road to revolution what caused a group of colonies to rebel against the most powerful empire of the...

Road to RevolutionWhat caused a group of colonies to rebel against the most powerful empire of the time?

1. How did the French and Indian War change the relationship between the colonies and Britain?

2. Which British policies in the colonies led to disagreement?

3. How did colonial protests against British policies escalate to armed conflict?

4. How did individual leaders influence the course and outcome of the revolution?

5. How did significant events of the American Revolution influence the course and outcome of the revolution?

Unit 2 Essential Questions

Causes of American Revolution•OVERALL MAIN IDEA:

American resentment and resistance increased as the British government passed new laws to pay for, protect and control the colonies after the French and Indian War.

1776 – Colonists declare their Independence from Britain• HOW DID WE GET TO THIS POINT???

Enlightenment Education French and Indian War Proclamation of 1763 Many “Acts” restricting the colonists Sons and Daughters of Liberty Boston Massacre Boston Tea Party First and Second Continental Congress Lexington and Concord Bunker Hill

Behind the Revolution…•The Enlightenment (ca. 1600s-early 1800s)

o Cultural movement of intellectuals beginning in the 17th century

o challenged old ways of thinking

o Many American leaders read Enlightenment writers who emphasized concepts such as social contract, limited government, consent of the governed, separation of powers


o Thomas Hobbes: People are incapable of ruling themselves because they are naturally self-centered and quarrelsome and need the iron fist of a strong leader


o Voltaire: “Man is free at the instant he wants to be.”

oBelieved in tolerance, freedom of religion and speech


o Jean Jacques Rousseau: No man has any natural authority over any other man. o People need a social contract – an agreement by people to submit to law for the good of all


o Montesquieu: No single set of laws could apply to all people at all timesoargued for separation of powers in government – that the government should be separated into a law-making branch, a law-enforcing branch, and a judicial branch


o John Locke: Government should only exist to protect the natural rights of peopleo If the government does not protect its people’s rights, then the people have a right to overthrow that government

Critical Writing

• Choose one Enlightenment thinker. Answer the following questions as an American colonist in the 1700s:

Do you agree with this thinker’s position? Why or why not?

How does this idea affect you as a colonist?

SEVEN YEARS’ WAR 1754ish-1763

FRENCH and INDIAN WAR

• The part of the Seven Year’s War fought in North America


• French ally with Native Americans to fight the British

VS

Albany Plan of Union 1754• Benjamin Franklin proposed a plan for the colonies to join together under one government partly so they would be a stronger force against the French.

• Each colony would have to give up some power for the sake of unity, but several colonies did not want to surrender power

• The union failed


• France and Britain are fighting over land in the Ohio River Valley

• Native American tribes side with France because Britain had been very cruel to their people


• Britain spent a huge amount of money on the war and eventually defeated the French

• The British have just spent A LOT of money to finish a way with France and Native Americans

• To avoid further conflict with Native Americans, King George III drew a line at the Appalachian Mountains and told the colonists in America that they were not allowed to settle west of that line

• This was the Proclamation Line of 1763

•PROCLAMATION LINE of 1763

o King George III declares that the colonists cannot settle west of the Appalachian Mountains

oColonists see this as an interference into their affairs

Causes of American Revolution

•QUESTION for Discussion

Britain has just fought and won a very expensive war. How do you think they are going to try to pay for that war?

HINT: Mercantilism


•MERCANTILISM

o The British thought of the American colonists as tenants in the mercantilist system

oThe American colonists resented the fact that they existed only to produce more wealth for Britain – they feel used.

oNavigation Acts


•SUGAR ACT 1764(to enforce mercantilist policies)

o “Act” = a law/decree

o Sugar Act was enacted to raise revenue for Britain by enforcing tax on sugar imports

o Reaction: colonists resent that their own prosperity is not important


•STAMP ACT 1765

o Every newspaper, pamphlet, and other public or legal document had to be printed or written on paper with an official stamp (seal) on it – the stamp had to be bought

oReaction: protests – the colonists are angry that they have no say in these taxeso “Taxation without representation”o So, the colonists boycotted British goodsoThis leads to the repeal of the Stamp Act


•STAMP ACT(continued)

o Unlike other “hidden taxes” on goods, this tax was paid at the time of purchase, which caused strong reactions

o boycotting, riots, harassment of tax collectors


•STAMP ACT (continued)

o Unlike other “hidden taxes” on goods, this tax was paid at the time of purchase, which caused strong reactions

o boycotting, riots, harassment of tax collectors

o “Stamp Act Congress”

STAMP ACT is repealed

Causes of American Revolution•TOWNSHEND ACTS 1767

o Britain repealed the Stamp Act, but now introduced a new set of taxes

oThese Acts imposed taxes on many goods used in the colonies (such as glass and lead)o Reactions

Resentment Sons of Liberty Pamphlets, newspapers, political cartoons (propaganda)


•Sons of Libertyo Britain repealed the Stamp Act, but now introduced a new set of taxes

•Daughters of Libertyo urged Americans to wear homemade fabrics and produce other goods that were available only from Britain beforeo believed this would help the American colonists become economically independent


•Boston Massacre 1770o Presence of British soldiers in Boston angers colonistso Group of colonists taunt British soldiers and throw snowballso Soldiers fire shots into crowd – killing several protestorso Crispus Attucks

WARM UP:Who do you think was at fault at the Boston Massacre? Why?


•Colonist response to Boston MassacrePatriots used the killings as propaganda

Posters described the event as a British slaughter of innocent civilians

Formed committees of correspondence – groups organized in different colonies to communicate with one another

Causes of American Revolution•TEA ACT 1773o The British East India Company was struggling and had 18 million pounds of unsold tea in stocko Britain decided to bail out the company by sending the tea to the colonies to be sold at a bargain priceo Angered many colonists – would undercut local tea merchantso Colonists in Philadelphia and New York turned the tea ships back to Britaino In Charleston, the tea cargo was left on the docks to rot In Boston…


British response to Tea Party:•Coercive Actso Banned town meetings in Bostono Closed the Boston port until colonists paid for lost tea and damages of Boston Tea Partyo Made British officials immune to criminal prosecutiono Quartering Act – required colonists to house British troops on demand

Causes of American RevolutionColonists’ response to Coercive Acts

•They call them the Intolerable Actso Britain hoped that they could cut off Boston and New England from the rest of the colonieso Instead, other colonies rushed to help Bostono They sent food and supplieso Colonies began to meet together to discuss their complaints against the Britisho Colonists begin to prepare themselves for possible conflicts with British army


Colonists’ response to Coercive Acts•September, 1774Each colony sent representatives to Philadelphia to discuss what should be done in response to British actions

This was the First Continental Congress Famous delegates: John Adams, Samuel Adams, John Jay, George Washington, Patrick Henry

Did not accomplish much… voted to boycott British goods called on colonies to prepare for possible fight

Thomas Paine

2nd Continental Congress• After Lexington and Concord, the colonists sent representatives again to Philadelphia

• What did they do: Set up the Continental Army Appointed George Washington supreme commander of the army

Sent the Olive Branch Petition to the king The King replied by declaring the colonists to be rebels…

road to revolution what caused a group of colonies to rebel against the most powerful empire of the...

Documents

s montesquieu

s voltaire

british government

s thomas hobbes

s john locke

limited government

indian war french ally

s jean jacques rousseau