Download 1 Civics and Economics Stacks Goal 1.03 Topic: Causes of

Civics and Economics
Stacks
Goal 1.03
Topic: Causes of American Revolution
Essential Questions: What were the causes of the American Revolution?
Who were the key people involved in the American Revolution?
How did the American Revolution end?
Chapter 2 section 3 and 4
Section 3: Colonial Society
New England
 Lived in towns; farms were small and located on the towns’ outskirts
 Most worked in small businesses, milling grain, sewing clothes, or making
furniture
 Shipbuilding was an important industry because of the region’s forests provided
wood for boats
The Middle Colonies
 Soil and climate in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware were
better for agriculture
 Farmers grew wheat and other cash crops which they sold in markets and
overseas
- this trade led to growth of busy ports, such as New York and Philadelphia
Southern Colonies
 warm climate, long growing season, and rich soil led to growth of large-scale
agriculture in the southern colonies
 in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina, tobacco was the leading crop
 Rice was in South Carolina and Georgia
An American Identity
 Desire for religious freedom was main reason many settlers 1st came to America
 In Massachusetts, religious leaders were leaders of the government
 In other colonies, religion was separate from government and toleration became
official policy
 Religious tolerance spread to other colonies during the 1700s
 Religious feeling also led to the founding of America’s 1st colleges and
schools with the intent of educating ministers
 Religious groups set up schools for children to make sure people could read the
Bible for themselves
 In some colonies, taxes were created to pay for public education
 Slave codes – strict laws governing the treatment of enslaved people – made it
illegal to teach enslaved workers to read or write
Ideas about Government
 Since every colony had a different type of government, the colonists were
used to self-government and did not want the British to take that away from
them
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 By mid-1700s, many Americans felt they did not possess the rights of English
citizens
 Americans decided to fight for independence from Britain altogether since the
British government was not doing anything for the American citizens
Section 4 Birth of a Democratic Nation
Colonial Resistance
 Around 1760, when George III took throne in Great Britain, Britain’s policy
toward the American colonies changed and developed a program called
mercantilism
 Mercantilism: theory that a country’s power depends on its wealth
- for mercantilism to work, Great Britain needed the colonies to be a source of
cheap, raw materials.
- The Navigation Acts were a series of laws, passed in the early 1660s that put
the theory of mercantilism into practice
 Bacon’s Rebellion: In 1676, Nathaniel Bacon, a VA planter, rallied forces to
fight Native Americans on the VA frontier. When the colony’s governor
condemned (prohibited, prevented) his actions, Bacon turned his army on
Jamestown Those supporting Bacon demanded more representation in
government for the “common man.” Bacon’s Rebellion showed that colonists
expected a government that served more than just the wealthy few. They wanted
a government where even “ordinary” citizens have a voice.
Growing Tensions
 Navigation Acts: In 1660, Englad passed these laws required the British colonies
to sell certain goods only to England. The few products the colonies could sell to
other countries were charged a British duty (tax).
 Albany Plan of Union: proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1754 for federal union
or colonial unity. It was rejected, but was first attempt to unite the colonies
The French and Indian War: from 1754 to 1763, Great Britain fought a long, costly war
against France – winning French territory in North America.
 To prevent conflict, colonial settlers were forbidden to settle west of Appalachian
Mountains without permission from British government
 Proclamation of 1763: those who wanted the land were upset by this
 To pay war debts, Britain placed a lot of taxes and new restrictions on the
American colonies
 Stamp Act of 1765: Colonists required to attach tax stamps to all newspapers and
legal documents
 Quartering Act: required colonies to provide barracks and supplies to British
troops
 Proclamation of 1763: forbade colonists from settling west of the Appalachian
Mountains and put the territory under British military control. Colonists resented
the King’s restrictions and many ignored the proclamation.
 John Peter Zenger: In 1734, the printer won an important case in which he
claimed he could not be sued for libel if what he printed was true. The court
agreed, and Zenger’s victory helped affirm freedom of the press in the colonies.
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 Treaty of Paris: signed in 1763, ended the Seven Years’ War in Europe and the
French and Indian War in North America. **Britain gained all French land east
of the Mississippi River. Spain gave up control of Florida to Britain but got the
Louisiana Territory. France kept two islands near Canada and regained some
Caribbean islands**
 Many colonists decided to boycott, or refuse to buy, British goods
 Sons of Liberty organizations were formed throughout the colonies in opposition
to Stamp Act
 Stamp Act Congress: October 1765, 9 of 13 colonial representatives sent to New
York City where they prepared declaration against new British actions and sent to
King George III
- The British Parliament then repealed, or cancelled, the Stamp Act
- Parliament passed Declaratory Act of 1766: Parliament had right to tax and
make decisions for the American colonies “in all cases.”
- In 1767, Parliament passed Townshend Acts which permitted searches of
property in cases of burglary or smuggling and to assist in their arrests
- Boston Massacre: March 5, 1770, colonists were angry at the British. British
soldiers fired into a crowd, killing 5 people.
 Colonists not happy with being taxed by Parliament – came up with slogan “No
taxation without representation” – do not tax without providing a representative
of the colonies in Parliament
 Tea Act of 1773: gave British East India Company right to ship tea to colonies
without paying most of the taxes placed on tea. This made the East India
Company tea cheaper than other teas in the colonies.
 Sons of Liberty: were the ones who used violence and intimidation to enforce
boycotts to prevent the implementation of British laws.
 Committees of Correspondence: many colonies organized these groups which
were dedicated to organizing colonial resistance against the Crown.
 Boston Tea Party: December 1773, a group of angry colonists dressed as Native
Americans dumped 242 chests of British tea into Boston Harbor
- in response, Parliament passed the Coercive Acts (known as Intolerable Acts
to Americans) which restricted the colonists’ civil rights, including the right to
trial by jury.
Moving Toward Independence
 colonial governments came together to fight Intolerable Acts
- 1st Continental Congress: September 1774, 12 of the colonies sent delegates,
or representatives, to Philadelphia to discuss their concerns – wanted to
establish political body to represent American interests and challenge British
control.
- Sent document to King George III demanding that rights of colonists be given
back and to extend boycott of British goods
- King George responded with force – April 1775, 2 battles between British and
colonial soldiers took place in Massachusetts at Lexington and Concord (the
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first battles of the Revolutionary War) – known as the “shot heard ‘round
the world”
- This leads to talks about independence, or self-reliance and freedom from
outside control
 2nd Continental Congress: May 1775, colonial leaders met in Philadelphia again
where they debated the best course of action: loyalty to Britain or independence
 Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet titled Common Sense in January of 1776 –
called for complete independence from Britain.
 By 1776 more than half of the delegates agreed with Paine that the colonies must
break away from Britain
 A committee was created to write the document, one of which was Thomas
Jefferson, from Virginia.
- his draft of the Declaration explained why U.S. should be a free nation
Causes of the American Revolution
The primary complaint of the colonies against the British government was "taxation
without representation." Below are some of the taxes and laws imposed by the British on
the colonists that led the colonists to seek independence.
Sugar Act The Sugar Act of 1764 placed a tax on sugar, wine, and coffee. It was
created to generate revenue for the British Parliament.
Currency Act The Currency Act of 1764 prohibited the colonists from printing their
own money.
Stamp Act The British Parliament passed the Stamp Act in 1765 to raise revenue to
pay a share of the empire's defense costs. The Stamp Act required the colonists to
use specially stamped paper for all official documents, newspapers, and
pamphlets. It angered many colonists, who regarded it as a violation of the right
of British subjects not to be taxed without representation. Riots broke out in
colonial cities, and American merchants pledged not to buy British goods.
Parliament repealed the Stamp Act in March 1766, yielding to the demands of
economically depressed British merchants.
Townshend Act In 1767, Parliament passed the Townshend Acts, which imposed
taxes on lead, glass, tea, paint, and paper imported by Americans from Britain.
Once again the colonists protested vigorously and boycotted British goods. In
1770, a riot occurred between British troops and citizens of Boston. The troops
fired, killing five people in the incident known as the Boston Massacre.
Tea Act In 1773 Parliament passed the Tea Act, reducing the tax on tea in an attempt
to rescue the British East India Company from bankruptcy. The colonists refused
to buy British tea and would not permit British ships to unload it in Philadelphia
and New York City. In Boston, in the incident known as the Boston Tea Party, a
group of colonists dressed as Mohawk Indians dumped cargoes of tea from British
ships into Boston Harbor. When the government of Boston refused to pay for the
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tea, the British closed the port. In retaliation, Parliament passed the Coercive Acts
in 1774—called the Intolerable Acts by the colonists—which were designed to
punish Massachusetts and demonstrate Parliament's sovereignty.
Significant Individuals in the American Revolution
George Washington George Washington (1732-1799) was the commander of the
Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. He turned an undisciplined,
underfunded militia into a functioning army and was able to defeat the British
forces. He is well known for leading his troops through the harsh winter at Valley
Forge and for crossing the Delaware River with his troops. He became the first
president of the United States (1789-1797).
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was the third president of the
United States (1801-1809). As a delegate at the Second Continental Congress,
Jefferson was on the committee selected to draft the Declaration of Independence.
Samuel Adams Samuel Adams of Boston was an American patriot who spoke out
against British policies before the American Revolution. He protested against the
Stamp Act and played an important role in the Boston Tea Party in 1773. He later
served as governor of Massachusetts.
Benjamin Franklin One of the founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) was
a great American writer, inventor, and diplomat. Franklin negotiated French
support for the colonists, signed the Treaty of Paris in 1783, and attended the
Constitutional Convention in 1787. He played the role of chief diplomat for the
colonies throughout the Revolutionary War period. His numerous innovations
include the lightning rod, bifocal spectacles, and the Franklin stove.
Thomas Paine In 1776, Thomas Paine anonymously published the pamphlet Common
Sense that called for American independence from Great Britain. The popular
pamphlet helped encourage the issuance of the Declaration of Independence six
months later.
King George III King George III (1738-1820) was king of Great Britain and Ireland
(1760-1820) and of Hanover (1815-1820). His government's policies fed
American colonial discontent, leading to revolution in 1775.
Patrick Henry Patrick Henry (1736-1799) was an outspoken member of the House of
Burgesses who inspired colonial patriotism with a speech in which he declared,
“Give me liberty or give me death!”
Marquis de Lafayette Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834) was a French aristocrat who
fought with the American colonists against the British in the American
Revolution. His participation at the Battle of Yorktown contributed to the
American defeat of the British and the end of the Revolutionary War. After the
American Revolution, Lafayette returned to France and was one of the leaders of
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the French Revolution.
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Significant Battles of the American Revolution
Battle of Lexington The Battle of Lexington was the first military clash of the
American Revolution. It took place on April 19, 1775, when fighting broke out
between about 70 colonial minutemen, led by Captain John Parker, and about 700
British soldiers who were on their way to Concord, Massachusetts. The American
militia had been warned by Paul Revere that the British were coming. During the
fighting, eight minutemen were killed.
Battle of Concord Occurring hours after the Battle of Lexington, the Battle of
Concord was fought at Concord, Massachusetts, on April 19, 1775. American
colonists had gathered a large amount of ammunition and military supplies at
Concord, and British general Thomas Gage sent soldiers to capture or destroy the
supplies. American patriots Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott
had warned the colonial militia, or minutemen, of the British advance. The
minutemen prevented the British advance and forced the British troops to retreat
toward Boston.
Battle of Saratoga During the fall of 1777, two battles were fought near Saratoga,
New York. The American victory in the Battles of Saratoga helped convince the
French to recognize American independence and to provide military aid. These
battles marked a turning point in the Revolutionary War.
Battle of Yorktown1781, With assistance from nearly 8,000 French troops led by
Marquis de Lafayette, George Washington was able to defeat the British in the
last major battle of the Revolutionary War. British General Cornwallis
surrendered to Washington after this battle.
Treaty of Paris of 1783
The Revolutionary War officially came to an end when the United States and Great
Britain signed the Treaty of Paris. In this treaty, Great Britain recognized the
independence of the United States. The treaty also set the boundaries for the United
States at the Mississippi River in the west, Canada in the north, and Florida in the south.
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The Declaration of Independence
 used traditional English political rights to call for independence for the colonies.
 Argued that British government did not care about interests of colonists
 Writers included long list of abuses by King George III and called him a “Tyrant”
Breakdown of Declaration
1st Paragraph: Preamble – states the reason for the declaration
2nd Paragraph: colonists’ beliefs about rights of individuals


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Purpose of government is to protect rights of the people and based on agreement
of the people
Government only has the powers given
People are allowed to change a government if it disregards their rights or their
combined wishes.
An Uncertain Future
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 2nd Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence with a few
changes, on July 4, 1776.
 John Hancock signed his name so large so that King George III could see it from
across the Atlantic (the clean version)
 Did not achieve true freedom until after the war and Great Britain officially
recognized the U.S. as an independent nation.