In your Writers Notebooks answer the following question; “What do you know about
the Revolutionary War.”
The roots of American Independence started with the early English settlers. The majority
came for religious and political freedom and already did not like English laws. The
settlers were rebellious in spirit and wanted to start a new life. Over the next few decades
the colonies formed their own government.
In 1754, war broke out in Europe between England and France. It was called the French
and Indian War by the colonies because the English were fighting the French and their
Native American allies, the Huron. The two countries were fighting for control of North
America. The French and Indian War was a long, brutal war and when it ended England
was in debt. Because the war was fought over control of North America, King George III
decided to tax the colonists. The colonies hated this taxation. Taxation was a major cause
of the War for Independence in America.
The earliest cause of the War for Independence was the Domination of New England, in
which King George tried to control colonial legislatures. King George was afraid that
New England was becoming too powerful. Next, the Proclamation of 1763 set all lands
west of the Appalachians off limits to colonists. The colonists hated this because they
were already farming in the lands west of the Appalachians. In 1764, the Sugar Act taxed
all sugar products from Great Britain. The colonists thought this was unfair. Then, in
1765, the Quartering and Stamp Acts were enacted. The Quartering Act forced colonists
to house British soldiers. The Stamp Act put a tax on all of the legal documents including
newspapers, pamphlets, passports, etc. The Stamp Act Congress was formed by the
colonists to remove the Stamp Act.
In 1766, the Declaratory Act stated that England could tax the colonies whenever it
wanted. In 1767, the Townshend Acts imposed a tax on every day goods imported from
Britain. The colonists were so mad they boycotted British goods. The colonists protested
in Boston demanding England repeal the Townshend Acts. Britain stationed soldiers in
the colonies. This made the colonists even angrier than ever. Their protests became
violent. They hurled rocks and snowballs at the soldiers. They attacked shopkeepers that
tried to enforce the taxes and made them quit their jobs.
In March of 1770, the colonists demonstrated in Boston by attacking the British main
guard. British soldiers fired and five men lay dead in the snow. The colonists went wild.
They called this the Boston Massacre.Their protests got more violent until finally,
England repealed all Townshend Acts. After a while, the confusion and excitement died
down.
After a few years of peace,England began taxing again. In 1773, Britain passed the Tea
Act, which was a tax on tea. One night a ship full of tea was sitting unguarded in the
Boston Harbor . A group of colonists, called The Sons of Liberty, dressed up as Mohawk
Indians and dumped all of the tea into the harbor. We know this act of defiance to be The
Boston Tea Party. The British were so mad they passed the Coercive Acts, dubbed by the
colonists the "Intolerable Acts." England blockaded Boston Harbor and forbid
townmeetings from all colonies. The Intolerable Acts triggered the First Continental
Congress to ask Britain to repeal the Intolerable Acts but King George remained
stubborn.
After the First Continental Congress failed, the Second Congress was formed. They met
for a long time. Meanwhile the colonies had been forming an army of over 5,000 men.
Some battles had already taken place. A Declaration of Independence was being written
and was finally signed on July 4, 1776 resulting in the struggle for freedom and England.
After reading about and discussing the revolutionary war, tell me in your writers
notebooks if you would have been a Loyalist or a Patriot. Why would you decide that
way.