American Revolution
Roots of Revolution
• England Controls the
13 colonies of the
U.S.
• England taxes
colonies until it is
unbearable
• Americans form new
idea of government
called republicanism
Seeds of Revolution
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American unhappy with English rule
Mercantilism – export more than imported
English control of currency
Preservation of Civil liberties, liberties
being taken away
Albany Plan of Union
• First attempt at unifying the colonies
• Proposed by Benjamin Franklin
• Intercolonial governmental system
• Proposed tax collection system to help defense
new colonies
• Unsucessful
Roots of Revolution
• Americans want a more local government
• England levies more taxes on the U.S.
• Stamp Act – required colonists to
purchase special stamped paper for all
legal documents
Stamp Act Congress
• October 1765 meeting of delegates from
the American Colonies that discussed and
acted upon the recently passed Stamp
Act.
• Adopted a Declaration of Rights and
Grievances
• wrote letters or petitions to the King and
both houses of Parliament.
Protest, Protest, Protest
• Boston Massacre – (1770) On a snowy night,
American protesters hit British soldiers with
snowballs. One of the British soldiers fired into
an angry mob, killing five. Local agitators,
especially Samuel Adams, used the event to stir
up popular resistance.
• Boston Tea Party – (1773) Tea Acts are passed,
causing the Sons of Liberty dressed up like
Indians and dumped all the tea into the Boston
harbor.
New British Action
• Declaratory Act
– Declared Britain’s right to legislate for and/or
tax it’s unrepresented colonies
– What reaction does this get?
– Committees of Correspondence – committees
of colonists that met to urge resistance to
Britain
Protests and More Tax
• Samuel Adams leads protests of the Stamp Act.
Sons of Liberty organization is born.
• Britain does not stop.
• Passes Townshend Acts, which put indirect
taxes on imports such as gas, lead, paint, and
paper. Most important of all… a 3 cent tax on tea
Boycott, Boycott, Boycott
• Refusal to use, buy, or
deal with any goods from
Great Britain
• Colonists Boycott….Who
hurts?
• “No Taxation without
Representation”
• Tensions rise…Is
revolution coming???
More Acts from Britain
• Intolerable Acts (1774) - a series of laws passed by the
British Parliament in response to the unrest in the
thirteen American colonies, particularly in Boston, after
incidents such as the Boston Tea Party.
• One law closed Boston Harbor, one was a Quartering act
• Britain can now declare Martial Law in any part of U.S.
• What might reaction to this be????
First Continental Congress
• Goals were to …
• 1) Make a list of Grievances with Britain
• 2) Develop strategy to deal with
grievances
The British Are Coming
• Minutemen (civilian soldiers) organized to fight Britain
• The Battle of Lexington and Concord took place April 19,
1775
• First fighting of the American Revolution = 13 colonies
calling up militias and set out for Boston
• Battle of Bunker Hill followed on June 17, 1775. By late
spring 1776, with George Washington as commander, the
Americans forced the British to evacuate Boston. The
patriots were in control everywhere in the 13 states and
the states were ready to declare independence.
Second Continental Congress
• Continental Army is created
• Olive Branch Petition sent to Britain – Last
attempt at peace without Bloodshed
• Who were the Patriots?
Patriots
• The revolutionaries, known as Patriots, Whigs,
Congress Men or Americans, included a full
range of social and economic classes, but a
unanimity regarding the need to defend the
rights of Americans.
• George Washington, John Adams, James
Madison, John Jay, Ben Franklin, Patrick Henry,
and Thomas Jefferson were among them.
Loyalists
• 20% to 30% of the colonists remained
loyal to the British Crown; these became
known as Loyalists (or 'Tories', or 'King's
men').
• Native Americans were loyalist
INDEPENDENCE ????
• COMMON SENSE pamphlet published by
Thomas Paine, attacking
King George III.
• “The time has come for
colonists to proclaim an
independent republic.”
• First document to call for
American Independence
DECLARING INDEPENDENCE
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Thomas Jefferson
Declaration of Independence
July 2, 1776 colonies declared free
July 4, 1776 Declaration of Independence
is adopted
• We are given unalienable rights by God
according to the Declaration of
Independence, what are these rights?
Who’s side to be on
• America
– Fighting at home,
Washington’s
leadership, had a
reason to fight
– Untrained, ill-equipped
soldiers, food and
ammo shortage, Navy
is inferior, no central
government to enforce
wartime policy
• Britain
– Strong, well-trained
army and navy, strong
central government
and funds, support of
colonial loyalists and
Native Americans
– Far from home,
unfamiliar terrain,
weak military
leadership, sympathy
of British politicians for
the American cause
Major Battles of the Revolution
• British Gain New York ( Summer, 1776)
• Battle of Trenton, New Jersey (December
25, 1776)…Americans win
• Philadelphia (Spring 1777) - British take
the city…Why is this important?
War is Raging…Turning Point is
Coming
• Saratoga – Americans defeat British,
France enters war, Britain changes war
strategy (keep troops, ammo, and supplies
close)
• France agrees not to make peace with
Britain until Britain makes peace with U.S.
– Why are these turning points in the
Revolution?
Life During the War
• Inflation rises
• Congress has trouble supplying the army
• Profiteering begins (selling scarce goods
at a profit)
• Men go to fight, women take on male jobs
(as well as household work)
• Did women and slaves fight in the
American Revolution?
War Raging
• War moves south
• British capture Savannah
• Battles fought in NC
– Guilford Courthouse, the British win but it is a
major turning point because of the British loss
of life
• Americans making their move
War Winds down
• Yorktown
– Washington and
the Americans
defeat
Cornwallis and
the British
– War is over