Chapter 1, Section 4
Quick Write: Review
• What is one word to summarize the
Enlightenment?
• REASON!
Chapter 1, Section 4
The Great Awakening--Review
• What was the Great Awakening?
• The Great Awakening was a series of religious
revivals in the colonies (in the 1730s-1750s) aimed at
restoring people’s dedication to religion
• Remember: Like the ideas from the Enlightenment,
the ideas from the Great Awakening caused colonists
to question the authority of the British government
Chapter 2, Section 1
Colonial Resistance & Rebellion
Chapter 2, Section 1
British Parliament Taxes the Colonies
• The Sugar Act (1764) – taxed new items;
punishment for smuggling was trial in a viceadmiralty court rather than a colonial court
• Colonists said British Parliament had no right to tax
them because the colonists were not represented in
Parliament
• The Stamp Act (1765) – taxed documents and
printed items (like wills, newspapers, and playing
cards); all documents must have a stamp to show it’s
been taxed
• Some colonists organized a resistance group
called the Sons of Liberty to defy the law
Chapter 2, Section 1
British Parliament Taxes the Colonies
• Colonists boycotted documents until Parliament
repealed the Stamp Act in 1766.
•The Townshend Acts (1767) – Parliament taxed
goods imported to the colonies from Britain, such as
paint, glass, paper, and tea.
•The Declaratory Act (1766) – Parliament asserted
its full right “to bind the colonies and people of
America in all cases whatsoever”
•The Sons of Liberty again led the colonists in
boycotts on British goods
Chapter 2, Section 1
Tension Mounts in Massachusetts
• Tensions between the British and the colonists
increased, especially in Massachusetts.
•On March 5, 1770, a mob of colonists began to
taunt the British soldiers at the Boston Customs
House. Shots were fired and 5 colonists were
killed. Colonists named the event the Boston
Massacre.
•The Tea Act (1773) -- Allowed British East India
Company to sell tea to the colonists without
paying the taxes that the colonists had to pay
Chapter 2, Section 1
Tension Mounts in Massachusetts
• The colonists responded by protesting. On the
night of December 16, 1773, a group of colonists
dressed up like Indians and attacked British tea
ships anchored at the Boston Harbor. This was
called the Boston Tea Party
• Intolerable Acts (1774) -- In response, Britain
passed a series of severe penalties, such as shutting
down Boston harbor.
Chapter 2, Section 1
The Revolutionary War Begins
• The
colonists responded by assembling the First
Continental Congress (1774)
•Delegates met in Philadelphia and wrote a
declaration of colonial rights
•The colonists decided that if Britain used force
against the colonies, they would fight back
•After the meeting, many areas began military
preparations. Minutemen (men ready to fight at a
minute’s notice) stockpiled guns and gunpowder. *
Chapter 2, Section 1
The Revolutionary War Begins
• A British
General (General Gage) learned about the
colonists’ plan and British troops planned to march
from Boston to Concord to seize the colonists’ illegal
weapons
•Colonists (Paul Revere) rode to Concord to warn
them. The colonists were able to meet the British
troops at Lexington, where the first shots of the
war were fired
Chapter 2, Section 1
The Revolutionary War Begins (cont.)
• The Battle of Lexington was the first battle of the
Revolutionary War, but it lasted 15 minutes
• The British marched back to Concord (second
battle), where they found no weapons and fought
briefly with the colonists
• The British soldiers then marched back to
Boston, where they were surprised by 3,000-4,000
minutemen--many British soldiers were killed as
they retreated to Boston
Chapter 2, Section 1
The Revolutionary War Begins (cont.)
• In May 1775, colonists held the Second Continental
Congress in Philadelphia and recognized the
minutemen militia as the Continental Army (led by
George Washington)
•British troops were stuck in Boston, so they
decided to attack colonists at Bunker Hill. This was
the deadliest battle in the war, with over 1,000
British soldiers killed.
•Colonists were winning the battles, but they were
not all in agreement about whether they should
remain loyal to Britain or declare independence . . .