Birth of the American Republic

Britain Becomes a Global Power

• Geographic location allowed England to control trade

• Favorable business climate with fewer restrictions on trade

• Britain won many European battles in 1700s• England and Wales united with Scotland to form the

United Kingdom

Map of Europe and United Kingdom

World Map

George III

• Wanted to reassert royal power as king• Chose his own cabinet ministers and forced

Parliament to follow his will• Asserted his brand of leadership

13 Colonies

• 13 colonies part of British empire• Colonies were commercial centers for trade with

other global areas• Britain tried to export more than it imported• Parliament passed laws to regulate colonial trade

and manufacturing• Many British laws were unenforceable

Map of British Empire

“The Sun Never Set on the British Empire”

This phrase meant that the sun was always shining on the some part of the British empire around the world.

Original Thirteen Colonies

Colonial Discontent

• England fought French-Indian war• England felt colonists should pay for colonial

defense• Parliament passed revenue laws (Stamp Act, Sugar

Act) to raise money• Colonists balked because of “taxation without

representation”

Colonial Response

• Boston Tea Party-protest tax on tea• Colonies supported each other as Parliament tried to

retaliate• Boston Massacre – 5 protestors killed

American Revolution

• War began when British soldiers exchanged gunfire with American minutemen at Lexington and Concord

• Continental army led by George Washington

• Declaration of Independence-written by Thomas Jefferson

• People have right to overthrow a government that fails to protect the natural rights of citizens (life, liberty, and property-ideas of John Locke)

• People have right to abolish unjust governments

End of War

• British had huge resources (soldiers, ships, and supplies)

• Colonists knew the terrain better• France, enemy of Britain, offered military support

End of War (continued)

• Washington held troops together during despite low supplies, lack of food, and ammunition

• Continental Army with aid of France crushed the British at Yorktown, Virginia

• Treaty of Paris ended the war and recognized the independence of the USA

New Government

• Articles of Confederation proved weak and ineffective• Revolutionary leaders (Washington, Madison, Franklin,etc.) met

to plan a new government with an improved constitution• Framers of Constitution studied ideas of Enlightenment

philosophers• New Constitution divided powers between federal and state

governments = federal republic• Central feature of Separation of Powers is three branches of

government – executive, legislative, and judicial (Montesquieu)

New Government

• Bill of Rights included in Constitution = people have basic rights that the government must protect

• Freedom of speech, religion, and the press• The philosophe’s Enlightenment ideas were finally put into

practice• Constitution has been in place for more than 200 years and

adopted by other democratic countries worldwide• American Revolution inspired French to revolt against their

monarchy in 1789

Video – American Revolution

Click on the following link or copy into your Internet browser:

http://www.virtualprofessors.com/14-lecture-course-world-history

Scroll down the page until you arrive at the following video title. Please watch the video:

Tea, Taxes, and The American Revolution: Crash Course World History #28

Homework

• Answer the following questions on a sheet of paper.• Bring to class tomorrow to correct for points.

Powerpoint Questions

• Who was the British monarch during the American Revolution?

• Why did Britain rise to become a global power? (four points)

• Why did the British parliament pass the Sugar and Stamp Acts?

• What four words did the colonists shout in protest against the Stamp and Sugar Acts?

Powerpoint Questions

• Which European country helped the colonists defeat Britain?

• Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?• What is a federal republic?• What was the central feature of this federal

republic?• What did the Bill of Rights recognize?• What is the relationship between the Bill of Rights

and the Enlightenment?• Who did the American Revolution inspire to also

revolt?

The

End