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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.