Download Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)

Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)
Section 1: Tradition of Liberty
California Content Standards:
8.1.1 Describe the relationship between the moral and
political ideas of the Great Awakening and the
development of revolutionary fervor.
8.1.4 Describe the nation’s blend of civil
republicanism, classical liberal principles, and English
parliamentary traditions
8.3.7 Understand the functions and responsibilities of
a free press.
Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)
Self-Government in the Colonies
Although they recognized the
authority of the British monarch,
the American colonists
developed a tradition of selfgovernment.
Town meeting
•England’s first American colony,
Jamestown, was allowed to set up
a form of representative
government called the House of
Burgesses.
•The Pilgrims signed the
Mayflower Compact, an
agreement to make laws for the
good of Plymouth Colony.
A gathering in which residents
meet to make decisions for the
community. It was developed by
New England colonists.
Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)
Self-Government in the Colonies
Governing a Colony
Proprietor
• As colonies grew in size, a need for a
more complex structure developed.
• Each colony had a governor appointed by
the king or by the proprietor of the colony.
• Each colony had a legislature similar to
the English Parliament, made up of two
houses.
• The upper house was appointed by the
governor.
• The lower house was an assembly
elected by the colonists.
An owner of a business or colony
Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)
The Great Awakening
The Great Awakening was
a period of religious revival
that swept through the
colonies in the 1730s and
1740s.
•Religion played an important role in the
development of the 13 colonies.
•By the 1700s, religious restrictions had
eased in many of the colonies.
•Churches still remained centers of faith
and community life.
•Some Christians believed there had
been a decline of religious zeal in the
colonies
•Leaders such as Massachusetts
preacher Jonathan Edwards and English
minister George Whitefield called on
sinners to reform.
Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)
The Great Awakening
The Great Awakening was
a period of religious revival
that swept through the
colonies in the 1730s and
1740s.
•The Great Awakening led to the rise of
many new organized churches, which
increased tolerance of religious
differences.
•It affected the way people viewed their
political rights and their governments.
•People realized they could decide how
to govern themselves.
Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)
Freedom of the Press
John Peter Zenger’s
acquittal established
freedom of the press in
the colonies.
•Zenger was publisher of the Weekly
Journal, a newspaper in New York City.
•He was arrested for printing a series of
negative articles about the governor in
1734.
•Zenger’s lawyer, Andrew Hamilton,
argued that since Zenger had made true
statements, he could not be convicted for
libel.
•Zenger was found not guilty.
•This established the important principle
that a democracy depends on wellinformed citizens.
Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)
Section 2: Impact of the Enlightenment
California Content Standards:
7.10.2 Understand the significance of the new scientific
theories (e.g., those of Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler,
Newton) and the significance of new inventions (e.g., the
telescope, microscope, thermometer, barometer).
7.11.4 Explain how the main ideas of the Enlightenment
can be traced back to such movements as the
Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Scientific
Revolution and to the Greeks, Romans, and Christianity.
7.11.5 Describe how democratic thought and institutions
were influenced by Enlightenment thinkers (e.g., John
Locke, Charles-Louis Montesquieu, American founders).
Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)
Roots of the Enlightenment
•During the Renaissance, Europeans gained a
new interest in the ideas of Greece and
Enlightenment thinkers Rome.
believed that scientists
•The ideal “Renaissance person” was
should use reason,
someone with a broad knowledge of many
observation, and
subjects.
experiments in their
•New emphasis was placed on the individual.
studies.
•During the 1500s, European scientists used
reason, observation, and experiments to find
out about the natural world.
The Scientific
•Astronomers challenged the teachings of the
Revolution
Church that the Earth was the center of the
universe.
Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)
Roots of the Enlightenment
The Scientific
Revolution
• Scientists backed up their ideas by
mathematical calculations and
observations.
• By the 1600s, scientists were making
discoveries in many areas, from chemistry
to medicine.
• The English scientist Isaac Newton
discovered the laws of gravity, explaining
why objects fell to Earth when dropped.
• Newton also developed the theory that
gravity held the universe together.
Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)
Applying Reason to Politics
John Locke concluded
that people have
natural rights to life,
liberty, and property.
•At the time of the Enlightenment, most
European countries were ruled by absolute
monarchs.
•The rights of the people came to them
from the monarch.
•In 1690, the English philosopher John
Locke proposed that people have certain
natural rights.
•Locke argued that people formed
governments in order to protect their
rights.
•If government is to protect the rights of
the people, a monarch who violates these
rights can be overthrown.
Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)
Applying Reason to Politics
Baron de Montesquieu
suggested that
government should be
divided into three
branches: legislative,
executive, and judicial.
•In 1748, he argued that the powers of
government should be clearly defined and
limited.
•Montesquieu favored the separation of
powers to prevent any individual or group
from becoming too powerful.
•His division of power became the basis of
the government of the United States.
 A legislative branch to make laws
 An executive branch to enforce laws
 A judicial branch to make judgments
based on the laws
Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)
Enlightenment Ideas Spread
By the 1770s, most
educated colonists
believed that they were
born with natural
rights.
• Educated people gathered to discuss
the latest developments in science,
politics, and the arts.
• Printing presses churned out books and
pamphlets that were read by many
levels of society.
• Government and church officials tried to
restrict the spread of ideas that
threatened their power.
• Colonists like Benjamin Franklin
supported Enlightenment ideas on
human liberty.
Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)
Section 3: Declaring Independence
California Content Standards:
7.11.6 Discuss how the principles in the Magna Carta
were embodied in such documents as the English Bill of
Rights and the American Declaration of Independence.
8.1.2 Analyze the philosophy of government expressed
in the Declaration of Independence, with an emphasis on
government as a means of securing individual rights
(e.g., key phrases as “all men are created equal, that they
are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
Rights”).
Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)
Taxation Leads to Protests
Taxes imposed by Britain
sparked angry protests in the
American colonies.
“No taxation without
representation”
• Tensions between the colonists
and Britain began to grow after
Britain passed the Stamp Act of
1765
• Taxes were placed on
newspapers, legal documents,
and other items.
• Colonists argued that because
they had no elected
representatives in the British
Parliament, they could not have
new taxes imposed on them.
Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)
Taxation Leads to Protests
Taxes imposed by Britain
sparked angry protests in
the American colonies.
•In Boston, and elsewhere, some
colonists refused to buy British
goods.
•Britain eventually cancelled the
Stamp Act due to the boycott.
•Protests against the taxation issue
were held by Patriots.
•In March 1770, 5 colonists were
shot and killed during a scuffle with
British soldiers. This event called
“the Boston Massacre further
angered the colonists.
Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)
From Protest to Revolution
The first battles of the
American Revolution
broke out in the
Massachusetts towns of
Lexington and Concord.
• In December 1773, a group of Patriots
raided British merchant ships
anchored in Boston harbor and
dumped 342 chests of tea overboard.
They were angry about a new law that
gave a British company control of all
tea sold in the colonies.
• Parliament passed several laws to
punish Massachusetts
• The Boston Port Bill
• The Quartering Act
• The Massachusetts Government
Act
Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)
From Protest to Revolution
The first battles of the
American Revolution
broke out in the
Massachusetts towns of
Lexington and Concord.
•People in the colonies were angry at
these “Intolerable Acts.”
•In response, colonists organized the
First Continental Congress in
Philadelphia in 1774.
•The delegates agreed not to buy
British goods.
•On April 18, 1775, some 700 British
soldiers marched to Lexington to seize
hidden weapons. A skirmish broke out
and 8 minutemen were killed.
Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)
Debate Over Independence
While few colonists at
first called for
independence, public
opinion shifted, helped in
part by the writings of
Thomas Paine.
•In January 1776, Thomas Paine
published a 50 page pamphlet called
Common Sense.
•According to Paine, King George III
was “an enemy to liberty.”
•Common sense led to only one
conclusion, “Every thing that is right or
reasonable pleads for separation.”
•Paine’s pamphlet became a
bestseller throughout the colonies, and
more colonists began to support
independence.
Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)
Debate Over Independence
Declaring Independence
• Delegates at the Continental
Congress came around to the side
of independence.
• In June 1776, a committee was
formed to write a document
outlining the reasons for separating
from Britain.
• Thomas Jefferson was assigned
the task of writing most of the
declaration.
• The Continental Congress adopted
the Declaration on July 4, 1776.
Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)
The Declaration of Independence
In bold, clear words, the
Declaration of
Independence states
that the colonists have a
right to throw off British
rule.
Preamble
Natural Rights
•Building on Enlightenment ideas, it
uses step-by-step logic to why the
colonists wanted to cast off British
rule.
•The first section, the Preamble, or
introduction, explains its goals.
•The Preamble refers to “the laws of
nature and of nature’s God.”
•In the next section, Jefferson states
the principle that governments are
created in order to protect people’s
rights.
Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)
The Declaration of Independence
In bold, clear words, the
Declaration of
Independence states
that the colonists have a
right to throw off British
rule.
Grievances
• The third section details a long list
of specific grievances, or formal
complaints, against King George.
• Jefferson accuses the king of
ignoring rights that English citizens
had enjoyed since the time of the
Magna Carta.
• In the conclusion, the Declaration
restates the ideas of John Locke
that the people have a right to
change an unjust government.
• He proclaims that King George has
violated the rights of the colonists.
Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)
Section 4: A New Nation
California Content Standards:
8.1.3 Analyze how the American Revolution affected
other nations, especially France.
H-SS Framework: Students should become familiar
with the debates between Whigs and Tories, the major
turning points in the War for Independence, and the
contributions of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson,
Benjamin Franklin, and other leaders of the new nation.
Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)
Fighting in the Middle Colonies
After some initial defeats,
the Continental army won
important victories at
Trenton and Princeton.
Loyalists
• Not all colonists welcomed
independence.
• By one estimate, one third of the
colonists supported the Patriot cause.
Another third strongly opposed it. The
rest fell somewhere in the middle.
• Loyalists, or people who remained
loyal to Britain, were most numerous
in the Middle and Southern colonies.
• Loyalists were also known as Tories,
after one of the two main political
parties in Britain.
Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)
Fighting in the Middle Colonies
Early Setbacks
Mercenary
• In March 1776, the British abandoned
Boston and fighting shifted to the
Middle Colonies.
• The Continental soldiers were poorly
trained and often disorganized.
• Since they were volunteers, many
soldiers felt free to return home at will.
• The British had a regular army and a
powerful navy.
• They had support from Native
American allies and hired German
mercenaries, people who are paid to
fight but may not believe in the cause.
Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)
Fighting in the Middle Colonies
Early Setbacks
Mercenary
• In August 1776, the Continental army
suffered a major defeat in New York.
• Over a period of weeks, the British drove
the Continentals into New Jersey.
• Washington retreated into Pennsylvania,
and Congress abandoned Philadelphia for
Baltimore.
• On December 25, 1776, Washington led
troops across the icy Delaware River to
New Jersey, where they surprised a group
of German mercenaries at Trenton.
• A few weeks later, the Continental army
won another victory at Princeton.
Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)
Saratoga: A Turning Point
The victory at
Saratoga boosted
Patriot confidence and
convinced France that
the colonists had a
chance to win
independence.
• In the summer of 1877, the British
planned to move armies from the south,
west, and north toward Albany, New
York in order to gain control of the
Hudson River.
• Control of the Hudson could have
cut off the flow of soldiers and
supplies from New England.
• Patriot forces blocked the army from the
west.
• The southern army never reached the
North.
Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)
Saratoga: A Turning Point
Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)
Saratoga: A Turning Point
The victory at
Saratoga boosted
Patriot confidence and
convinced France that
the colonists had a
chance to win
independence.
Alliance
• The northern army, under General John
Burgoyne was forced to fight the
Continental soldiers and hundreds of
local militia.
• The two forces collided in the Battle of
Saratoga.
• Outnumbered and cut off from retreat,
Burgoyne surrendered on October 17,
1777.
• In February 1778, France entered into
an alliance, an agreement between
countries to aid and support one
another, with the United States.
Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)
Long Road to Victory
The American victory
at Yorktown marked
the major battle of the
war.
•The winter of 1777-78 was brutal for the
Continental army.
•Washington’s forces were camped in
bitter cold at Valley Forge.
•The Americans lacked food and
equipment.
•As news of the suffering spread, Patriots
from around the nation sent help.
•By the fall of 1781, the Americans had
recaptured much of South Carolina.
Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)
Long Road to Victory
The American victory
at Yorktown marked
the major battle of the
war.
Mr. Shipes in the trenches
• The British, led by General Charles
Cornwallis, moved north into Virginia.
• Cornwallis made the mistake of setting
up a base at Yorktown, on a strip of
land that juts into Chesapeake Bay.
• Realizing that Cornwallis had placed
himself into a trap, Washington rushed
his forces south to Virginia, cutting off
all escape routes for the British by land.
• The French fleet sailed to the coast and
cut off British naval assistance.
• Cornwallis was forced to surrender at
Yorktown.
Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)
Long Road to Victory
Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)
Aftermath of the Revolution
The American victory
proved an inspiration
to people in other
nations, especially
France.
•The loss of Cornwallis’s army convinced
Parliament that the Americans could be
defeated only at great cost.
•In 1782, the British met with three
representatives from the U.S. to negotiate
the Treaty of Paris, which ended the war
and recognized American independence.
•The treaty set the new nation’s
boundaries as Canada on the north, the
Mississippi River on the west, and Florida
on the south.
Chapter 2 From Colonies to Nation (1680 – 1783)
Aftermath of the Revolution
The American victory
proved an inspiration
to people in other
nations, especially
France.
• The French citizens were outraged by
the injustices of the French social
system.
• Aristocrats lived lavishly, while poor
people starved.
• In 1789, the French Revolution began.
• The success of the Americans inspired
revolutionary leaders in Latin America
to fight for independence from Spain.