Early American Conflicts_Guided Notes _8th grade
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Early American Conflicts
In the years before the American Revolution, the British began to take a more
active role in governing the American colonies.
The British had allowed the colonies to unofficially govern themselves. The new
measures placed on the colonies came in the form of new laws and taxes caused
a great deal of tension between the American colonists and the British.
These tensions would eventually lead to the outbreak of the Revolutionary War.
King Philip's War
In 1675, a there was a significant conflict between English settlers and
Native Americans.
The leader of the Wampanoag tribe, Metacom (named King Philip by English
settlers) led a revolt against colonists in the New England colonies.
During the revolt, 600 colonists and 3000 Native Americans were killed.
French and Indian War
From 1754 until 1763, Great Britain and France fought for control of North
American territory.
The first battle of the war began because of a dispute over land in the Ohio
River Valley.
Colonel George Washington led a militia force into the Ohio Valley in 1754 in
an attempt to challenge French expansion in the area.
After staging an unsuccessful attack on the French, Washington and his
troops decided to build a stockade, which they called Fort Necessity.
The site was near a larger French outpost, Fort Duquesne. The French
retaliated and were able to trap Washington and his soldiers inside Fort
Necessity. Washington eventually surrendered.
In the Southern colonies, a conflict between the Cherokee tribes and
colonists led to the First Cherokee War which occurred from 1759-1761.
The conflict started because the Cherokee tribes were upset that colonists
continued to move west into Cherokee lands.
As a result, the Cherokee stopped supporting the British in the French and
Indian War, and instead fought against the British.
Officially the Cherokee were never allies of the French and instead fought
their own war against the British.
The end of the French and Indian War…
The French and Indian War ended when the two countries signed the Treaty
of Paris of 1763.
In this treaty, France gave up all of Canada and all of its territory east of the
Mississippi River to Great Britain.
 In addition, Great Britain also received Florida from the Spanish as
punishment for Spain's help to the French during the war.
Early American Conflicts_Guided Notes _8th grade
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The Proclamation of 1763
After Great Britain took control of the land east of the Mississippi River at
the end of the French and Indian War, it issued the Proclamation of 1763.
The Proclamation of 1763 was meant to appease the Native Americans
living in the area.
 It prohibited American colonists from moving west of the
Appalachian Mountains and heavily restricted trade there.
 These restrictions angered many colonists.
New Taxes…
The Sugar Act of 1764 placed a tax on sugar, wine, and coffee.
The Currency Act of 1764 prohibited the colonists from printing their own
money.
The Stamp Act of 1765 required the colonists to use specially stamped paper
for all official documents, newspapers, and pamphlets.
 Following the colonial objection of the Stamp Act, Great Britain
repealed the tax in 1766.
Townshend Acts
In 1767, Parliament passed the Townshend Acts, which were named after
British politician Charles Townshend, a man in charge of the British treasury.
The Townshend Acts placed new taxes on lead, glass, tea, paint, and paper
imported by the colonies from Great Britain.
Unlike the Stamp Act, which had been a direct tax paid when buying an item,
the Townshend Acts were considered external taxes that were instead paid
by merchants.
The colonists protested because they ended up paying the tax anyway, even if
indirectly, because merchants raised their prices in order to reflect the new
taxes.
Regulator Movement
Unique to North Carolina is the Regulator Movement.
The Regulator Movement
 the people of North Carolina rebelled against colonial authorities from
1765-1771.
 NC rebelled because they felt that the colonial government was
corrupt.
The Battle of Alamance was a battle between Regulators and the North
Carolina militia on May 16, 1771.
 William Tryon, the colonial governor, crushed the Regulator
rebellion.
Lack of Representation
In the years leading to the American Revolution, the main complaint of the
colonists was how little say they had in the British government.
Early American Conflicts_Guided Notes _8th grade
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All of the new laws that were passed during this time were done without a
representative in Parliament to discuss the colonists' concerns.
Because of this, the phrase "taxation without representation" became the
main slogan for the colonists struggle against Great Britain.
Patrick Henry & Lack of Rep.
Patrick Henry was a political leader from Virginia and was a member of the
House of Burgesses.
He spoke out against taxation without representation.
He inspired colonial patriotism with a speech given on March 23, 1775, in
which he declared, "Give me liberty or give me death!"
 This speech was given just before the outbreak of the American
Revolution.
Boston Tea Party
In 1773, Parliament passed the Tea Act, reducing the tax on tea in an attempt
to rescue the British East India Company from bankruptcy.
The colonists refused to buy British tea and would not permit British ships to
unload it in Philadelphia and New York City.
In Boston, in the incident known as the Boston Tea Party, led by Samuel
Adams, a group of colonists dressed as Mohawk Indians dumped cargoes of
tea from British ships into Boston Harbor.
This action further polarized the colonists and the British.
Edenton Tea Party
Another tea party happened in North Carolina. The Edenton Tea Party was
also held in response to the passage of the Tea Act.
On October 25, 1774, in Edenton, North Carolina, 51 women signed a protest
and began a boycott of British goods, including tea.
The Edenton Tea Party was unique among colonial boycotts because it was
organized by women.
The Intolerable Acts
In order to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party, the British
Parliament passed a series of laws, which the colonists referred to as the
Intolerable Acts.
The Boston Port Act was the first law passed, and it closed the Boston port
until the colonists paid for all of the tea that they had destroyed.
The Massachusetts Government Act revoked the colony's charter, and the
British government took more control over the Massachusetts legislature.
The ___________________________________________ Act allowed British officials
accused of a crime to have a trial in a colony besides Massachusetts, or even
in Great Britain.
The ______________________ Act required colonists to provide housing for British
soldiers.
Early American Conflicts_Guided Notes _8th grade
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Common Sense
In 1776, Thomas Paine anonymously published the pamphlet
___________________ which called for ______________________________________________.
The popular pamphlet criticized the British king and helped encourage
colonists to issue the ___________________________________________ six months later.
The First __________________________ Congress
In September 1774, a convention of delegates from twelve of the colonies
met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The delegates wrote a letter to the _____________ of England listing their
complaints against the _________________________ Acts.
The Congress demanded the
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
The Congress also enacted a boycott of imported goods from Britain. To
provide unity, delegates gave one vote to each state regardless of its size.
Patriot or not….
The American colonists fought against the British in the Revolutionary War.
The colonists who wanted to become an independent country were called
__________________________.
The colonists who stayed loyal to the British were called _____________________.
The Carolinas played an important role in the American Revolution.
Paul _______________________
Paul Revere was a member of the Sons of Liberty and was involved in the
Boston Tea Party.
He is best known
_________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________.
This made sure the people were ready for the British attack.
That was the start of the __________________________________________________.
Lexington _________________________
The first battle of the Revolutionary War was fought at Lexington,
Massachusetts, on April 19, 1775.
The American forces were led by __________________________________________________.
They fought against British troops who were on their way to Concord,
Massachusetts.
The British troops had been ordered to go Concord to capture military
supplies that the American militia had been storing there.
Early American Conflicts_Guided Notes _8th grade
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_________________________________________________________
Battle of Charleston
Also known as the Siege of Charleston, this battle was fought between April
and May of 1780.
It was one of the worst losses for the Americans during the Revolution.
Why…?
 After
________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
 The Americans tried to fight but were cut off from supplies. The city
finally surrendered on May 12, 1780.
 Winning the __________________________________________________gave the
British almost complete control over the southern colonies.
Battle of Camden
The Battle of Camden was fought on August 16, 1780, in South Carolina.
It was a decisive __________________________________________________forces that were
made up largely of untrained citizens.
The American soldiers fled when faced with the trained soldiers of the
British Army.
This victory convinced Lord Cornwallis, the commander of the British Army,
that he should _________________________________________________________________.
Battle of Kings Mountain
On October 7, 1780, men from the mountains of North and South Carolina
were able to ambush a group of Loyalist soldiers in the Battle of Kings
Mountain.
The battle was very short, and more than _____________ Loyalists were killed.
Lord Cornwallis had been attempting an invasion of North Carolina when the
American forces attacked him.
As a result of this defeat,
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Battle of Cowpens
On January 17, 1781, American troops fought against British.
The American soldiers were able to ______________________________ and win the
battle.
This was a major victory for the American forces and caused Lord Cornwallis
to abandon South Carolina.
Early American Conflicts_Guided Notes _8th grade
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This battle led directly to the victory at Yorktown where the fleeing
Cornwallis was cornered by American troops.
Cowpens has been called
_________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________.
Battle of Guilford Courthouse
On March 15, 1781, the American army under Nathanael Greene fought
against Lord Charles Cornwallis' British forces in a field near Greensboro,
North Carolina.
Even though the British defeated the Americans at this battle, it is considered
to be a Pyrrhic victory.
This is because the Americans caused significant
_________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
The significant losses made Lord Cornwallis move towards the coast to resupply, and then towards Virginia.
Battle of Yorktown
Taking place in the fall of 1781, the Battle of Yorktown was the last major
battle of the Revolutionary War.
An assistance from nearly 8,000 French troops led by the Marquis de
Lafayette, George Washington was able to defeat the British.
British General Cornwallis
_________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________.
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris of 1783 officially ended the American Revolution.
Great Britain recognized American independence, and the two countries
agreed _________________________________________.
Under the terms of the treaty, Great Britain still controlled Canada, and the
United States _____________________________________________, east of the Mississippi
River, and north of Florida