THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

Happily Ever After…..not exactly

Colonists, under England’s rule, were happy they had a new land to make their home

About 140 years of happy days, then things started to get messy.

French and Indian War It first began with the French and Indian

War It wasn’t a war between the French and the

Indians, it was actually between the French and the British.

They began this war due to a competition of controlling the Ohio Valley region.

Each thought they had claim to the land because of earlier explorations from both countries.

So, you are probably wondering, how did this battle become known as the French and Indian War?

The French made an alliance, a formal agreement, with the Indians, which then helped the French during the battle.

For two years the French and their Indian allies carried out attacks against the British colonists.

This was just the beginning to a revolution, a sudden, complete change.

Britain Wins North America Between 1758 and 1760, the British captured

three French forts and Montreal, a major French city.

The French gave up, but then Spain joined the French against the British.

British had superior sea power that helped them in the defeat of the Spanish forces in 1762.

The French felt they should help the Spanish with their losses, so the French gave Spain most of Louisiana and part of what is now Florida.

End of War The French and Indian War finally came

to an end in 1763 when a peace treaty was signed in Paris. (Treaty of Paris)

A treaty is an agreement between nations for peace, trade, or other matters.

They gave Britain most of present-day Canada, most of the land between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River, and they received Florida from Spain.

Proclamation of 1763 With new ownership of land for the British,

colonists began to move west. Natives weren’t too happy and Chief Pontiac

of the Ottawa tribe wanted to stop the loss of their lands.

Fighting began between the colonists and the Indians.

To stop this fighting, King George III issued a proclamation, an order from a country’s leader, to stop them from buying land from Indians west of the Appalachians.

Colonists are not happy Indians were pleased to see the King not wanting the

colonists on their land. Colonists felt this proclamation took away their rights

as citizens because they were still following the British Bill of Rights, a list of rights.

In the British Bill of Rights, it listed that certain rights could not be taken from the people, so colonists felt they should have more authority to govern themselves.

The Proclamation of 1763 didn’t stop the colonists from continuing to move west.

One pioneer, a person who first settles a new place, was Daniel Boone. He traveled west across the Appalachian Mountains.

Activity: Output page - Colonists Forbidden to

Move West Homework - Compare Historical Maps

Yankee Doodle Since the 1700s, a version of Yankee

Doodle has been sung. No one knows for certain who wrote the

original words. Some historians give Richard Shuckburgh

credit during the French and Indian War. In time “Yankee Doodle” became an

important symbol of the United States and what Americans believed.

Read (or sing ) a version on page 263.

COLONISTS SPEAK OUT

How do we fix our budget? After the French and Indian War,

British Parliament, lawmaking body, in London discussed its 1764 budget.

What is their plan for spending money? New laws requiring American colonists

to pay more taxes was the answer, at least that is what the British leader George Grenville suggested.

The Sugar Act

In 1764, a law to pay a tax on sugar and other goods coming into the colonies was passed. This was called the Sugar Act.

This angered the colonists, but what bothered them the most was that they didn’t have a say in the matter. No voice to speak their opinions or to give their consent.

The Stamp Act

In 1765, a second tax was passed less than a year after the Sugar Act.

This became known as the Stamp Act and it taxed newspapers, almanacs, pamphlets, legal documents, insurance policies, licenses, and playing cards.

The items would need a special stamp to show the tax had been paid.

Once again, the colonists had no say in the matter.

Speaking Out James Otis spoke out about the Sugar Act and

the Stamp Act. He stated “No taxation without representation.” He told a crowd in Boston that they should refuse

to pay the Stamp tax until they had representation in Parliament.

Members of the House of Burgesses who supported the British government shouted “Treason!” to a fellow member, Patrick Henry, as he was giving a speech. Henry had stated that the colonies had their own legislatures to represent them.

Stamp Act Congress By this time, in 1765, two colonial leaders, James Otis and

Benjamin Franklin, thought that the colonies should work together.

In 1765, leaders from nine colonies met in New York City to talk about the Stamp Act.

John Dickinson from Pennsylvania proposed that a declaration, or official statement, be sent to King George III.

Many items for trade began to lose their value. Merchants encouraged Parliament to cancel the Stamp Act.

By 1766, Parliament repealed, or canceled the Stamp Act. The next year, the Townshend Acts were passed and they

were other taxes.

Boston Massacre Parliament sent more soldiers to America to make a point of

their authority. Anger grew more and more between the British and the

colonists. Fights were growing stronger and happening more often. Colonists threw rocks and snowballs at the British, and the

British fought back by firing their guns killing a total of 5 people.

Some of the worst fighting took place in Boston on March 5, 1770.

The massacre means “the killing of a number of people who cannot defend themselves.”

To this day the event is called the Boston Massacre, even though the shooting was not actually a massacre.

Activity

Cause:

○ French and Indian War

○ Taxation without representation

○ Angry colonists

Effect

○ New tax laws

○ Angry colonists○ Petitions, boycotts,

violence, Stamp Act Congress

Activity

Cause Effect

THE ROAD TO WAR

“The calm before the storm”

The Road To War

This saying was brought on by historians because there wasn’t any fighting for three years after the Boston Massacre.

Before they knew it the Parliament was at it again.

The Boston Tea Party The Townshend Acts were repealed in 1770 except for the

tea tax. Parliament tried to give a monopoly, complete control of a

product or service by one person or group. This controlled over pricing.

The East India Company was able to sell tea for much cheaper.

Colonial merchants could no longer make money on the tea. Some colonies wouldn’t allow British ships to dock in their

ports. On December 16, 1773, colonists from a group called the

Sons of Liberty boarded ships during the night dressed as Mohawk Indians.

They opened 342 tea chests and dumped it into the harbor.

Intolerable Acts (unacceptable) The Sons of Liberty knew they would

anger Parliament. The British government passed laws

that ordered colonists:Not to have town meetingsLegislature could not make lawsPort was closed, couldn’t make moneyHouse British Soldiers

First Continental Congress

Colonists believed that the British government would do anything, even use their army, to make them obey the British laws.

Representatives of the colonies met for the first time in September 1774 to discuss ways to respond to the continuous British threat.

56 Delegates agreed to develop a list of rights that were listed in a petition, a signed request.

Listed was: The right to “life, liberty, and property” Only Colonial Legislatures had authority to make laws with taxation

and politics. Patrick Henry, a Virginia leader told the House of Burgesses

○ “I know not what course others may take: but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”

Lexington and Concord The Minutemen were special militia groups

because they could be ready in a minute to defend Massachusetts.

British attempt to capture Samuel Adams and weapons stockpile around Concord.

The colonists are warned by Paul Revere and 40 other riders that “British are coming.”

4,000 colonial “militia men” exchange fire with British troops along the main road.

This battle is considered the beginning of the American Revolution

Activity:

The Boston Tea Party The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere What Happened at Lexington and

Concord? School House Rocks: Boston Tea Party School House Rocks: Shot Heard Roun

d the World

THE SECOND CONTINENTAL

CONGRESS

A group of delegates acting as the government.

The Second Continental Congress: Why?

The Colonist had to do something to free themselves from British rule because they believed that Parliament was being unfair and they couldn’t live happy lives with all the laws and taxes.

They eventually decided that peace was no longer an option.

The Second Continental Congress: Where And When?

The first meeting took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s State House, now known as Independence Hall.

The first meeting took place on May 10, 1775. They had many meetings until March of 1781.

The Second Continental Congress: Who? Delegates from the 12 or the 13 Colonies were

sent to Philadelphia. Many delegates were the same, except for two Georgia was the only colony not to send

representatives. New members:

Benjamin Franklin Thomas Jefferson

The Second Continental Congress: What?

After the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the Second Continental Congress formed to decide the next steps in the Revolution.

They made important decisions: They established an army with George

Washington as the commander in chief (leader of the military)

Wrote important documents such as the Olive Branch Petition, a petition expressed by the colonists to the King for a peaceful end to the fighting.

“We must all hang together, or surely we will all hang separately.”

–Benjamin Franklin

The Battle of Bunker Hill June 16,1775 This was the first major battle of the

Revolutionary War, which occurred before George Washington left Philadelphia.

Fought outside Boston on Breed’s Hill. The battle at Breed’s Hill is named

Bunker Hill, because it was mistakenly named.

The fight was fierce and colonial commander Israel Putnam said,

“Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes.” Colonists had a great fight, but the British,

even with great losses, won the battle.

British are angered The Olive Branch Petition was written after the Battle of

Bunker Hill. The king denied it and called for his army to be enlarged

in the colonies. Mercenaries from Germany were hired. A mercenary is a soldier who serves for pay in the military of a foreign government.

Georgia finally agreed to join the Second. Continental Congress in September 1775.

Colonists now agree with what Patrick Henry once said during the First Continental Congress,

“The distinctions between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers are no more. I am not a Virginian, but an American.”

Activity:

Worksheet: The Second Continental Congress Meets

Discovery Streaming: Video Liberty Kids American Revolution Videos

are found on Youtube.