Unit 2: The American
Revolutionary Era
1754-1783
Europeans Fight For Land
• French explorer, Robert Cavelier de La Salleexplored entire length of Mississippi.
– Named area Louisiana
• French ex. Antoine Cadillac- founded Fort
Detroit (1701)
• Population in North America:
– 1700: French (15,000); English (250,000)
– 1750: French (60,000); English (1,170,000)
French & Indian War
(1754-1763)
• French & Indian allies vs. English & Indian allies
– Most colonists fought on English side
• Including George Washington
– Known as Seven Years War in Europe
– First battle- Fort Necessity
• Washington surrendered July 4, 1754.
– British dominated rest of the war.
• Quebec fell in 1759
– Fighting ended 1763 with the Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Paris (1763)
• French loses almost all territory in North
America.
– Britain gains Canada, Ohio Valley and land east of
Mississippi.
– Spain gains land west of Mississippi
Impact of War
• Native Americans lost trade with French
– Became aggressive towards colonists
– Pontiac’s Rebellion
• Proclamation of 1763- prohibited colonists
from settling west of Appalachian Mountains
• British gained massive debt from war.
– Eng. Decide to tax colonists to pay war debt.
Sugar Act (1764)
• A tax on molasses.
– Formally known as Molasses Act 1733.
• Expiring in 1763
• Not really enforced
• New sugar act, half of molasses tax
– Will be enforced
• Quartering Act (1765)- required colonists to
house and feed British troops when needed.
Stamp Act (1765)
• All legal documents had to
have gov. stamp
– Newspapers had to have
stamp
• The colonists felt it was a
direct tax, undermining local
Assemblies
– No one agree upon the tax
• Violators were not allowed
trial by jury, judge decided
guilty or not.
Reaction
• Delegates from colonies met, declared
Parliament had no right to issue taxes
• Patrick Henry- led opposition of Stamp Act.
– “Give me liberty or give me death!”
• Stamp distributors were attacked by people
who opposed the tax.
– Samuel Adams led Sons of Liberty on these
attacks.
Exit Question
• “It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may
cry, Peace, Peace – but there is no peace. The war is actually
begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring
to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are
already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that
gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or
peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains
and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what
course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or
give me death!”
• Famous speech by Patrick Henry. Respond to Henry’s speech
with opposition of his stance or in favor of his stance.
Support your own stance.
Results
• Protests and boycotting British goods led to
the Stamp Act being repealed.
• Townshend Acts- passed in 1767 to help pay
Governors salaries.
– Glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea were taxed.
• More protests and boycotts on British goods.
– Most Townshend Acts were repealed
• Tea was still taxed
• Tensions rose in Boston, troops sent to restore order.
Boston Massacre
• March 5, 1770.
• British soldiers fired on a crowd of Boston
protestors, 5 killed, 11 injured.
– Crispus Attucks- considered first casualty of
American Revolution.
• African American
Results
• Parliament ended taxes on tea to help ease
tensions in Boston.
• 3 years later, Britain needed money to bail out
East Indies Tea Company.
– Tea Act of 1773 was passed.
• Tax on tea again.
• Sons of Liberty responded by throwing crates of
tea in the Boston Harbor dressed as Mohawk
Indians.
– Boston Tea Party (Dec. 1773)
Results
• Parliament passed Intolerable Acts (1774):
• British called them Coercive Acts
– Closed Boston’s Port, pay back for damaged tea
• Boston is a “port” city
– Massachusetts's gov. under British control
– Royal officials would be given trial in England
• Witnesses had to pay for travel to Eng.
–Can’t afford it
• No witness, trial dismissed.
• Colonial Response- First Continental Congress (1774)
Exit Question
• Imagine you are the head writer of a
delegation of colonists. Write a letter to the
King of England, King George III, about your
disagreement with the recent intolerable acts
and other taxes imposed on the colonies. Try
to convince the King to change his mind and
Parliament’s decision on these acts.
– Use historical knowledge as to why they should
overturn their decision.
The War Begins
• Battle of Lexington and Concord- considered
the first battle of The American Revolution
• British went in search of weapons supposedly
stashed in the two towns.
– Colonists took up arms to fight back
– Lexington: 8 minutemen were killed
– Concord: 300 British soldiers killed
• First victory for the Colonists
– April 1775, The American Revolutionary War begins.
Thomas Paine
• Wrote pamphlet Common
Sense (1775/6)
Declaring Independence
• Second Continental Congress met in the
summer of 1775.
– Write up a list of grievances against the King and
Parliament.
– Declare the colonies independent
– Many delegates at first abstained from declaring
independence.
• Thomas Jefferson- primary author of
Declaration of Independence
– Congress approved July 4, 1776
• “We hold these truths to be
self evident that all men are
created equal, that they are
endowed by their creator
with certain unalienable
rights, that among these are
life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness. That to secure
these rights, Governments
are instituted among Men,
deriving their just powers
from the consent of the
governed…”
Opposing Sides & Strategies
British
• British outnumbered
Colonists 3 to 1
• World’s strongest
Navy
• Professional Army
• Loyalists- (Tory)
colonists that still
sided with the British
• Native Americans
Colonists
• Strong leadership under
George Washington
– Knew British strategy
• Fighting a noble cause
– Independence
• Knew back wood terrain
– Fighting on homeland
• Patriots- siding for
independence
British Empire
Early Fighting
• Washington and Continental Army suffer many
defeats
– New York and Boston were captured by British
– Washington retreats across the Delaware River
• Dec. 26, 1776, Washington re-crosses Delaware
River in middle of the night to Trenton, NJ
– Captures Hessian mercenaries.
• British employed thousands of German Hessians
to fight in the war.
• A week later, Washington defeated a small British
regiment at Princeton.
Battle of Saratoga
• Oct. 17, 1777- First major victory over British
army.
• Major turning point in history:
– French wanted revenge on G. Britain
– Am. victory help persuade French to give aid in
fight
– French will bring fresh supplies and offer their
Navy
• Not until 1778 though
Valley Forge
(winter 1777-1778)
• Washington stationed the army in Valley Forge
– The coldest winter in years
• No supplies, clothing, or food
– 2500 soldiers die from disease, starvation, or
exposure to weather.
• Prussian military General Baron von Steuben
helped train the Continental Army during the
winter
French Support
• General Marquis de Lafayette- present at
Valley Forge, returned to France to gain more
soldiers and supplies.
– Helped stop British troops in Battle of Yorktown
• General Comte de Rochambeau- commanded
more troops than George Washington
• Admiral’s de Grasse & de Latouche Trevilleblocked British supply ships at the Battle of
Yorktown
Battle of Yorktown
• Lord Cornwallis, leading General of British
army, moved to Yorktown, waiting for supplies
and reinforcements from G. Britain.
• Walked into a trap:
– French Navy blocked Chesapeake Bay
– Washington & Rochambeau attack Cornwallis
• October 19, 1781, Cornwallis surrenders
– War was coming to an end.
Treaty of Paris 1783
• British formally recognized the independence
of the United States.
• All lands east of Mississippi from Spanish
Florida to Great Lakes belonged to US.
• British grants fishing rights in Newfoundland
• All property of British army in US will stay and
now belongs to US.
Results
• Congress now has to establish a whole new
government
– Figure a way to govern the states
– How to pay off the war debt
• France went into massive debt
– Leading cause for French Revolution in 1789
Articles of Confederation
(1781)
• 1st document at starting a new government
– Created a national legislature to pass laws
– Unanimous support was required to pass major
pieces of legislation
– National government had no power to levy taxes
• Key philosophy- State’s Rights!