Towards independence

Patriots
 were Americans who believed the colonies
had the right to govern themselves

Loyalists
 were Americans who felt a deep loyalty to
Great Britain

French and Indian War
 From 1754-1763, Great Britain and the
colonies fought a war against the French
and their Indian allies
First event that
happened
leading to the
American
Revolution

 France lost their Canadian territory to Great
Britain after the French and IndianWar 1754
Gained
territory
from
Florida to
the
Mississippi
River

 The French and Indian War left Britain
with a huge debt
 The war ended with the signing of the
Treaty of Paris

Proclamation of 1763
 Prohibited settlers from moving west of the
Appalachian Mountains. King George III hoped
this would prevent conflict between the
colonists and the Native Americans

Colonial Life
 Before 1763, the colonies enjoyed life free
from British control, but after the war
things changed
 In order to pay off debt, Britain began taxing
the colonists

The Stamp Act
 This law required colonists to buy a stamp
for every piece of paper they used
 Examples: newspapers, licenses, and
playing cards

Reaction to the Stamp Act
 Colonists saw the
Stamp Act as a
violation of their
rights “no taxation
without
representation”
 Mobs called the
“Sons of Liberty”
attacked tax
collectors in protest

Trivia
 Which of the following statements does NOT
accurately characterize the English colonial
era?
 A. the first two permanent settlements were
established 13 years apart
 B. people sought to make profit in the Americas
 C. the King issued charters for colonies to be
established
 D. missions were established to convert Native
Americans to Christianity

Townshend Acts
 Placed a tax on certain goods the colonies
imported from Britain.
 For example, glass, paint, paper, and tea.
 Colonists began to boycott, or refuse to
buy, British goods

Sam Adams
 Was a Boston Patriot who was the leader of
the “Sons of Liberty”

Repeal of the Townshend Acts
 In 1770, Parliament repealed, or got rid of
theTownshend Acts, except for the tax on
tea

Mob Violence Breaks Out
 On March 5, 1770 a noisy mob began throwing
rocks at the British troops
 The mob pressed forward, and the troops
panicked and opened fire.
 5 Bostonians were killed

Crispus Attucks
 Two bullets
Crispus Attucks,
a black sailor
 This was a signal
event leading to
the American
Revolution

Vocabulary
 Revenue-money collected by a government
 Petition- a formal written request made to an
authority
 Rebellion-resistance to authority
 Revolution-the overthrow or renunciation of
one ruler or government

Trivia
 Which of the following best completes the diagram
above?
 A. Colonial economic systems
 B. Examples of self-government in the colonies
 C. Important Colonial Documents
 D. Examples of colonial law-making bodies
Mayflower
Compact
Signed in 1620
by Plymouth
settlers
House of
Burgesses
Established in
1619 in
Jamestown

Taxation without representation
 King George passes several laws to tax the
colonists, but the colonists had no say.
 Leads to protest by the colonists such as
the BostonTea Party

The Boston Tea Party
 In 1773, a new law called theTea Act led to
more protests by the colonists.
 The American boycott of British tea hurt
the British tea company

The Tea Act
 TheTea Act actually lowered the cost of
British tea, but Americans weren’t fooled
into buying taxed tea by making it so cheap
 The colonists still saw this act as an
attempt to tax them without their consent
or approval

Tea Ships Arrive
 On December 16, 1773, to protest the tax
on tea, Patriots disguised as Native
Americans threw 342 chests of tea
overboard from three British ships.

 90,000 pounds of tea was dumped into the
sea that night.
 This event excited Patriots because it was a
way to get back at the British for taxing the
colonists

 King George III
closed down the
ports of trade until
all of the tea was
paid for by the
colonists.
 King George III was
outraged and
wanted to punish
the colonists

The Intolerable Acts
 Britain’s anger
after the Boston
Tea Party led
Parliament (British
government) to
pass a new series
of laws in 1774
 The laws were very
harsh that the
colonists couldn’t
stand them

Parliament Punishes
Massachusetts
 1.The 1st law closed Boston Harbor
 2.The 2nd law placed the Massachusetts
government strictly under British control
 No town meetings allowed
 3. More British troops were sent to Boston to
enforce the new laws

The First Continental Congress
 In September 1774,
some 50 leaders from
12 colonies met in
Philadelphia.
 The delegates agreed
to send a message to
King George III
 They wanted the king
to recognize their
rights

The Colonies Begin to Unite
 The Boston Patriots
declared that they
would, “abandon their
city to flames” before
paying a penny for the
lost tea.
 However, the Loyalists
felt that the
Bostonians had gone
too far.
First political cartoon by
Benjamin Franklin

The colonies form militias
 Volunteers called
themselves
minutemen because
they had to be ready to
fight in just 60 seconds
 Militias enforced the
boycott of British
goods

Lexington and Concord
 The first shot of the revolutionary war was
fired on April 19, 1775.
 It was called “the shot heard ‘round the
world,” but no one knows whether the British
or Americans fired first.

Lexington and Concord
 These famous battles were a success for the
Americans, who fought the British (the
Redcoats) with bravery

The War Begins
 George Washington ofVirginia was elected
to be the commander-in-chief of the new
Continental army

The Battle of Bunker Hill
 This famous battle
took place on June 16,
1775 to protect
Boston’s shipyard
from the British.
 The British won this
battle, but suffered
many losses, more
than 1,000 killed

The British Abandon Boston
 On March 4, 1776 the
British abandoned
Boston and left for
Canada
 Many hoped the war
was over, but actually
had just begun

Toward Independence
 Thomas Paine, a
patriot, published a
fiery pamphlet
entitled Common
Sense that persuaded
colonists to support
American
Independence


Thomas Jefferson Drafts a
Declaration
 Jefferson’s job was to
explain why the colonies
were choosing to
separate from the British
1776
 Benjamin Franklin and
John Adams suggested
changes

Declaration of Independence
“We hold these truths to be self-
evident, that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain
unalienable rights, that among
these are life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness”

Natural Rights
 All people are born
equal in God’s
sight, are endowed
with unalienable
rights that are life,
liberty, and the
pursuit of
happiness
 Natural rights
cannot be taken
away!!!

 “We hold these
truths to be self-
evident….
 On July 4, 1776
delegates took
their lives in their
hands by signing
the declaration of
independence

Review for Common
Assessment
 Chapters 5 and 6

Mercantilism
 States that as a nation’s trade grows, its
gold reserves increase,
 the nation becomes more powerful
Gold
increase
s

 “We hold these
truths to be self-
evident….
 Written byThomas
Jefferson
 On July 4, 1776
delegates took
their lives in their
hands by signing
the declaration of
independence

Timeline of Events leading to
the American Revolution
 French and Indian War 1754
 Proclamation of 1763
 Stamp Act 1765
 Townshend Act 1767
 Boston Massacre 1770
 BostonTea Party 1773
 Intolerable Acts 1774
 First Continental Congress 1774
 Lexington and Concord 1775
 Battle of Bunker Hill 1775
 Declaration of Independence 1776

Towards independence

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to Towards independence

Similar to Towards independence (20)

More from mysocstudy

More from mysocstudy (19)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Towards independence