Early American Conflicts8th Grade

Preview…

In the years before the American Revolution, the British began to take a more active role in governing the American colonies.

the British had allowed the colonies to unofficially govern themselves. The new measures placed on the colonies came in the form of new laws and taxes caused a great deal of tension between the American colonists and the British.

These tensions would eventually lead to the outbreak of the Revolutionary War.

King Philip's War

  In 1675, a there was a significant conflict between English settlers and Native Americans.

The leader of the Wampanoag tribe, Metacom (named King Philip by English settlers) led a revolt against colonists in the New England colonies.

During the revolt, 600 colonists and 3000 Native Americans were killed.

French and Indian War

     From 1754 until 1763, Great Britain and France fought for control of North American territory.

The first battle of the war began because of a dispute over land in the Ohio River Valley.

Colonel George Washington led a militia force into the Ohio Valley in 1754 in an attempt to challenge French expansion in the area.

French and Indian War

After staging an unsuccessful attack on the French, Washington and his troops decided to build a stockade, which they called Fort Necessity.

The site was near a larger French outpost, Fort Duquesne. The French retaliated and were able to trap Washington and his soldiers inside Fort Necessity. Washington eventually surrendered.

French and Indian War con’t…

In the Southern colonies, a conflict between the Cherokee tribes and colonists led to the First Cherokee War which occurred from 1759-1761.

The conflict started because the Cherokee tribes were upset that colonists continued to move west into Cherokee lands.

As a result, the Cherokee stopped supporting the British in the French and Indian War, and instead fought against the British.

Officially the Cherokee were never allies of the French and instead fought their own war against the British.

The end of the French and Indian War…

 The French and Indian War ended when the two countries signed the Treaty of Paris of 1763.

In this treaty, France gave up all of Canada and all of its territory east of the Mississippi River to Great Britain.

In addition, Great Britain also received Florida from the Spanish as punishment for Spain's help to the French during the war.

The Proclamation of 1763

     After Great Britain took control of the land east of the Mississippi River at the end of the French and Indian War, it issued the Proclamation of 1763.

The Proclamation of 1763 was meant to appease the Native Americans living in the area.

It prohibited American colonists from moving west of the Appalachian Mountains and heavily restricted trade there. These restrictions angered many colonists.

New Taxes…The Sugar Act of 1764 placed a tax on sugar, wine, and coffee.

The Currency Act of 1764 prohibited the colonists from printing their own money.

The Stamp Act of 1765 required the colonists to use specially stamped paper for all official documents, newspapers, and pamphlets.

Following the colonial objection of the Stamp Act, Great Britain repealed the tax in 1766.

Townshend Acts (stop)

  In 1767, Parliament passed the Townshend Acts, which were named after British politician Charles Townshend, a man in charge of the British treasury.

The Townshend Acts placed new taxes on lead, glass, tea, paint, and paper imported by the colonies from Great Britain.

Unlike the Stamp Act, which had been a direct tax paid when buying an item, the Townshend Acts were considered external taxes that were instead paid by merchants.

The colonists protested because they ended up paying the tax anyway, even if indirectly, because merchants raised their prices in order to reflect the new taxes.

Regulator MovementUnique to North Carolina is the Regulator Movement.

The Regulator Movement the people of North Carolina rebelled against colonial authorities from 1765-1771.

NC rebelled because they felt that the colonial government was corrupt.

The Battle of Alamance was a battle between Regulators and the North Carolina militia on May 16, 1771.

William Tryon, the colonial governor, crushed the Regulator rebellion.

Lack of RepresentationIn the years leading to the American Revolution, the main complaint of the

colonists was how little say they had in the British government.

All of the new laws that were passed during this time were done without a representative in Parliament to discuss the colonists' concerns.

Because of this, the phrase "taxation without representation" became the main slogan for the colonists struggle against Great Britain.

Patrick Henry & Lack of Rep.

Patrick Henry was a political leader from Virginia and was a member of the House of Burgesses.

He spoke out against taxation without representation.

He inspired colonial patriotism with a speech given on March 23, 1775, in which he declared, "Give me liberty or give me death!"

This speech was given just before the outbreak of the American Revolution.

Boston Tea Party

 In 1773, Parliament passed the Tea Act, reducing the tax on tea in an attempt to rescue the British East India Company from bankruptcy.

The colonists refused to buy British tea and would not permit British ships to unload it in Philadelphia and New York City.

In Boston, in the incident known as the Boston Tea Party, led by Samuel Adams, a group of colonists dressed as Mohawk Indians dumped cargoes of tea from British ships into Boston Harbor.

This action further polarized the colonists and the British.

Edenton Tea Party

Another tea party happened in North Carolina. The Edenton Tea Party was also held in response to the passage of the Tea Act.

On October 25, 1774, in Edenton, North Carolina, 51 women signed a protest and began a boycott of British goods, including tea.

The Edenton Tea Party was unique among colonial boycotts because it was organized by women.

The Intolerable Acts

 In order to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party, the British Parliament passed a series of laws, which the colonists referred to as the Intolerable Acts.

The Boston Port Act was the first law passed, and it closed the Boston port until the colonists paid for all of the tea that they had destroyed.

The Massachusetts Government Act revoked the colony's charter, and the British government took more control over the Massachusetts legislature.

The Intolerable Acts con’t…(Stop_pick up)

The Administration of Justice Act allowed British officials accused of a crime to have a trial in a colony besides Massachusetts, or even in Great Britain.

The Quartering Act required colonists to provide housing for British soldiers.

Common Sense In 1776, Thomas Paine anonymously published the pamphlet Common Sense which called for American independence from Great Britain.

The popular pamphlet criticized the British king and helped encourage colonists to issue the Declaration of Independence six months later.

The First Continental Congress

 In September 1774, a convention of delegates from twelve of the colonies met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The delegates wrote a letter to the king of England listing their complaints against the Intolerable Acts.

The Congress demanded the repeal the Intolerable Acts by September 1775 and threatened to stop all colonial exports to Britain, Ireland, and the West Indies if Britain refused to comply.

The Congress also enacted a boycott of imported goods from Britain. To provide unity, delegates gave one vote to each state regardless of its size.

Patriot or not….The American colonists fought against the British in the Revolutionary War.

The colonists who wanted to become an independent country were called Patriots.

The colonists who stayed loyal to the British were called Loyalists.

The Carolinas played an important role in the American Revolution.

Paul Revere's Ride   Paul Revere was a member of the Sons of Liberty and was involved in the Boston Tea Party.

He is best known for riding on his horse all night to tell the people in the Massachusetts countryside that the British soldiers were coming.

This made sure the people were ready for the British attack.

That was the start of the American Revolutionary War.

Lexington and Concord

 The first battle of the Revolutionary War was fought at Lexington, Massachusetts, on April 19, 1775.

The American forces were led by militia captain John Parker.

They fought against British troops who were on their way to Concord, Massachusetts.

Lexington and Concord cont…

The British troops had been ordered to go Concord to capture military supplies that the American militia had been storing there.

Later, another battle took place in Concord.

http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/battles-of-lexington-and-concord

Battle of Charleston

Also known as the Siege of Charleston, this battle was fought between April and May of 1780.

It was one of the worst losses for the Americans during the Revolution.

Battle of CharlestonWhy…?

After British troops surrounded the city of Charleston, South Carolina, they told the Americans there to surrender.

The Americans tried to fight but were cut off from supplies. The city finally surrendered on May 12, 1780.

Winning the Battle of Charleston gave the British almost complete control over the southern colonies.

Battle of Camden

 The Battle of Camden was fought on August 16, 1780, in South Carolina.

It was a decisive British victory against American forces that were made up largely of untrained citizens.

The American soldiers fled when faced with the trained soldiers of the British Army.

This victory convinced Lord Cornwallis, the commander of the British Army, that he should try and invade North Carolina.

Battle of Kings

Mountain

 On October 7, 1780, men from the mountains of North and South Carolina were able to ambush a group of Loyalist soldiers in the Battle of Kings Mountain.

The battle was very short, and more than 1,100 Loyalists were killed.

Lord Cornwallis had been attempting an invasion of North Carolina when the American forces attacked him.

As a result of this defeat, Cornwallis was forced to retreat out of North Carolina.

Battle of Cowpens

On January 17, 1781, American troops fought against British.

The American soldiers were able to surprise the British and win the battle.

This was a major victory for the American forces and caused Lord Cornwallis to abandon South Carolina.

This battle led directly to the victory at Yorktown where the fleeing Cornwallis was cornered by American troops.

Cowpens has been called one of the turning points of the American Revolution.

Battle of Guilford Courthouse

On March 15, 1781, the American army under Nathanael Greene fought against Lord Charles Cornwallis' British forces in a field near Greensboro, North Carolina.

Even though the British defeated the Americans at this battle, it is considered to be a Pyrrhic victory.

This is because the Americans caused significant casualties to the British forces, including the death of more than a quarter of troops.

The significant losses made Lord Cornwallis move towards the coast to re-supply, and then towards Virginia.

Battle of YorktownTaking place in the fall of 1781, the Battle of Yorktown was the last major battle of the Revolutionary War.

An assistance from nearly 8,000 French troops led by the Marquis de Lafayette, George Washington was able to defeat the British.

British General Cornwallis surrendered to Washington after this battle.

Treaty of Paris

      The Treaty of Paris of 1783 officially ended the American Revolution. Great Britain recognized American independence, and the two countries agreed on new boundaries. Under the terms of the treaty, Great Britain still controlled Canada, and the United States controlled the land south of Canada, east of the Mississippi River, and north of Florida

Video Recaps

-American Revolution in 5-- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wjfrexe61XI&list=PLDKwJZkxJwbtKKDUkyZo7_vi-02dH3n-f&index=2

French and Indian War Changes Fate of the Americans-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ktkw7iSITkc&list=PLDKwJZkxJwbtKKDUkyZo7_vi-02dH3n-f&index=28

PBS- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVY4H9P6nKU&index=25&list=PLDKwJZkxJwbtKKDUkyZo7_vi-02dH3n-f