Road to the Revolution!

Chapter 6

Tighter British Control

Chapter 6, Section 1

Political Causes for a break with Britain!

1.England’s neglect of the colonies!

2.Taxation with representation! What??? Colonists were having to pay taxes without someone to represent them in Parliament!

3.Individual rights limited

Economic Causes for Break with Britain!

1. Taxation2. Mercantilism

(colonies exist for the trade benefits of the mother country, England).

3. Trade restrictions – shipping laws that forced the colonists to trade mainly with Britain.

4. Economic power – England failed to enforce trade laws, therefore colonies made money trading with other countries.

5. Free Enterprise – free, unrestricted trade

Don’t forget! French & Indian War!-England and France fought to win control

of North America and extend their empires!

-French & Indian War: 1754-1763-British victory! France lost war and race for

N.A.

-1763 Peace Treaty: 1. France gave England – all land east of the Miss. river, except New Orleans.

2. France gave Spain (ally for helping) – French land west of Miss. river and New Orleans

3. Spain gave England – Florida**After 1763, Britain tightened control of

her vast N.A. empire (almost doubled in size) in a series of actions that seemed fair to Britain, unfair to the colonists, and led directly to the American Revolution! FREEDOM!!!

British Action: 1. Proclamation of 1763 – ban westward settlement on Indian lands and in return protect colonists.

2. 10,000 British troops would protect the frontier line. Colonists required to pay 1/3 of the 1 million dollar annual cost. OUCH!!

American Reaction: UNFAIR!! Original laws included land west of the line. Did not like a standing army during peace time!

TAXES!!!!! (not good!) *Taxes had been limited to external

taxes on colonists: taxes on imported goods. Internal taxes had always been left to colonial assemblies, as a basic liberty.

NOT ANYMORE!!! Remember –

colonists do not have representation in Parliament!

Sugar Act (1764)British Action: Tax on sugar and

molasses (not just to regulate trade anymore, but to make money for England) Smugglers tried without juries!!

Colonial Reaction: Spoke out and protested that taxation with representation and trials without juries is oppression!

Stamp Act (1765)British Action: Required all legal and

commercial documents to carry an official stamp showing a tax had been paid (all publications/official documents)

-Tax that applied within the colonies.Colonial Reaction:

Vigorously protested!! Virginia House of Burgesses called for resistance

to the tax. Others believed it was treason!

Quartering Act (1765)British Action: Required the colonists to

quarter (house and feed) British troops in America. Can you imagine??!!

Colonial Reaction: Forced to house troops. *Most troops housed in New York. Coloniststhere saw it as a burdenand refused to pay to housethe troops! Quartering Act wasn’t as effective as the British hoped!

Stamp Act Repealed (canceled) (1766)

-Stamp Act Congress wrote a petition to the king protesting the Stamp Act stating the colonial assemblies can tax, not Parliament.

-Colonial merchants boycotted British goods.

-Peaceful and violent protests.-British officials attacked

and fled for their safety. *British merchants thought

trade with America would be hurt.

*British leaders agreed.

Declaratory Act (1766)British Action: Law that stated Parliament

had supreme authority to govern the colonies in all cases. YIKES!!

**Colonists celebrated the repeal of the Stamp Act and tried to

ignore the Declaratory Act! A great strugglefor control had begun!

Colonial Resistance Grows!

Chapter 6, Section 2

Townshend Acts (1767)After repealing the Stamp Act, Britain still needed

a way to raise money for troops & conflict.

-Charles Townshend gave his ideas to Parliament and it was passed. It included:

1. Suspended N.Y. assembly until they agreed to provide housing for troops.

2. Imported taxes were placed on goods like glass, paper, paint, lead, and tea.

3. Would enforce through writs of assistance: search warrants to enter homes/businesses and look for smuggled goods.

American reaction: Boycotted British goods.

- Protested that unwarranted searches were a violation of their English rights!

**Townshend Acts Repealed! (1770)-All items except tea! Why? Tea was kept to

show that Parliament and King George III were still boss!

**Would you continue to buy certain items you find a luxury if taxes were raised on them? Why or why not???

The Boston Massacre (1770)*Colonists resented British troops! -March 5, 1770: Tension exploded into

violence.-Group of youths were yelling insults and

throwing rocks and a fight broke out.-British troops fired. 5 colonists died.-Former slave, Crispus Attucks, is

considered the first casualty in the fight for independence.

-Propaganda made the British seem responsible and fuel the need to break from Britain.

*Was it the soldiers fault or colonists? Who started it?

Tea Act (1773)-Gave the British East India Company

control over the American tea trade.-Would arrive in their ships and sold by

their merchants.-Colonists that were not paying taxes on

smuggled tea, now had to pay a tax on regulated tea!

-Enraged colonial shippers/merchants!*What is going to occur b/c of the Tea

Act??????

The Boston Tea Party (1773)Was it really a party???

American reaction to Tea Act: United merchants & radicals in protest!

-Organized by the Sons of Liberty-Boston, Dec. 16, 1773.-Men disguised as Native Americans

boarded 3 tea ships in Boston Harbor-Destroyed 342 chests of tea. Colonists

rejoiced!*Colonial leaders offered to pay for the

damages if the Tea Act was repealed. Britain refused.

The Road to Lexington and

Concord

Chapter 6, Section 3

The Intolerable Acts! (Coercive Acts)

*Tea party = Britain furious!!!-1774 passed a series of laws to punish the Mass.

colony and teach all colonies a lesson!!1. Close Boston port until colonists paid for

destroyed tea.2. Banned committees of correspondence (form

of self-government) and placed Mass. under military rule of British general Thomas Gage

3. British officials were tried in England if charged with crimes while enforcing laws

4. Issued a stronger Quartering Act!

First Continental Congress Meets

*Colonial delegates met to discuss the next move

-Meeting held Sept. 1774 (56 delegates)-Ban all trade with Britain until Intolerable

Acts were repealed-Declared Coercive Acts unconstitutional!-Declaration of Rights and Grievances:

Colonists were defying Britain b/c their liberties as Englishman had been violated!

-Continental Congress didn’t seek war or independence, only their rights as Englishmen!

*Few members of Parliament wanted to repeal the Coercive Acts and so did merchants suffering from the boycott

*King George III refused!-Parliament stood firm!-Increased restrictions on colonial trade

and sent MORE British troops! Yikes!-End of 1774 some colonists were

preparing to fight!Minutemen: militiamen trained for action

at a minute’s notice!

What will happen next???*Few expected a war. Colonial leaders

thought that a show of force would make Britain change its policies…..WRONG!

-Delegate Patrick Henry urged the House of Burgesses for independence in March of 1775, “But as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”

-Midnight Ride-British learned militia was storing

arms/ammunition in Concord (20 mi. NW of Boston, Mass.)

-General Gage heard that Sam Adams and John Hancock were in Lexington.

-April 18 ,1775: Gage ordered troops to arrest Adams and Hancock and destroy the supplies in Concord!

-Sons of Liberty prepared! Paul Revere and William Dawes were spreading news about troop movements.

- Signal: “One lantern by land, two by sea.”

-Rode from Boston to Lexington and Concord spreading the news throughout the night!

Lexington & Concord*Dawn, April 19, 1775: 700 British troops

reached Lexington and ordered militiamen to drop their weapons.

-Rebels refused!-Shots were fired (to this day, no one

knows who fired the first shot! Who do you think it was???

-Eight militiamen dead-Troops march to Concord, destroyed

military supplies-British retreated when 4,000 militia lined

the road and fired!

*Lexington & Concord: First battles of the American Revolution.

*Americans now have to choose sides and back up their opinions by force of arms.

Loyalists: supported the British and KingPatriots: supported the rebels and

wanted independence from Britain.**The conflict divided communities,

families, and friends. THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION HAD

OFFICIALLY BEGUN.

Declaring Independence!

Chapter 6, Section 4

The Continental Army is Formed:

-May 10, 1775: Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia.

-Delegates included: John & Sam Adams, Washington, B. Franklin, Patrick Henry, and John Hancock

*Agreed to form the Continental Army!-Washington chosen as commanding

general

Battle at Bunker Hill-June 1775, militia seized Bunker Hill and

Breed’s Hill. Built fortifications.-British attacked.-Forced militia off the hill-British won the Battle of Bunker Hill-More than 1,000 British wounded or killed-400 militia casualties“The inexperienced colonial militia had

held its own against the world’s most powerful army.”

-British General T. Gage

Last Attempt at Peace*Most colonists still hoped for peace.-Parliament was blamed for the terrible

events taking place.-July 1775, Continental Congress drafted

the Olive Branch Petition: Document that asked the King to restore harmony between Britain and the colonies.

-King rejected it and announced new measures to punish the colonies! What a creep!

1. Block American ships from leaving their ports.

2. Send thousands of hired German soldiers to fight.

-British soldiers were professionally trained.

-Colonists had little training and were poorly equipped.

Common Sense-Published in 1776, Common Sense

helped convince many Americans that a complete break from Britain was necessary.

-Made a strong cause for independence-Author, Thomas Paine-Ridiculed the idea that kings ruled by the

will of God.-Argued that all monarchies were corrupt.-Instant success. Sold more than 100,000

copies in 3 months.

A Time of Decision*Continental Congress appointed a

committee to draft a Declaration of Independence.

-Committee included: Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, and Thomas Jefferson.

-Jefferson was chosen to compose the Declaration.

-July 2, 1776: adopted a resolution authorizing each of the 13 colonies to establish its own government – considered themselves independent from this point forward!

The Declaration is Adopted-July 4, 1776: Congress adopted the

Declaration of Independence – proclaimed independence and explained reasons for breaking with Britain. Declared colonies to be free and independent states!

*John Hancock, President of the Congress was the first to sign.

*Britain saw this as betrayal!*Americans had officially declared their

independence. Now, they had to win their freedom on the battlefield.

That’s it for the causes leading up to the

American Revolution!Yippee