The American Revolution: A Thematic Unit for Adult ESL learners

Joel D. WilsonAmerican Military University

EDUC601 B001 Spr 15

LESSON ONE:THE 13 AMERICAN

COLONIES1603 - 1763

• The original 13 American Colonies were located in North America on the East Coast of what is now the United States.

THE 13 AMERICAN COLONIES

THIS LAND WAS ALREADY INHABITED BY NATIVE AMERICANS

• English, Dutch, and Swedish people arrived in North America in the 1600s.

MORE COLONISTS ARRIVE

• Some Europeans come for religious freedom.

• Other Europeans come for a chance to own land or better economic opportunities.

• Polish, Germans and other Europeans arrived.

• African slaves were forced to come the American Colonies to work for no pay under harsh conditions.

• By the 1763, the British Empire gained control over much of North America including the 13 colonies, most of what is now Canada, and much of the Caribbean.

GREAT BRITAIN CONTROLS THE 13 COLONIES

• During much of the 1700s, most American Colonists viewed themselves as English and were loyal to Great Britain.

• As a young officer, George Washington’s military experience began in the French and Indian War with a commission as a major in the militia of the British Province of Virginia.

13 BRITISH COLONIES

(Wikimedia Foundation, 2015)

Jamestown Pilgrims New YorkThe Great Migration

French Indian War

1607 1620 1623 1630-1640 1754–1763

Virginia Colony is the first successful British Colony.

The Mayflower arrives in Plymouth bringing Pilgrims seeking religious freedom.

Massachusetts Bay Colony is founded.

The Dutch surrender New Netherlands to the British without a fight and it is renamed New York. 

Mass migration of English people to the Americas.

Britain and its colonies defeat France and its Native American allies.

The British gain control over most of North America.

HISTORY OF THE 13 ORIGINAL COLONIES

(Adapted from Siteseen Ltd, 2015)

• The first successful British Colony in North America was Virginia.

• Virginia’s first viable town was an outpost known as Jamestown.

• Life there was difficult.

JAMESTOWN COLONY

• George washington in the french and indian war. In (2015). Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_in_the_French_and_Indian_War

• Siteseen Ltd. (2015, April). 13 colonies timeline. Retrieved from http://www.landofthebrave.info/13-colonies-timeline.htm

• USHistorySchool. (Performer). (2012, April 02). Jamestown Colony [Web Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKV-WM8TYg8

REFERENCES