Chapter 5: The Road to Revolution
(1745-1776)
Ch. 5.1:
Trouble on the Frontier
Chapter 5: The Road to Revolution
(1745-1776)
Unit 2 Focus Question
How did the colonists break away
from Britain and create a
republican form of government?
Ch. 5.1:
Trouble on the Frontier
Concept: Power
Why did both France and Britain
believe that their territories
in North America were
worth fighting over?
Eastern North America
British North America
The French in North America
French Forts
Why would the British be concerned about French forts in the west?
The Ohio River Valley
Forks of the Ohio
What was the significance of “The Forks”?
Native American Lands
Which Indians had claims on the land at “The Forks?”
Identify the reasons why fighting
broke out between France and
Britain in North America
(Hint: British, French, Native Americans)
Forks of the Ohio (close-up)
Conflict Along the Frontier
Conflict Along the Frontier
Ft. Duquesne
Braddock’s Defeat
Ft. Necessity
French and Indian War (1754-1763)
☻ France and England (and their Native American
allies) fought for control of the Ohio River Valley
in North America
Albany Congress
• What was it?
• What was its purpose?
• Why did it fall apart?
• Why did the colonies reject Ben Franklin’s
Albany Plan of Union?
Treaty of Paris of 1763
☻ In 1763, the Treaty of Paris (1763) was signed after
the Battle of Quebec and it marked the end of
French power in North America
► Britain gained Canada and all French lands east of
the Mississippi River
► Spain, France’s ally, gave up Florida to the British
► In return, Spain received all French land west of
the Mississippi
Chapter Focus Question
How did the colonists
break away from Britain
and create a republican form
of government?
Chapter 5:
The Road to
Revolution
(1745-1776)
Ch. 5.2:
The Colonists
Resist Tighter
Control
Pontiac’s War
► Indian nations in the Ohio Valley were upset that
Britain was taking over French forts
► The French had been friendly towards
the Indians
► The British were allowing settlers to build
farms on Indians lands
► Pontiac, an Ottawa chief, led a series of attacks on
British forts
► Although it failed, some argue it was the most successful
resistance to the European invasion in our history
► After capturing nine frontier forts, one by one, the Indian
nations gave up the fight
► Even more settlers poured into the
Ohio Valley
Proclamation Line of 1763
☻ To avoid future conflict,
the British passed a law
which forbade settlement
west of the Appalachian
Mountains
► This angered many
colonists… others simply
ignored it
(to them, land meant
opportunity)
Unintended Consequences
► The British have won the war, but they find their vast North
American empire difficult to manage:
► Many Indians, tired of British broken promises and
disrespect, join together under Chief Pontiac,
and launch attacks on British frontier forts
► In an attempt to stop Pontiac’s War, King George
issues the Proclamation of 1763, declaring that all
lands west of the Allegheny Mountains belong to
the Indians
► Colonists take matters into their own hands and begin
a campaign of anti-Indian violence
Unintended Consequences
► The financial pressure on the colonists mounts as a
series of taxes is levied by the British Crown to
pay for the war
► Talk of rebellion is in the air
Britain Reforms its Colonial System
► Parliament passed a
series of laws to
regulate trade
between England and
the colonies…
enforcing
mercantilism
Navigation Acts
► Only colonial or English ships could carry goods to
and from the colonies
► Colonial merchants were forbidden to ship certain
products to any nation but England
(like tobacco and cotton)
► Colonists complained that these acts favored England
► Most all, they did not like the taxes placed on goods
like sugar and molasses
Note:
Although they were only supposed to buy these products from
England, the demand was so high that many traded with the Dutch,
Spanish, and French in the West Indies
☻ Many New England ships traveled a regular route
known as the triangular trade
New Taxes
☻ The French and Indian War had plunged Britain
into debt… colonists were expected to help pay
off the debt
☻ Sugar Act (1764)… this placed duties on
molasses and sugar
☻ Stamp Act (1765)… this placed a tax on legal
documents and paper products (newspapers,
wills, marriage papers, even playing cards!)
Colonists Protest
► Riots broke out in
Boston, Newport,
New York, and
Charleston
► The British did not understand why the colonists
were so angry about the Stamp Act
► James Otis:
“Taxation without representation is tyranny”
► Colonists should only contribute revenue to a
government that gave them a vote in how to
spend that money
► Taxation without representation violated colonists’
rights as British citizens
Stamp Act Congress
► Stamp Act Congress (1765)
► Nine colonies sent delegates to
New York
► They sent a protest to Britain stating
that the colonists were loyal to Britain
► They declared that the right to tax
belongs not to Parliament but to the
colonial legislature
► In every city, secret
citizens’ groups
organized to protest
the Stamp Act
► They discovered their
best weapon was to
boycott British
goods
► As trade with America
shrank, British
merchants called for
a change in colonial
policy
► In 1766, Parliament repealed the Stamp Act
► At the same time, it passed the
Declaratory Act which stated that Parliament had
“full power” over the colonies
► All the colonists cared about was the end of the
Stamp Act. The storm seemed to have passed.
The Townshend Acts
► Charles Townshend
believed his new law
would not upset the
colonists because
they imposed duties,
not direct taxes
(It would only tax goods
brought into the colonies)
☻ Townshend Acts (1767)
► Placed a tax on goods such as glass, paper, paint,
lead, and tea
► Allowed customs officials to inspect a ship’s cargo
or buildings without reason
► Colonists claimed their English rights protected them
from unlawful search and seizure without probable
cause
► The colonists learned from their fight against the
Stamp Act and used the same tactics against the
Townshend Acts
☻ These activities spread the goal of using only American-made
products and helped bring colonists together
Excerpt from the Townshend Acts
Colonial Protests Widen
► Colonists signed nonimportation agreements
against goods taxed by the Townshend Acts
► Sons and Daughters of Liberty
► Used intimidation to frighten tax collectors,
organized boycotts, etc.
► Advocated the use of American goods…
(economic independence!)
►
New leaders emerge like Samuel Adams and John Adams
◄ Samuel Adams
▼ Jon Adams
Redcoats in Boston
► Port cities like Boston and New York were
centers of protests
► Conflict over the Townshend Acts flared when the
merchant ship Liberty entered Boston
► Fearing for their lives, the British officials called for
British troops to keep order in Boston
► 1,000 redcoats arrived in Boston harbor
► The decision to quarter troops only made
matters worse
The Boston Massacre
► March 5, 1770...tensions exploded... when the smoke
cleared five men lay dead or mortally wounded
► The Sons of Liberty used the incident as
propaganda, or a way of spreading its
political views and beliefs
► They called the shooting the Boston
Massacre and claimed it showed the
dangers of having British troops stationed
among colonial citizens
► Colonial fury increased against the British
Old State House
(site of the Boston Massacre)