Download Chapter 4

What is the
difference between
a patriot and a
rebel? Write one
paragraph
explaining your
opinion.
1754 - 1783
Chapter 4
The
American
Revolution
Chapter 4 Section 1
The Colonies
Fight for
Their Rights
The French & Indian War
The French and English had been vying for
dominance in Europe since the late 1600s.
The two European powers had fought three
major wars between 1689 and 1748.
Most of the fighting took place in Europe, but
it was bound to eventually spill over into the
Americas and other colonies.
Two Causes of the French & Indian War
The French and English were in a
dispute over control of the Ohio
River Valley.
The French built forts from Lake
Ontario to the Ohio River in an
attempt to block British claims in the
region.
The Albany Conference
Seven colonies sent representatives
to meet with 150 Iroquois leaders in
Albany, New York.
The Iroquois would not join the
colonies and English against the
French, but they did agree to stay
neutral.
The Albany Conference
The colonies agreed that Britain
should appoint one supreme
commander of all the British troops
in the colonies.
Ben Franklin suggested the Albany
Plan of Union.
The Albany Plan of Union
Franklin proposed that the colonies
unite to form a federal government
for the purpose of common defense.
The colonies rejected the plan, but it
proved that some colonial leaders
were already looking at unification.
The French & Indian War
In 1756, the fighting spread to Europe, they called it the Seven Year’s
War.
Prime Minister William Pitt sent most
of Britain’s troops to North America
and India to attack the French and
seize their foreign empire.
Writing Assignment for Today
Write one paragraph on the following
question:
Is there anything in your life that is worth
fighting and dying for, why?
Give examples and details.
Be prepared to share your ideas and
keep in your notebook.
The Actual First World War
Britain had allies in Europe that
helped them fight the French in
Europe.
Spain entered the war in 1761 on the
side of France.
The Brits seized Spain’s colonies in
Cuba and the Philippines.
The Actual First World War
The war was fought on four continents, the Caribbean and the South
Pacific.
There were many countries that
fought in the war: GB, France, Spain,
Russia, Prussia, Austria, Sweden …
It was actually the first world war.
The Treaty of Paris
The war ended in 1763 with the
signing of the Treaty of Paris.
The treaty eliminated French power
in North America.
New France (Canada) became part of
the British Empire, as did all of Louisiana east of the Mississippi River.
The Proclamation Act of 1763
In 1763 several Native American
groups joined together to fight the
British and colonists.
They were led by Pontiac.
Pontiac led the Natives in several
attacks on several frontier forts and
colonial settlers before British
troops could stop them.
The Proclamation Act of 1763
The Natives attacked because
colonists were settling on their land.
King George issued the Royal Proclamation of 1763. It drew a northsouth line through the Appalachian
Mountains and declared that
colonists could NOT settle west of
that line.
Customs Reform
George Grenville became prime
minister and first lord of the treasury
in 1763 and he was determined to
find a way to reduce Britain’s debt
and pay for the 10,000 British troops
stationed in North America.
Grenville implemented new tax
policies in the colonies.
Customs Reform
Grenville convinced Parliament to
allow him to place violators of the
customs and navigation laws on trial
in navy courts in Nova Scotia.
It was mostly smugglers that were
NOT paying customs duties.
All of the above was a violation of
the colonists’ rights according to the
English Bill of Rights.
Customs Reform
John Hancock made a fortune on the
smuggling of sugar and molasses.
He was arrested and placed on trial
in Nova Scotia by the Royal Navy.
Hancock was defended by a young
colonial lawyer named John Adams.
Adams argued that the trial denied
Hancock his rights as a British
citizen.
The Sugar Act
Grenville also enacted the American
Revenue Act of 1764, better known
as the Sugar Act.
Besides sugar, the act also placed
new taxes on silk, wine, coffee,
pimento, and indigo.
James Otis
The colonists argued this was
taxation without representation.
The Currency Act of 1764
The new taxes caused inflation – a
rise in the prices of most goods and
services because money has lost its
value.
Parliament passed the Currency Act
of 1764 to slow inflation. It banned
the use of paper money in the
colonies, angering farmers &
artisans.
The Stamp Act Crisis
To raise money to pay for the war,
Parliament passed the Stamp Act in
1765. Most printed materials were
stamped.
This was the first direct tax placed
on the colonists by Britain.
The Quartering Act
Another way that Parliament forced
the colonists to pay for their own
defense was the Quartering Act of
1765.
The Quartering Act required that
colonists provide places to stay for
the British troops in the colonies.
Colonists Resist
In 1765, a Connecticut merchant,
named Isaac Sears, organized the
Sons of Liberty.
The
group grew quickly throughout the
colonies.
Organized demonstrations.
Intimidated stamp distributors, customs &
duty officers.
Tore down a Boston tax collector’s house
and used the wood for a huge bon fire.
Colonists Resist
Also in 1765, representatives from
nine colonies met in what came to
be called the Stamp Act Congress.
John
Dickinson wrote the Declaration of
Rights and Grievances.
It claimed that only colonial legislatures
elected by colonists could tax the colonies.
They sent a petition to King George asking
him to repeal the Stamp Act.
The Colonists Fight Back
The colonists started having mass
meetings in the summer of 1765.
They ignored the Stamp Act.
They decided to boycott British
goods by signing a non-importation
agreement.
They agreed NOT to buy any British
goods until the Stamp Act was
repealed. It was repealed in 1766.
Parliament was determined to show
the colonists that they were in
charge.
Parliament passed the Declaratory
Act, which gave them the power to
make laws for the colonies.
This was one of the first colonial
laws that had nothing to do with
trade or taxes.
The Townshend Acts
In 1767 GB finance minister Charles
Townshend introduced a new set of
regulations & taxes known as the
Townshend Acts.
Revenue
Act of 1767- placed new taxes on
glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea.
It legalized the use of general search
warrants called writs of assistance.
British officials now had the power to seize
property without following due process.
The Townshend Acts
John Dickinson published a series
of essays called Letters from a
Pennsylvania Farmer, he said:
Only assemblies elected by colonists had
the right to levy taxes on colonists.
 Colonists should resist the Townshend Acts.
Claimed that writs of assistance were
instruments of slavery.

Action & Reaction
Sam Adams and James Otis wrote a
circular letter that pointed out that
the taxes that were being collected
would be used to pay the government officials; a duty that had belonged to colonial assemblies.
A circular letter is like an e-mail that keeps
getting forwarded all over the place. They
were very common during this time, they were
slow but effective.
Action & Reaction
The Virginia House of Burgesses passed a
resolution in 1769 that stated they were the
only body that could tax Virginians. The
resolution was called the Virginia Resolves.
Great Britain order the governor of Virginia to
dissolve the H. of B. in response.
George Washington, Patrick Henry & Thomas
Jefferson immediately called for a convention
that called for the non-importation of British
goods into Virginia.
Action & Reaction
Women got involved, calling themselves the
Daughters of Liberty.
They quit drinking British tea.
Stopped buying British cloth & thread.
Started spinning their own rough cloth,
called “homespun.”
Wearing “homespun” became a sign of
patriotism
The colonial boycotts caused a drastic drop in
the amount of British imports to the colonies.
The Boston Massacre
In late 1768, GB sent 1,000 troops to Boston
to maintain order & protect tax collectors.
The
colonists called the red-clad soldiers
“lobster backs.”
In March of 1770, a crowd of colonists started
taunting & throwing snowballs at a young GB
soldier.
More GB soldiers came and opened fire on what
had now become a mob.
The first colonists to die was Crispus Attucks, a
man of African & Native American descent.
In total five colonists were killed that day.
The Causes of the Tensions
1764
Sugar Act
1765
 Stamp Act
1767
 Townshend Acts
1773
 Tea Act (next section)
1774
 Coercive Acts (next section)

The Effects of the Tensions
Colonists protested that their rights were
being violated.

Nine colonies held Stamp Act Congress.
 Colonists boycotted British goods.
 The Sons and Daughters of Liberty were
formed to organize colonial protests.
 Tea was dumped in Boston Harbor to
protest a British tax on tea. (next section)
 Twelve colonies attended the First
Continental Congress in 1774. (next section)
