The Road to Revolution
Unit II: Revolutionary War
Between 1763 and 1783, the British
attempts to exert control over the
colonies led to a violent, organized, and
ultimately successful revolution.
Who’s to blame???
Proclamation of 1763
Colonists felt that they a right to
that land because they helped
defeat the French—IGNORE.
Revenue Act (1762)
Colonists begin to grumble—
Brits increased TROOP
PRESENCE in colonies.
Currency Act (1764)
Colonists have difficulty paying
in gold/silver . . .
The Sugar Act (1764)
Colonists articulate that taxes
need to “originate with the
people.” New England
smuggling continues.
(About enforcement)
(colonists further angered by viceadmiralty courts)
Stamp Act 1765
•
•
Quartering Act
vice-admiralty courts
Sons of Liberty/Open resistance
Stamp Act Congress (Oct. ’65)
Parliament responds!
Open Challenge

Why are colonists so opposed
to the Stamp Tax?

Meeting of Stamp Act Congress
 9 colonies sent delegates to
NY in Oct. 1765 to protest
“loss of American rights and
liberties”
 Challenged the
constitutionality of the Stamp
Act

B. Franklin – seeks actual
representation for English
colonies

British response – virtual
representation
Resistance Grows
• Sons of Liberty – less diplomatic/angry mob led by
Sam Adams
• Used raw energy and emotion against British tax
measures
• Encouraged boycotts, harassed stamp collectors,
etc.
Parliament Responds
• Repealed Stamp Act!
What message did this
send to the colonists??
•
BUT issued the
Declaratory Act —
Stated Parliament’s “full
power and authority to make
laws and statutes . . . to
bind the colonies and
people of America . . . In all
cases whatsoever.”
Tensions Escalate
Townshend Act 1767tax on paper, paint, glass—what was
the political purpose of this act??
NY refused to fund 1765 Quartering Act
Restraining Acts 1767Parliament threatened to disband
NY legislature if they did not fund previous Quartering Act
(NY backed down)–
What’s the message/precedent here?
committees of correspondence
more non-importation (hitting GB
in the pocketbook)
Daughters of Liberty/”homespuns”
Britain responds by repealing
Townshend Act (w/ the exception of tea)
. . . and by sending more troops to the
colonies . . .
The Boston Massacre
March 1770
The Tea Act and the Boston Tea Party
(1773)
What were colonists reacting to when they dumped that tea in
Boston Harbor??
First Continental Congress

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Met in Philadelphia in 1774
Led by Patriots Patrick Henry, Sam Adams,
John Adams and George Washington
Issued the Declaration of Rights and Grievances,
which protested the actions of Great Britain
• accepted Britain’s right to control trade
• called for the removal of British troops
• called for the repeal of the Intolerable Acts
and the Declaratory Act
Also decided to form a militia, impose a colonialwide boycott on British imports & exports
Agreed to meet again in Spring 1775 if grievances
not addressed
Parliament’s response:
refused to negotiate — Colonies must pay and obey
Battles of Lexington and Concord, April 1775

British Action


Gage sent 700 British
troops toward Concord to
seize the colonists’
military supplies.
Colonists’ Reaction

In Lexington, about 70
minutemen fight the
British and in Concord
hundreds of colonists
forced the British troops
to withdraw. It is the
beginning of the
Revolutionary War.
The Shot Heard ’Round the World!
Lexington & Concord – April 19,1775
Ultimately, 73 Brits were killed, 174 wounded, 26
missing. 49 Americans were dead, 39 wounded.
Compromise Fails:
The Second Continental Congress

The Situation: - May 1775
• Lexington & Concord
• Colonial tensions are high
• Most feel there is no turning back – and Bunker
Hill (June) strengthens their resolve.

War or Peace?????:
• General George Washington – chosen to head
the Continental Army
• “Olive Branch Petition”
• . . . King declares the colonies to be in rebellion!
Thomas Paine: Common Sense
Declaration of Independence
(1776)
On the Eve of the Revolution
Military Strategies
The Americans
Attrition [you
don’t have to
win a battle,
just wear the
British down]
Guerilla tactics
[fight an
insurgent war]
Make an
alliance with
one of
Britain’s
enemies.
The British
Break the
colonies in
half by
getting
between the
No. & the
So.
Blockade the
ports to
prevent the
flow of goods
and supplies
from an ally.
“Divide and
Conquer” -use the
Loyalists.
Phase I (1775-1776):
The Northern
Campaign
• Howe would invade in New
York, take the Hudson
River, and isolate NE from
the rest of the colonies.
• Washington’s Army fled to
Manhattan, then back
across the Delaware just as
winter set in in 1776.
• Howe sought to convince
GW to surrender . . .
Washington evaded Howe
& fought a defensive war.
Phase II:
NY, NJ &
PA
[1776-1778]
• By winter 1776
the Continental
Army was
desperate—and
the British had
“relaxed” for the
winter.
Washington Crossing the Delaware
December 1776-Significance??
• Meanwhile, Gen. Burgoyne
led a large British force
south from Quebec—to
converge with forces from
the West and South—to
capture Albany.
October 1777
• Why does this matter??
*Winter 1778—troops regrouped at Valley Forge, ready
for final push . . .
• Howe’s troops never
arrived—Burgoyne was
surrounded by American
troops led by Horatio Gates
in Saratoga, Oct. 1777.
Phase III: The Southern
Strategy [1780-1781]
Britain thought Loyalists
in the South would rise
to their aid.
The British won a
number of small
victories, but could not
“conquer” the
countryside [similar to
U. S. failures in
Vietnam!]
The Battle of Yorktown (1781)
The Defeat of the British:
Treaty of Paris (1783)

Key reasons for British Defeat:
• French assistance
• Became a war of attrition/
lack of public support from
England people & Parliament
• Patriot commitment to their
cause

Provisions of the Treaty:
• Americans gained
independence
• Americans gained fishing rights around Nova
Scotia
• Americans gained the interior continent to the
Mississippi River
North America After the
Treaty of Paris, 1783