UNITING FOR INDEPENDENCE

Describe the events that lead to the American Revolution

Content Vocabulary• Revenue- the money a government collects from taxes or

other sources.• Embargo- an agreement prohibiting trade

Britain and the 13 colonies

In the beginning the colonies operated independently from Britain1. 3000 miles away from Britain2. Colonists governed themselves through

representatives

Britain Tightens Controls

Two events changed the relationship b/w the colonies and Britain1. The French-Indian War

2. King George III became king of Britain in 1760

KING GEORGE III

French-Indian War

CAUSE-- The French and Indians fought against the British

and American colonist for land in Pennsylvania and Ohio

OUTCOME-- The British won the war and drove out the FrenchRESULT-- The colonists no longer needed the British to

protect them from the French- The British were left with a large war debt

Taxing the Colonies- King George III taxed the colonists on tea, sugar,

and paper to help pay the debt- Stamp Act- 1st direct tax on colonists (legal

documents, newspapers)- Colonists protested the Stamp Act

Boston Tea PartyColonists Protest- In 1773, colonists dressed as Mohawk Indians,

dumped 342 chests of tea into the Boston Harbor

British Retaliate- Intolerable Acts- closed Boston Harbor

Colonists Take Action

• Stamp Act Congress- 1765, 1st meeting to protest King George III’s policies• Committees of Correspondence- 1763,

created for colonists to stay in touch

The First Continental Congress

- Philadelphia, Sept. 5, 1774- Delegates from all colonies except

Georgia- Key members: Patrick Henry, Sam

Adams, George WashingtonOutcome-- Agreed to an embargo on British goods

Lexington and Concord- The first battle of the American Revolution- April 19, 1775- Took place at Lexington and Concord,

Massachusetts, between the British Army and the American Colonial Militia

The Second Continental Congress• Served as the government throughout the Revolutionary War• John Hancock- president• George Washington- Commander of the Army

John Hancock George Washington

The Declaration of Independence• Committee included: Adams, Franklin, Jefferson, Livingston,

Sherman• Jefferson wrote the original draft• Congress approved it on July 4, 1776• All 56 delegates signed, John Hancock was the first to sign

3 Sections1. Basic Human Rights2. Complaints against King George III3. Separation from Great Britain

Declaration of Independence - Text Transcript

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYyttEu_NLU

States

• Each state declared itself independent and were no longer subject to a higher authority