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Chapter 20 Section 5 The American Revolution Empire and Conflict The British colonies in North America were located along the east coast. French colonies were located to the north and west. When the colonists began to venture out toward the west, conflicts were inevitable In North America the result was the French and Indian war in 1754 Which sparked the 7 Years War in Europe from 1756 to 1763 The British won both of the wars and gained control of much of North America through the Treaty of Paris Increased Imperial Control In order to pay Britain back, America was made to pay more taxes and the Brits began to enforce the mercantilism laws In 1765, Parliament passed the Stamp Act, imposing a tax in the form of a special stamp on documents such as wills, contracts, mortgages and newspapers The colonists protested and eventually, Britain repealed the Act With each new tax law, the colonial resistance increased With no representatives in Parliament the colonists argued “no taxation without representation” and relations between Britain and the colonies grew worse “An Emblem of the Effects of the STAMP,” a warning against the Stamp Act published in the Pennsylvania Journal, October 1765; in the New York Public Library. England issued an embossed tax stamp in 1765 for use in the American colonies Intensified Conflict It was under the rule of King George III that the final break with the colonies occurred George III was determined to force the colonists obedience. In 1770 he found a new prime minister in Lord North At this time in the colonies about 1/3 of the citizens, called Patriots, wanted independence from Britain, about 1/3, called Loyalists, opposed independence and the other third did not take sides In 1773 Lord North gave the British East India Company a monopoly to ship tea to the colonies resulting in the Boston Tea Party In response, Parliament closed the Boston Harbor. {Colonists called this and several other British laws passed in 1774 the Intolerable Acts} Continued… {In the fall of 1774, delegates from 12 of the 13 colonies met in Philadelphia in the First Continental Congress to demand full rights of British citizens.} By April of 1775 British troops began to feel threatened In response the British troops began to seize colonial guns and gunpowder At the towns of Lexington and Concord the British fought with a group of armed colonists. It was here that the first shots in the American Revolution took place. A single and evoked shot rang out from behind a stone wall. "The shot that was heard ‘round the world", is still unknown from which musket, or which side the shot came from. The Declaration Independence Delegates met again and voted to declare their freedom from Great Britain On July 4, 1776 they adopted the Declaration of Independence, establishing the United States of America as an independent nation Thomas Jefferson was the principle author In his first draft of the declaration, Jefferson had denounced slavery, a majority objected. Stating it was an attack on their right to “own property”. Therefore delegates to the Congress omitted the passage By the way the declaration did not include women either {The Declaration of Independence gave rights of governance to the people} It stated the gov. is created to protect individual rights and if it fails to protect those rights, the people may abolish it and set up a new government. The War for Independence Britain had no allies to help in the war. So King George had to hire some soldiers Many of these mercenaries were Germans that came from the town of Hesse. The hiring of the Hessians was seen by colonists to be exceptionally brutal At first The Americans were poorly trained volunteers who did not do well in battle Fortunately they had many good leaders such as George Washington, commander of the American forces The militia also helped the Americans win the war. They did not follow the rules and standards of a “gentleman’s war” like the English. However late, the French also came to America’s aid to help them win War and Peace A major turning point in the war took place in October 1777, when the Americans defeated the British at Saratoga. This is when France jumped into the fray, joined with Spain and the Netherlands In 1781 American and French forces defeated the main British army at Yorktown, Virginia, winning the Revolutionary War The peace negotiations, led by Benjamin Franklin, lasted for two years. In 1783 the Americans and their allies signed the Treaty of Paris The Americans won their independence and extended their territory Governing a New Nation The Second Continental Congress adopted the {Articles of Confederation, a plan of government that gave power to the states,} in 1777 The articles set up a central government with a one house Congress in which each state had a single vote. However, {under the Articles of Confederation the central government was weak} This was deliberate because the colonists feared that a strong central government could become repressive so {The Articles of Confederation called for strong state governments} because they were closer to the people But it was almost immediately the people began to see that the Articles made it hard to build an effective and stable government The Constitution Delegates decided to meet again to revise the Articles, but realized it would not be enough and drafted a constitution which was signed in 1787 and went into force in 1789 In which a federal system of government was set up. Meaning that the central government was given many important powers like waging war, raising armies, and regulating trade. The states and the people retained all the other powers The government was split into 3 branches the executive branch, the legislative branch and the judicial branch. Each branch acted as a check on the powers of the other {Some believed the Constitution did not give individuals enough rights. As a result, ten amendments were added in 1791. They were called the Bill of Rights.} Review Questions What did Colonists call the Stamp act and several other British laws passed in 1774 Why did delegates from 12 of the 13 colonies met in Philadelphia in the First Continental Congress? The Declaration of Independence gave rights of governance to who? What was the plan of government that gave power to the states What did the Articles of Confederation do to the central government? What are the first ten amendments of the Constitution called? The earliest American folklore story was inspired by the American Revolution. The Hessians were exceptionally brutal mercenaries from Germany. They were thought to have fought in the war for only one reason… blood. They had no stakes in the war and would not profit regardless the result. The Headless Horseman was said to be a Hessian soldier that lost his head due to a cannonball. He was so evil that hell spat him out and he is doomed to forever wander the scene of the battle searching for his head and in the process taking out his wrath on anyone in his way