The Road to the American Revolution
THE FRENCH & INDIAN WAR (1754-1763)
The Proclamation of 1763
In 1754, a war erupted for control of the Ohio River Valley with the British and American colonists on
one side and the French and Indians on the other. While the British and American won the war, it set
in motion series of events that would eventually lead to the independence of the English colonies. The
war puts the British deep in debt. Afterward, Parliament tries to raise taxes on the colonists without
their consent. In order to prevent further conflict between Native Americans and the colonists,
Parliament issues the Proclamation of 1763 which prohibits the colonists from settling west of the
Appalachian Mountains. For the colonists, this was like winning a contest but not getting the prize.
SALUTARY NEGLECT ENDS… PARLIAMENT ENACTS NEW TAXES
In order to raise money, Parliament passed the Sugar Act (1764) and the Stamp Act (1765).
Colonists resisted these laws because they had become accustomed to Britain’s policy of salutary
neglect. The colonists opposed both laws calling for “no taxation without representation.” After
Stamp Act riots in Boston and elsewhere, Parliament agreed to repeal the Stamp Act. In its place, it
passed the Townsend Acts in 1767, which levied more traditional regulatory taxes on many goods
imported from Britain. The colonists responded with non-importation agreements (boycotts of British
goods). British businesses stood to lose so much money that Parliament was forced to repeal these
laws as well. In 1773 Parliament passed the Tea Act, which taxed tea, but eased mercantile
restrictions in a way that actually lowered the price of tea. A group called the songs of liberty
protested the law by carrying out the Boston Tea Party.
THE COERCIVE (INTOLERABLE ACTS)
In response to the Boston Tea Party, Parliament passed the Coercive or Intolerable Acts in 1774.
These laws were designed to punish Massachusetts for the tea party. They dissolved the colonial
legislature, close the port of Boston, created special courts to prosecute smuggling, and forced
Bostonians to quarter (feed and house) British troops at their own expense. The colonists responded
by calling the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia. They also established committees of
correspondence to allow better communication between the colonies. At the same time militias began
arming themselves in New England.
WAR!
Tarring & Feathering a
Tax Collector
Important Events in the
War of Independence
WAR STRATEGIES

Great Britain
Divide & conquer the
colonies by controlling the
Hudson River-Lake
Champlain corridor. Isolate
New England from the rest of
the colonies.


American Colonies
Fight a War of Attrition by
avoiding major losses and
making the war long, bloody,
and expensive for the British.
Seek a military alliance with
France.
GAINING PUBLIC SUPPORT
Throughout much of the war, American colonists were divided
between Patriots and Loyalists. In order to gain support for the war
the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of
Independence on July 4, 1776. This document was written by Thomas
Jefferson. It officially declared independence, which was not surprising
considering that the actual fighting had begun more than a year earlier.
It is important as a statement of the nation’s founding democratic
principles. It helped convince many undecided Americans to support
independence. The Declaration borrows liberally from the John Locke’s
ideas about natural rights and the social contract.
Thomas Paine also sought to convince neutral colonists to support
independence in his famous pamphlet, Common Sense. Unlike the
Declaration of Independence, which is a fairly intellectual document,
Common Sense tries to break down the reasons for independence into
terms that most American can readily understand. He compares the
relationship between Britain and its colonies to that of an abusive parent
and her child.
 Lexington & Concord (1775)
These were the first battles of the war.
British troops were sent to these two
towns outside of Boston, Massachusetts
in order to seize weapons caches from
American militias. Shots were fired and
both sides took casualties. After
Concord, the British made a hurried
retreat back to Boston.
 Saratoga (1777): American forces
surrounded and captured an entire
British army under the command of
General Burgoyne. This victory is
widely seen as the turning point in the
war because it led directly to an alliance
with France by demonstrating the
Americans could defeat the British. It
also frustrated the British’s divide and
conquer strategy according to which the
British would separate New England
from the rest of the colonies by
controlling the Hudson River.
 Yorktown (1781): American and
French armies surrounded British forces
on the York peninsula, while the French
navy prevented the British from
escaping by sea. This was the second
time that an entire British army had
been captured by the Americans. This
was the last major battle of the war.
 Treaty of Paris (1783): This treaty
formally ended the war by granting the
English colonies their independence.
The United States would control all
former English colonies from the
Atlantic to the Mississippi.