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American Independence Study Guide
Vocabulary
boycott militia smuggling mercantilism guerilla petition repeal patriot
loyalist blockade mercenary traitor preamble
siege ratify
Things to Know
Zenger Trial
French and Indian War
Albany Plan of Union
Proclamation of 1763
Salutary Neglect Writs of Assistance
Boston Tea Party Intolerable Acts
The Sugar Act
The Quartering Act
Stamp Act
Townshend Acts
Common Sense Boston Massacre Treaty of Paris Enlightenment Popular Sovereignty
Second Continental Congress Great Awakening
natural rights Valley Forge
People to Know
Minutemen Sons of Liberty Daughters of Liberty Hessians
Benjamin Franklin
John Locke
Montesquieu
Thomas Paine John Hancock
George Washington
Benedict Arnold
Ethan Allen John Adams Thomas Jefferson
Francis Marion Pontiac Friedrich von Steuben
Marquis de Lafayette
Thaddeus Kościuszko
Casimir Pulaski
Military
Gen. Horatio Gates Gen. Greene General Morgan John Paul Jones
Gen. William Howe Gen. Cornwallis Gen. Burgoyne
Lexington and Concord
Bunker Hill
Saratoga
Valley Forge
Yorktown
The case of John Peter Zenger
In, November 17, 1734 John Peter Zenger was a printer and the publisher of the New York
Weekly Journal. He stood accused of printing comments that were critical of the British
governor of New York, William Cosby; he was arrested and thrown in jail. The charge was libel.
Zenger’s attorney wanted the jury to make up their own minds on what was libel and what was
truth. And make up their own minds they did, returning a verdict of not guilty.
When the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution almost 50 years later, one of the main
parts of the First Amendment was government protection of freedom of the press. This action
had its beginnings in the case of John Peter Zenger.
French and Indian War
The war was the product of an imperial struggle between the French and English over colonial
territory and wealth. The French and Indian War was a colonial extension of the Seven Years
War that ravaged Europe from 1756 to 1763, was the bloodiest American war in the 18th
century.
The Proclamation of 1763
After the French and Indian War the British Empire began to tighten control over its colonies.
The Proclamation of 1763 closed down colonial expansion westward. This action was in
response to a revolt of Native Americans led by Pontiac, an Ottawa chief, it was the first measure
to affect all thirteen colonies. King George III declared all lands west of the Appalachian Divide
off-limits to colonial settlers. The edict forbade private citizens and colonial governments alike
to buy land from or make any agreements with natives; the empire would conduct all official
relations. Furthermore, only licensed traders would be allowed to travel west or deal with
Indians. Theoretically protecting colonists from Indian rampages, the measure was also intended
to shield Native Americans from increasingly frequent attacks by white settlers.
“No taxation without representation.”
The Seven Years' War nearly doubled Britain's national debt. The Crown, seeking sources of
revenue to pay off the debt, attempted to impose new taxes and restrictions on its colonies (Writs
of Assistance Intolerable Acts Sugar Act The Quartering Act Stamp Act Townshend Acts )
These attempts were met with increasingly stiff resistance. ( Boston Tea Party boycott
militia smuggling guerilla tactics petition) These acts ultimately led to The Declaration of
and the start of the American Revolutionary War ( Lexington and Concord
Bunker Hill
Saratoga
Valley Forge Yorktown)
Second Continental Congress
The Battles of Lexington and Concord and Bunker Hill were just the beginning. British and
American troops fought all over the 13 colonies and even in Canada
Early in 1776, while the troops were fighting in the field, more delegates were meeting in
Philadelphia, at the Second Continental Congress. This Congress went on for months, and out of
it came the Declaration of Independence. The American people had had enough. The delegates
decided that they wanted to declare themselves independent from Great Britain. They appointed
a committee of five people to write a document to that effect. Those five people were John
Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, R.R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman. The main
author was Thomas Jefferson.
On June 28, the committee presented the Declaration to the Continental Congress. After a series
of debates, the Congress approved it. On July 4, John Hancock, president of the Congress, signed
it. The document itself was not signed by all 56 signers until much later. But Congress declared
it in effect on July 4.
American Revolution
Many Americans wanted war. They urged people to get their guns and fight the British. But the
British army was large and well-trained. The first shots were fired on Lexington Green on April
19, 1775. Neither side claimed victory, but several soldiers on both sides were hurt. In the
famous Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775, the British advanced up a steep hill for two straight
days before finally capturing it. The American forces had lost the hill, but had proved to
themselves that they could fight against the British. American Commander George Washington
led his men across the ice-packed Delaware River on Christmas night, 1776, and won a stunning
victory against Hessian forces at Trenton, New Jersey. But again, the British proved too strong.
In a series of battles in Pennsylvania the British drove the Americans steadily back from their
homes and their families. The British under General James Howe occupied Philadelphia in the
fall of 1777. Things looked very bad for America. British troops were seemingly everywhere.
They were winning every battle in sight. Then came Saratoga.
At Saratoga, General John Burgoyne. had to surrender almost his entire army to American
General Horatio Gates in October 1777. This was a stunning development, and the world took
notice. In particular, France, always willing to fight against Great Britain, agreed to send money
and troops to the Americans.
After a number of defeats in the southern states Lord Charles Cornwallis, the British commander
in the south, thought that Yorktown, in Virginia, was a good place to hole up and wait for more
British troops to arrive.
They never did. French ships sailed into Yorktown harbor instead, while the American army
advanced. Forced into a battle he didn't want, Cornwallis fought anyway. But the combined
might of America and France was too much. On October 19, 1781, Cornwallis surrendered his
army to American General George Washington.