
Stamp Act 1765:


Required colonists to
purchase special
stamped paper for
every legal document,
license, newspaper,
pamphlet, almanac
Imposed stamp duties
on playing cards and
dice

Stamp Act Protests:

Sons of Liberty organized to
secretly protest the Stamp Act
 Samuel Adams
Colonial Assemblies pass laws to
circumvent Stamp Act
 Stamp Act Congress: issued the
Declaration of rights and
Grievances

 Stated that Parliament lacked the
power to impose taxes on the
colonies because colonists were
not represented in Parliament
 Boycott British goods
 1776 Parliament repeals the
Stamp Act

Declaratory Act 1766:
asserted Parliament’s
full right to make laws
that have the power to
bind the colonies in all
cases

Townshend Acts 1767:

Indirect taxes levied on
imported materials
 Ex: glass, lead, paint, paper
 Mostly importantly tea

Colonial reaction:
 Boycott

British reaction:
 Stationed British troops in
Boston

Boston Massacre 1770

Boston Tea Party 1773:


Tea Act- East India Company given concessions in
colonial tea business
Shuts out colonial merchants

Intolerable Acts: 1774
Shut down Boston harbor
 Quartering Act:
authorized British
commanders to house
soldiers in vacant private
homes
 General Thomas Gage
appointed the new
governor of
Massachusetts

 Martial law: rule imposed
by military forces

First Continental
Congress 1774
56 delegates
 Philadelphia
 Declaration of colonial
rights

 Colonies have the right to
run their own affairs
 Supported protests
 British use of force would
should warrant colonial use
of force
 Agreed to reconvene if
demands were not met

Fighting at Lexington
and Concord:
Minutemen: or civilian
soldiers that began to
stockpile firearms and
gunpowder
 General Gage sends troops
toward Concord to
investigate the stockpiling
of firearms
 Paul Revere, William
Dawes, Samuel Prescott
warn that the British are
coming
 Battle of Lexington


Second Continental
Congress 1775:
Goal: Debate colonists next
move
 John Adams radical plan
(Massachusetts):

 Each colony set up their own
government
 Declare colonies independent
 Name a general to lead the
Continental Army

John Dickenson moderate
plan (Pennsylvania):
 Called for reconciliation

Second Continental
Congress 1775: (cont.)



Appointed George
Washington General of
the Continental Army
Printing of paper
money to pay troops
Committee to deal with
foreign nations

Battle of Bunker
Hill:
450 colonists die
 Over 1000 British
 Deadliest battle of the
war


Olive Branch Petition
1775:
Urged a return to
“former harmony”
between Britain and
colonies
 British reaction:

 King George III rejected
the petition
 Stated colonies are in
state of rebellion
 Ordered naval blockade
of American coast

Thomas Paine’s –
Common Sense:





Published
anonymously
Called for
independence
Economic and social
opportunities for all
Increase trade with
foreign nations
Creation of a society
free of tyranny

Thomas Jefferson drafts the
Declaration of Independence:






Promotes natural rights of “Life,
Liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness”
Government power derived from
the governed
Influenced by Enlightenment
ideas
Right to abolish governments that
challenge unalienable rights
All men are created equal
July 4, 1776 Declaration of
Independence adopted

Loyalists:


those who opposed
independence and
remained loyal to
the Crown
Patriots:
supporters of
independence

Defeat in New
York:



General William
Howe and Admiral
Richard Howe lay
siege to New York
Plan was to isolate
New England
Washington forced
to retreat

Battle of Trenton:


Victory for
Washington
Surprises the
British Hessian
(mercenary
soldiers)

British fight for
Philadelphia:


General Howe and
the British capture
Philadelphia
Continental Congress
flees city

Battle of Saratoga:

American colonists are
victorious
 General Horatio Gates


General Howe never
meets up with General
Burgoyne “Gentlemen
Johnny”
Result:
 British troops do not
venture to far inland for
the remainder of the war
 International aid to
American
Revolutionaries increase

Valley Forge 17771778

European allies:

Friedrich von Steuben
(Prussian)
 Helped train colonial
soldiers




Stand at attention
Execute field maneuvers
Fire and reload quickly
Wield bayonets

European allies:
(cont.)

Marquis de Lafayette
(French)
 French reinforces key to
winning the war

British change
strategy 1778:
Shift operations to
southern colonies
 Goal:

 Rally Loyalist support
 Reclaim former
colonies
 Slowly fight way back
north

British change strategy
1778: (cont.)

British success in the South
1780
 General Charles Cornwallis
 Capture Georgia and South
Carolina

British loses in the South
1781
 Nathaniel Greene and
Daniel Morgan lead
Continental Army
 Succeed at weaken British
forces
 Redcoats surrender at
Cowpens, South Carolina

British surrender at
Yorktown:


French reinforcements
help to defeat
Cornwallis at
Yorktown
October 17, 1781
Cornwallis surrenders

Treaty of Paris1783:
John Adams, Benjamin
Franklin, and John Jay
negotiate treaty
 Recognize American
independence
 Set boundaries of nation

 Atlantic Ocean to
Mississippi River
 Canada to Florida
Treaty does not specify
when British would
evacuate American forts
 British could collect debts


Impact:
Revolutionary ideals set a new
course for American society
 Class distinctions began to
blur
 Rise of egalitarianism

 Ability, effort, and virtue
No increased rights for
women or slaves
 Native American interests in
jeopardy
 Set out to establish a Republic
