Unit 2
Chapter 2, Section 2
Uniting for Independence
Mr. Young
2nd – 5th
Essential Question
 Why did the
colonists decide,
after almost 175
years of British
rule, that it was
time to revolt and
start their own
country?
I CAN:
 Understand the significance of King George III coming to
power and its role within the colonies
 Explain the significance of important events such as the
Boston Tea Part and Massacre, Stamp Act, Continental
Congresses, and its effect on the colonists wanting to
break ties with Great Britain
American Revolution Video
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kpph4TWjhs0&feat
ure=related
 Andy Griffith on Revolution War
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnEvrcKUcrs
 Events Leading to American Revolution
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oT7dMHAiCfs
 School House Rock
1) French and Indian War
(1754-1763)
 Fought with British and Colonists
on one side and French and
Native Americans on the other
 War determined supremacy of
Eastern part of North America
(and also would lead to French
helping America during War)
 New taxes were coming from
England as they made the
colonist pay for the war (colonists
wanted to move out West into
French territory)
2) Albany Plan of Union
(1754)
 Presented by
Ben Franklin
 First plan put
together that
suggested
uniting the
colonies as one
nation
3) Proclamation of 1763
 Giving by King George III after the
end of the French and Indian War
 Told colonists that they could not
move west of the Appalachian Mts.
 This is one of the reasons they fought
the French and Indian War
4) Stamp Act (March 1765)
Stamp Act of 1765
 Enacted by King George III to
help pay for French and Indian
War
 1st direct tax imposed on the
colonists
 Taxes on newspapers, custom
documents, wills, contracts,
and other legal documents
 Internal tax levied directly on
property, goods and services in
the colonies
 Was passed without colonial
legislature approval
Stamp Act Videos
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9JJuVxtNOc
5) Sons of Liberty (1765)
 Groups organized by colonists
to protest British actions in the
colonies
 Began as the Loyal Nine
 Famous protests were Stamp
Act protest in 1765 and Boston
Tea Party in 1773
 Members did not include the
famous John and Sam Adams
(they were public figures and did
not want to expose the group)
Boston During late 1700’s
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_OXkkogRCk
 Story of Us Boston (4 min)
6) Boston Massacre
(March 5, 1170)
Boston Massacre
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mw3Ba7yXlUE&playnext=1&
list=PL6DC8D21EBAE06077&feature=results_video
 Boston Massacre: America the Story of Us
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsDY5yywvUk
 History Channel Boston Massacre
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sqykgL9lUk
 John Adams Boston Massacre Scene
Boston Massacre
Boston Massacre
Boston Massacre Facts

The Massacre occurred on the evening of March 5, 1770

5 civilians died as a result of the incident, 3 died on the scene and 2 died later. Some websites
incorrectly add up the number of victims to be 7 in total.

All victims of the Massacre, Crispus Attucks, Samuel Gray, James Caldwell, Samuel Maverick and
Patrick Carr, were buried at Granary Burying Ground in Boston.

There were two separate Boston Masacre trials. The trial of Captain Preston started almost 8 month
after the incident and lasted for one week, from October 24, 1770 to October 30, 1770. The second trial
was for the soldiers. It started almost one month after Preston’s aquital, on November 27, 1770 and
ended on Dec 14, 1770.

9 British regulars were charged during the B.M. trials. Preston and six of his men were acquitted, two
others were found guilty of manslaughter.

The heavy military presence in Boston that lead to the Massacre was the result of British enforcement
of the Townshend Acts of 1767.

4,000 troops were dispatched to Boston in October of 1768—not a small number, considering that
Boston’s population was only about 20,000 residents at the time.

The three years that followed the Massacre, from 1770 to 1772 passed rather quietly without any major
confrontation between the British and the colonists.

Before the “The Boston Massacre” name became common, the incident was also called The Bloody
Massacre in King Street, from the title of the famous Paul Revere engraving. In the early 1800's it was
also called the State Street Massacre.
Boston Tea Party Videos
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-9pDZMRCpQ
 Tea Party: School House Rock
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwEX_YVyAS4
 Boston Tea Party: America the Story of US
7) Boston Tea Party
(December 16, 1773)
Boston Tea Party
Boston Tea Party Facts

The Boston Tea Party occurred on Thursday, December 16, 1773, and took 3 hours
between 7 and 10 PM

90,000 lbs (45 tons) of tea in 342 containers was thrown overboard

116 people participated in the destruction of tea (including Paul Revere)

Each full container had a weight of 400 pounds. Half-containers were 100 pounds
each

The destroyed tea was worth an estimated £10,000. In today’s money this would
be approximately equal to a million dollars

More than 5000 people showed up for the meeting in the Old South Meeting house

The names of the three B.T.P. ships were Dartmouth, Eleanor and Beaver

The Tea Party occurred at the Griffin’s Wharf in Boston that no longer exists due to
landfills that occurred in 19th century
8) Committees of
Correspondence (1773)
 In the Old Raleigh
Tavern, a
correspondence
committee at
work, handcolored engraving
(reproduction)
after illustration
by Howard Pyle,
ca. 1896
9) Intolerable Acts (1774)
10) Battle of Lexington and
Concord (April 19, 1775)
Battle of Lexington and
Concord Videos
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dDmE2OKNlw
 Shot heard round the world SHR video
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiIFRCk1hxY
 America the Story of US
11) Second Continental
Congress (1775-1781)
12) Thomas Paine writes Common
Sense (Jan. 10, 1776)
13) Declaration of Independence
(July 4, 1776)
Signers of the Declaration
 While none of the members of the Continental
Congress was actually tried for treason, fifteen
who signed the Declaration of Independence had
their homes destroyed, four were taken captive,
and one spent the winter of 1776 in the woods,
pursued by British soldiers who had burned his
home. Before the end of the Revolutionary War,
many of those who served in the Continental
Congress suffered direct, personal
consequences for their support of American
liberty and independence.
Declaration of Independence
Videos
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrvpZxMfKaU
 John Adams DOI
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZfRaWAtBVg
 Its too late to apologize
Founding Fathers Rap
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZ0Nkdi-GpE
Works Cited page
 http://www.boston-tea-party.org/index.html
 http://www.bostonmassacre.net/index.html