Download The American Revolution

The Political Spectrum in Review
American Revolutionary Ideas:
The more the British moved to the right,
the more the Americans moved to the left.
Radical
• Far left
• Violent
• Immediate and drastic change
• Looks forward
Reactionary
• Far right
• Violent
• Immediate and drastic
• Looks backward
• The American Revolution is the only radical
act in American history that meets with the
approval of the public today.
• When the press refers to a “radical” idea or
program, they really mean that it is new,
innovative, drastic, or unpopular.
American Freedom and Issues of the
Revolution
List
Cause of Revolution
1.
Writs of Assistance
2.
3.
4.
5.
Addressed by
Declaration of
Independence
(p. A31)
Resolved by The Bill of
Rights in The Constitution
(p. A34)
The American Revolution
The War for Independence
“No Taxation Without
Representation!”
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1. What does this mean?
2. What country controls the English colonies?
3. Where do the colonists want representation?
4. How many colonies are there? Do they make
laws for themselves? Why or why not?
• 5. What should England do for the colonists?
• 6. Why did this quote become a battle cry?
• 7. How does this relate to the Tea Party
Movement today?
I. Background
A. French and Indian War ended in 1763
B. England (Great Britain) defeated France and
controlled North America
“Join or Die” by Ben Franklin
Proclamation Line of 1763
• Pontiac’s Rebellion led to
British policy to set aside
western lands
• The Paxton Boys had
attacked Conestoga
Indians as retaliation
• Paxton Boys (approx. 250)
marched on Philadelphia
and were subdued by
promises made by Ben
Franklin to bring their
issue to the legislature
C. Salutary Neglect—England did not enforce all
laws of mercantilism during the war against
France (“spirit of the law”)
D. England needed money to pay for the war
(“letter of the law”)
E. Taxes raised on colonies:
*Navigation Act
*Stamp Act
*Townsend Acts
*Tea Tax
*Coercive Acts
(“Intolerable Acts”-punishment for the
Boston Tea Party)
Terms
• Duty
• Tariff
• Internal tax
• External tax
Stamp Act of 1765
• The purpose of the Stamp Tax was to raise revenue to
support the British troops stationed in America and pay
off debts incurred during French and Indian War
• Issues: does Parliament have the right to tax the
colonies and can Parliament truly reflect colonial
interests?
• Colonists demonstrated their willingness to use
violence rather than legal means to frustrate British
policy
• British claimed that the colonists were obligated to
Parliamentary authority
• The colonists claimed that the act denied them their
British birthrights—the rights and privileges of all
British subjects to representation in Parliament
• The Stamp Act led to The Stamp Act Congress which
was the first successful gathering of delegates from the
13 colonies
• Colonial boycott of British exports led to the repeal of
the Stamp Act
II. Colonial Rebellion
A. Boycotts
B. Sons of Liberty
C. Committees of
Correspondence
D. Aggression toward
Loyalists (Tories) and
Redcoats
E. Gaspee Affair
What is a boycott?
D. Militias formed (“minute men”)
• E. Boston Massacre
F. Boston Tea Party
The Adams Family
John Adams
• Lawyer who defended the
Redcoats in the Boston
Massacre
Sam Adams
• Moderate
• Radical
• Cousin to Sam
• Cousin to John
• Tavern owner who
organized the Sons of
Liberty and led the Boston
Tea Party
Coercive Acts--1774
• Called Intolerable Acts by Americans
• Parliament’s response to the Boston Tea Party
• Massachusetts lost power of the legislature, Port
of Boston was closed until Tea Party damages
were repaid
• Included Quebec Act which denied access to
lands except for French Catholics
• Writs of Assistance—
• Quartering Act--
G. First Continental Congress created a
colonial army led by George
Washington
III. Revolution
A. Lexington and Concord—first battle
From “The Concord Hymn”
“By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled.
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard ‘round the world.”
B. Thomas Paine
published
Common Sense
encouraging
the colonies to
declare
independence
Common Sense, 1776
• Thomas Paine’s pamphlet
• Call for independence
• Called for Republic over Monarchy
• Addressed loyalty issues to Britain
• Used Biblical imagery to persuade colonists—
George III was called the Pharaoh!
“These are the times to try men’s souls.”
Thomas Paine
“Disperse ye rebels, lay down your arms!”
British officer at Lexington
“Stand your ground. Don’t fire unless fired upon, but if
they mean to have a war, let it begin here.”
American minuteman at Lexington
Olive Branch Petition
• Second Continental
Congress
• Affirmed our loyalty
to Britain and Crown
• Issued after “A
Declaration of Arms”
• Received in England
after Parliament had
labelled the colonies
as rebellious traitors
C. Second Continental Congress declared
independence on July 4, 1776 in
Philadelphia—author was Thomas
Jefferson of Virginia—1st signer was
John Hancock
See Google Bookmarks— “It’s Too Late to
Apologize”
Declaration of Independence
• Second Continental Congress—independence proposed by Richard
Henry Lee and voted upon on July 2
• Presider was John Hancock
• Committee for document was Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Roger
Sherman and Robert Livingston
• Emphasized natural rights of man (see Jefferson’s list of unalienable
rights)
• Abigail Adams wrote her husband, John Adams to remember to
include women among those who benefit from republican ideals of
equality and individual rights
Meetings
• Albany Plan of Union—failure
• Stamp Act Congress
• First Continental Congress
• Second Continental Congress—The Olive Branch
Petition of 1775 preceded the Declaration of
Independence in 1776
Excerpt of letter from
Abigail to John Adams
“…and by the way in the new code of laws which
I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I
desire you would remember the ladies, and be
more generous and favorable to them than you
ancestors…Remember, men would be tyrants if
they could.”
Reasons colonists
supported the war
• George III as tyrant
• Parliamentary control of internal affairs of colonies
• Corruption of British ministers
• Wanted greater political participation in colonial policies (ideas of
republicanism and civic virtue exercised for the common good, not
personal interest)
• Resented quartering of British troops
• Wanted to preserve local autonomy and way of life
• 3100 miles distance between Boston and London
D. Battles included:
*Bunker Hill (Boston, Mass.)
*Trenton (NJ) (Hessians on Xmas)
*Saratoga (NY—turning point— France
decided to help us)
*Yorktown (surrender of England!)
Winter at Valley Forge
E. French helped
with Lafayette
F. Treaty of Paris
(1783)
Patriots (VIPs)
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George Washington
Benjamin Franklin
Thomas Jefferson
John Adams
Sam Adams
Paul Revere
More Patriots…
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Alexander Hamilton
Ethan Allen
Henry Knox
Benedict Arnold—later traitor!
Nathan Hale—spy
Patrick Henry
John Hancock
And more patriots…
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Charles Carroll
Benjamin Rush
John Jay
John Witherspoon
John Peter Muhlenberg
Jonathon Trumbull (only colonial governor to
support the Revolution)
Slaves
• British enticed slaves to fight on the side of
England in return for freedom
• Some slaves fought with Americans in the
hopes of living in a future free nation
• Crispus Attucks was a former slave and first to
die in the revolution at the Boston Massacre
European Allies
• Lafayette (France)
• Von Steuben (Prussia)
• Pulaski (Poland)
French help
• After victory at Saratoga
• Financial assistance
• French wanted to weaken British empire (not
promote republicanism)
• Influenced British to sign treaty ending conflict
British Opponents
• King George III
• General Cornwallis
• Loyalists
• Redcoats
• Hessians
(German mercenaries)
Patrick Henry
“Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be
purchased at the price of chains and slavery?
Forbid it Almighty God! I know not what course
others may take, but as for me, give me liberty
or give me death!”
Mercy Otis Warren
• Satirical poet &
playwright
• Referred to Redcoats as
“Blockheads” in
anonymously published
works
• Corresponded with
Adams and Jefferson
Ben
“We must all hang together boys, or most
assuredly, we will all hang separately.”
Nathan Hale
“I only regret that I have but one life to lose for
my country.”
Ethan Allen
“Surrender in the name of the Great Jehovah
and the Continental Congress!”
John Paul Jones
“I have not yet begun to fight!”
Molly Pitcher
• Fought at the Battle of
Monmouth in New
Jersey
• Mary Ludwig Hays or
composite of women
who fought in the war
Treaty of Paris, 1783
• (not to be confused with Treaty of Paris, 1763
ending the French and Indian War)
• New boundaries of U.S. included Mississippi
River on the West, Great Lakes in the North,
and south to Spanish Florida
• America agreed that Loyalists would not be
further persecuted
New Government
• Articles of Confederation, emphasized state
authority with little power to the federal
government
Then what happened?
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Constitution
Federalist Era
War of 1812
Rise of Nationalism
Jacksonian Democracy
First Industrial Revolution
Mexican War
California Gold Rush
Civil War
Reconstruction
U.S. Classes
• See class set and answer 1-16 on separate
paper.
Answers to Class Set 1-16
1.
England defeated France in the French and Indian War.
2.
England raised taxes to pay for the war against France.
3.
A boycott is when people stop buying things as a sign of protest
4.
The Boston Massacre is when the British fired into a crowd
5.
The Boston Tea Party is when Americans dumped tea into the harbor
6.
They dumped the tea so Americans would not buy it or pay taxes on it
7.
Intolerable Acts were the punishments for the “Tea Party”
8.
Minute men are men of the militia or volunteer army
9.
Paine suggested that Americans declare independence from
England.
10. John Hancock was the first signer
11. July 4 is Independence Day or our Declaration of Independence
from England
12. Battle of Saratoga was the turning point (we started to win!)
13. Americans started winning the war and France decided to help us
in the war
14. France helped us!
15. United States of America was recognized as a free country.
16. United States of America won the American Revolutionary War
U.S.--Find the similarities (compare)
Declaration of Independence
see p. 50
Constitution see p. 81
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