Causes of the American
Revolution!
French and Indian War
 The North American
chapter of the “Seven
Years War.” The name
refers to the two main
enemies of the British: the
royal French forces and the
various Indian forces allied
with them
 Cause: The colonists kept
pushing the Indians west.
 Effect: The British made the
Proclamation of 1763.
Stamp Act 1765
 The Stamp Act was a tax
on every sheet of every
legal document.
 Cause: Britain needed
money because they
were in debt from the
war so they taxed the
colonists.
 Effect: The colonists
boycotted British goods.
They also organized the
Sons of Liberty and the
Daughters of Liberty.
Boston Massacre 1770
 The Boston Massacre was a
clash between British troops
and a group of colonists in
which five colonists were
killed.
 Cause: After lots of ridicule,
the tension finally broke.
Some colonists started
throwing snowball in front of
the Boston Customhouse.
The soldiers became nervous
and started shooting.
 Effect: Six of the soldiers
were acquitted, and two of
them had their thumbs
branded for shooting.
Tea Act 1773
 The Tea Act was a tax on all
imported tea from Britain.
 Cause: The colonists boycott
against British goods had hurt
their trade, so the British
repealed the Townshend Acts
after the Boston Massacre.
Parliament only kept the tea
tax.
 Effect: The Sons of Liberty
organized a protest against
the Tea Act known as the
Boston Tea Party.
Boston Tea Party 1773
 The Boston Tea Party was a
protest organized by the
colonists against the British.
All the colonists dressed up
as Indians and snuck onboard the British ships in the
harbor. Then they threw all
the tea on the ships into
Boston Harbor.
 Cause: The colonists were
upset by the Tea Act.
 Effect: The Intolerable Acts
were passed to keep the
colonists under control.
British Closes Boston
Harbor
 To punish Boston,
the harbor was
closed
 Many colonists
lost their jobs due
to no work
 Many Americans
decided to act
Second Continental
Congress
 In early 1776, the 2nd
Continental Congress
convened in
Philadelphia
 Issues discussed:
Battles of Lexington
and Concord, how to
deal with England’s new
laws
The Committee of Five
 John Hancock, the
congress’ president,
called for 5 people to
draft a declaration of
independence
1. Thomas Jefferson
2. Benjamin Franklin
3. John Adams
4. Robert Livingston
5. Roger Sherman
Jefferson’s Inspiration
 Jefferson was charged
with writing the
document, and he drew
many ideas from John
Locke.
 Locke was an
Enlightenment thinker
who denounced kings
and promoted
democracy
“…for all the power the
government has,
being only for the good
of the society… that
both the people may
know their duty, and be
safe and secure within
the limits of the law; and
the rulers too kept
within their bounds, and
not be tempted, by the
power they have in their
hands, to employ it to
such purposes, and by
such measures, as they
would not have known,
and own not willingly.”
John Locke
The Declaration of
Independence
 Released on July 4,
1776, Jefferson’s
declaration formally
stated the colonists’
desire to break from
Britain
 He stated people were
granted “…unalienable
rights…” that could
never be taken away
 Life
 Liberty
 Pursuit of
Happiness
References:
http//:www.ushistory.org