantages
?
?
Disadvantages
?
?
Loyalist
Strongholds
Washington’s Headaches
Only 1/3 of the colonists were in
favor of a war for independence [the
other third were Loyalists, and the
final third were neutral].
State/colony loyalties.
Congress couldn’t tax to raise money
for the Continental
Army.
Poor training [until
the arrival of
Baron von Steuben.
Exports & Imports: 1768-1783
Military Strategies
The Americans
Attrition [the
Brits had a long
supply line].
Guerilla tactics
[fight an
insurgent war 
you don’t have
to win a battle,
just wear the
British down]
Make an
alliance with
one of Britain’s
enemies.
The British
Break the colonies in
half by getting
between the
No. & the So.
Blockade the ports
to prevent the
flow of goods
and supplies
from an ally.
“Divide and Conquer”
 use the
Loyalists.
Phase I: The Northern Campaign
[1775-1776]
Bunker Hill (June, 1775)
The British suffered over 40% casualties.
Phase II:
NY & PA
[1777-1778]
New York City in Flames
(1776)
Washington Crossing the Delaware
Painted by Emanuel Leutze, 1851
Saratoga:
“Turning Point”
of the War?
A modern-day re-enactment
Phase III: The Southern
Strategy [1780-1781]
Britain’s “Southern Strategy”
Britain thought that there were more
Loyalists in the South.
Southern resources were more
valuable/worth preserving.
The British win a number of small
victories, but cannot pacify the
countryside [similar to U. S. failures
in Vietnam!]
Good US General:
Nathanial Greene
The Battle of Yorktown (1781)
Count de
Rochambeau
Admiral
De Grasse
Cornwallis’ Surrender at Yorktown:
“The World Turned Upside Down!”
Painted by John Trumbull, 1797
North America After the
Treaty of Paris, 1783
Wholesale
Price
Index:
1770-1789
Federalist vs. Anti-Federalist
Strongholds at the End of the War
Weaknesses of the
Articles of Confederation
A unicameral Congress
[9 of 13 votes to pass a law].
13 out of 13 to amend.
Representatives were
frequently absent.
Could not tax or raise armies.
No executive or judicial
branches.
State Constitutions
Republicanism.
Most had strong governors with veto
power.
Most had bicameral legislatures.
Property required for voting.
Some had universal white male
suffrage.
Most had bills of rights.
Many had a continuation of stateestablished religions while others
disestablished religion.
Occupational Composition of
Several State Assemblies
in the 1780s
Indian Land Cessions:
1768-1799
Disputed Territorial Claims
Between Spain & the U. S.:
1783-1796
State Claims to Western Lands
Land Ordinance of 1785
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
One of the major accomplishments of the
Confederation Congress!
Statehood achieved in three stages:
1. Congress appointed 3 judges & a governor to
govern the territory.
2. When population reached 5,000 adult male
landowners  elect territorial legislature.
3. When population reached 60,000  elect
delegates to a state constitutional convention.
The United States in 1787
American Exports, To & From
Britain: 1783-1789
Annapolis Convention (1786)
12 representatives from 5 states
[NY, NJ, PA, DE, VA]
GOAL  address barriers that
limited trade and commerce between
the states.
Not enough states were represented
to make any real progress.
Sent a report to the Congress to call
a meeting of all the states to meet
in Philadelphia to examine areas
broader than just trade and
commerce.
Shays’ Rebellion: 1786-7
Daniel Shays
Western MA
Small farmers angered by crushing
debts and taxes.
Shays’ Rebellion: 1786-7
Shays’ Rebellion: 1786-7
There could be no
stronger evidence of
the want of energy in
our governments than
these disorders.
-- George Washington
Exit ticket and homework
• Your homework is to begin reading
Chapter 5.
• Remember at least 5 pages per
day!