Kiandra Morrison
4th period
10-31-2011
The Quest for Independence
The Patriots.
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By 1776, the population of the colonies had reached 2.5 million people.
This was about one third the population of Britain. There were now many roads
connecting the individual colonies, and newspapers kept them informed about
each other. The colonies were beginning to think of themselves as Americans,
not as separate colonies.
Many colonists were split over the issue of independence. There were both rich
and poor colonists on both sides of the independence issue.
Large landowners like George Washington, and wealthy businessmen like John
Hancock were in favor of independence. There resented British control over their
lives, and British interference in their business.
On the other hand, some rich colonists were afraid they would lose their wealth if
the revolution succeeded. Their wealth was heavily connected to British trade
and the British government. Some poor colonists didn't want to be controlled by
the wealthy colonists. They either believed the King of England treated them well,
or just didn't want to cause trouble.
Over time, support for independence grew as issues like taxation without
representation angered the local population.
Lack of Government Representation
 When England colonized America it had no master plan on how the colonies
would be governed. Some colonies governed themselves. Other colonies were
governed by the King's officials. The King insisted on his right to create laws
governing the colonies. British parliament also created laws that governed the
colonies.
 The British passed laws that were in the best interest of England, not the
colonies. For example, they passed the Navigation Act which restricted colonists
from competing with British businesses. They also prevented colonists from
selling their goods to countries other than Britain, even if the country was willing
to pay a higher price than the British. Britain made it difficult for the colonies to
trade with the French and the Spanish.
 While the British continued to enforce their control of the colonies, they refused to
allow the colonies government representation in England. The British believed
that their own appointed government officials adequately represented the
colonies.
 The colonies resented British control. The colonies created their own laws, and
ignored the British laws they did not like. This created considerable tension
between Britain and the colonies.
Kiandra Morrison
4th period
10-31-2011
Taxation
 While England found governing its colonies in America difficult, it also found it
expensive. Britain had recently fought the French and Indian war, which gave it
control of Canada and much of the land east of the Mississippi. The war was very
expensive for England, and it now needed more money to maintain soldiers in all
these areas. In 1764, the British government decided to tax the colonists to pay a
share of the costs.
 The British taxed all sugar bought from the French or Spanish. The British then
created the Stamp Act, requiring all newspapers and legal documents to carry a
stamp purchased from the British. These taxes angered the colonists and they
managed to force the British to eliminate the Stamp Act and to reduce the taxes
on sugar.
The Townsend Act
 In 1767, the British passed new taxes on glass, paper, teas, paints and other
goods shipped to the colonies from Britain. Prime Minister Charles Townsend
wanted to raise money to cover the cost for defending the colonies, and pay the
salaries of governors and judges in the colonies. These were known as the
Townsend Acts.
 The colonists reacted by refusing to buy British goods. The colonists argued that
they shouldn't be taxed since they had no representation in the British
government. The colonists rallied behind the phrase, "No Taxation without
Representation." Again Britain was forced to remove the taxes, all except for the
tax on tea.
The Boston Tea Party
Events Leading to the Tea Party
 The British East India Company had controlled all tea trading between India and
the British colonies. As a result of the tea tax, the colonies refused to buy the
British tea. Instead, they smuggled tea in from Holland. This left the British East
India Company with warehouses full of unsold tea, and the company was in
danger of going out of business.
Kiandra Morrison
4th period
10-31-2011
 The British government was determined to prevent the British East India
Company from going out of business. It was going to force the colonists to buy
their tea. In May 1773, Prime Minister North and the British parliament passed
the Tea Act. The Tea Act allowed the British East India Company to sell tea
directly to the colonists, bypassing the colonial wholesale merchants. This
allowed the company to sell their tea cheaper than the colonial merchants who
were selling smuggled tea from Holland.
 This act revived the colonial issue of taxation without representation. The
colonies once again demanded that the British government remove the tax on
tea. In addition, the dockworkers began refusing to unload the tea from ships.
 The Governor of Massachusetts demanded that the tea be unloaded. He also
demanded that the people pay the taxes and duty on tea.
The "Boston Tea Party"
 On the evening of December 16, 1773, a group of men calling themselves
the "Sons of Liberty" went to the Boston Harbor. The men were dressed
as Mohawk Indians. They boarded three British ships, the Beaver, the
Eleanor and the Dartmouth, and dumped forty-five tons of tea into the
Boston Harbor.
Declaration of Independence
 The Declaration of Independence was approved at the Second
Constitutional Congress. The Declaration of Independence introduced a
fundamental change in the view of government. Thomas Jefferson
declared that governments were created to serve the people, and could
only act with consent of the people. It created the democratic government.
Thomas Paine's Common Sense
 On January 10, 1776, Thomas Paine published a booklet called Common
Sense. In the booklet, he described his vision of a government in which
the people, through their elected representatives, would have supreme
power. He was the first to openly suggest independence from Britain. The
booklet was broadly circulated, and even George Washington read it.
Kiandra Morrison
4th period
10-31-2011
Thomas Paine's booklet would have a major influence on Thomas
Jefferson in his writing of the Declaration of Independence.
Meeting of the Continental Congress
 The Continental Congress held the Virginia Convention in May, 1776.
Richard Henry Lee introduced a resolution for the colonies to become free
and independent states. The Congress appointed a committee to draft the
formal declaration of independence. The committee included Thomas
Jefferson, Ben Franklin, John Adams, Robert Livingston and Roger
Sherman. This committee then chose Thomas Jefferson to write the first
draft.
Signing of the Declaration of Independence
 The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson, with
the assistance of John Adams and Benjamin Franklin. The document
defined the rights of the people of the independent states. On July 2,
1776, the members of the Second Continental Congress voted in favor of
independence. The delegates then held a second vote and approved the
Declaration of Independence. John Hancock, President of the Congress
and Charles Thomson, the secretary, signed the document. July 4, 1776 is
officially recognized as the birth of America.
 The Declaration of Independence introduced a fundamental change in the
view of government. Thomas Jefferson declared that governments were
created to serve the people, and could only act with consent of the people.
It created the democratic government.
 The declaration consisted of two parts. The preamble describes the
people’s rights and it states that “all Men are created equal" and have the
God-given right to "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." The
second part declares independence from Britain, and lists the colonies'
issues against the British government.
Declaration of Independence
 IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776.
THE UNANIMOUS
DECLARATION
Kiandra Morrison
4th period
10-31-2011
OF THE
THIRTEEN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
 WHEN, in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to
dissolve the Political Bands, which have connected them with another, and to
assume, among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which
the Laws of Nature and of Nature's GOD entitle them, a decent Respect to the
Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the Causes which impel
them to the Separation.
 We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they
are endowed, by their CREATOR, with certain unalienable Rights, that among
these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.