American Revolution - 8 Key Events for American History to 1877

1. The American Revolution
Shaneena Wapinsky-Smith & Zachary Tarolli

2. 8 Events in History
1. French & Indian War (1754-1763)
2. Sugar Act (1764)
3. Stamp Act (1765)
4. Declaratory Act (1766)
5. Boston Massacre (1770)
6. Tea Act/Boston Tea Party (1773)
7. Coercive Acts (1774)
8. Battles of Lexington & Concord (1775)

3. Goals
This presentation aims to:
• Accurately represent moments within the first 150 years of American
history that most reflect the division between Britain and America.
• Clearly support the above assumptions by citing scholarly resources.
• Provide the reader with a timeline of events leading up to the
American Revolutionary War.

4. Objectives
After observing this PowerPoint, viewers will:
• Have an increased knowledge of the historical events leading up to
the American Revolution.
• Be able to describe the social, economical, and political influence of
such events on the colonies, British, other global powers, and Native
Americans that intersected to lead up to the American Revolution.
• Have a fuller understanding of the events as turning points in
American history.

5. French & Indian War (1754-1763)
• Fought between the colonies of Great Britain and New France
• Aided by European military troops and native allies
• North American theater of the Seven Years War
• Seven Years’ War (1756-1763) was a global military war involving Europe,
North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the
Philippines
• Great Britain overtook Canada and Florida, resulting in British
dominance of North America
• Officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763
(Boundless 2:4)

6. Social Impacts of the French and Indian War
• French power was eliminated from North America
• Colonists lost strong ally
• No equal balance to power- Britain dominated
• Native Americans were driven from Florida
• Increased tension between Choctaw and Creek
• Majority of Spanish Catholic left Florida
• John Stuart maintained a standing army of ten thousand British
regular troops in the colonies to protect them
(Boundless 2:4)

7. Political Impacts of the French and Indian War
• British colonies functioned independently of each other and were
removed from the British government
• After the start of the war, the British Army attempted to regulate and control
the colonial administrations
• Great Britain now dominated North America
• George III's Proclamation of 1763 restricted settlement beyond
Appalachians
• Colonies eager to acquire native lands were outraged
(Boundless 2:4)

8. Economical Impacts of the French and Indian
War
• France suffered large financial and territorial losses
• British government substantially increased its national debt
• George Grenville replaced Bute and sought immediately to restore
the nation's finances
• He devised the Sugar Act of 1764 to raise those funds
(Boundless 2:4; 3:1)

9. Summation
• Officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763
• French power was eliminated from North America
• Great Britain now dominated North America
• George III's Proclamation of 1763 restricted settlement beyond
Appalachians

10. Sugar Act (1764)
• “Also known as the American Revenue Act or the American Duties
Act, was a revenue-raising act passed by the Parliament of Great
Britain on April 5, 1764” (Boundless 3:1)
(Boundless 3:1)

11. Social Impacts of the Sugar Act
• Increased colonial concern about the intent of the British Parliament
• Colonists had refused to pay taxes from the Molasses Act
• Sugar Act was an attempt by British government to enforce a modified
version of Molasses Act
(Boundless 3:1)

12. Political Impacts of the Sugar Act
• Starting in 1750, Parliament began to ban, restrict, and tax several
more products
• This enraged the colonist despite American’s tax being far less than Europe’s
• As the Crowns rule increased the colonist resentment increased more
and more for British rule
• The Colonies began to establish Legislative Councils and Assemblies to hold
representation along side of the Crown appointed Governor
(Boundless 2:2)

13. Economical Impacts of the Sugar Act
• The Sugar Act was a revenue-raising act
• Parliament reduced the Molasses Act by 3 pence to help increase regulation and
collection of the Sugar Act
• The bill made it clear that the purpose of the legislation was not to just
regulate trade but to actually raise revenue
• A significant portion of the economy was involved with providing food and
supplies to the British Army during the French and Indian War
• The colonist felt this was the major culprit for their economic struggles and
demands for repeal were almost immediate
(Boundless 3:1)

14. Summation
• Unpopular acts of Parliament, such as the Sugar Act started
• Tax collection became highly enforced
• Resentment grew towards the British
• Colonist were having economic struggles due to the tax

15. Stamp Act (1765)
• The Stamp Act 1765 was a direct tax imposed by the British
Parliament specifically on the colonies of British America to pay a tax
on every piece of printed paper they used
(Boundless 3:1)

16. Social Impacts of the Stamp Act
• The purpose of the tax was to pay for troops to stay stationed in the
America’s after victory in the Seven Years' War
• By taxing newspapers, textiles, and the production of printed money made it more
difficult for information, social agendas, and propaganda, to be disseminated among
the colonies
• This only made the colonists more aware of the British imposition, and increased
their motivation to rally
• Unified protest began against British taxation
• “No taxation without Representation” was the battle cry of the times
• Summer of 1765, the Stamp Act Riots took place in Boston
(Boundless 3:2; Helicon p. 4109h)

17. Political Impacts of the Stamp Act
• Taxation without Representation
• The Act violated the rights of Englishmen to representation in Parliament
• Threatened the independence the colonies grew accustomed to
• Vice-Admiralty courts would handle the tax violations
• They had no jury trials
• It violated the colonist right to a fair trial
(Boundless 3:1; Helicon p. 4109h)

18. Economical Impacts of the Stamp Act
• The British merchants stores began to starve
• Colonies began to experience the effects of a depression
• Radical groups such as the Sons and Daughters of Liberty and Stamp
Act Congress began to form
• Harassment of tax collectors
• Leaders in the boycotts and riots in New York and Boston
Helicon p4117u)

19. Summation
• Caused a constant presence of the British military
• Protests and Riots started in New York and Boston
• Taxation without Representation
• Risked colonist rights to a fair trail
• Started the formation of groups like Sons and Daughters of Liberty
and the Stamp Act Congress

20. Declaratory Act (1766)
• Declaratory Act, (1766), declaration by the British Parliament that
accompanied the repeal of the Stamp Act, stated that the British
Parliament’s taxing authority was the same in America as in Great
Britain
(Britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/155205/Declaratory-Act)

21. Social Impacts of the Declaratory Act
• “In all cases whatsoever”
• Parliament asserted its complete authority to make binding laws on the
American colonies
• It was designed to clarify the relationship between Britain and
America’s
(Encyclopedia Britannica)

22. Political Impacts of the Declaratory Act
• The over turn of the Stamp Act Congress, Parliament could pass any
law they saw fit
(Encyclopedia Britannica)

23. Economical Impacts of the Declaratory Act
• Parliament had the absolute right to tax America
• Imposed Imperial taxation
• Parliament declared the Stamp Act Congress null and void
(Encyclopedia Britannica)

24. Summation
• Parliament asserted its complete authority
• The Stamp Act Congress was over turned
• Imposed Imperial taxation

25. Boston Massacre (1770) - background
• The Townshend Acts (1767) - series of laws named after Charles
Townshend, Chancellor of the Exchequer, passed by British
Parliament. Comprised of five laws:
• Revenue Act of 1767
• Indemnity Act
• Commissioners of Customs Act
• Vice Admiralty Court Act
• New York Restraining Act
(Boundless 3:2)

26. Boston Massacre (1770) - background
• “The purpose of the Townshend Acts was to raise revenue in the
colonies that paid the salaries of governors and judges so they would
be independent of colonial rule. The acts were also meant to create a
more effective means of enforcing compliance with trade regulations,
to punish the province of New York for failing to comply with the
1765 Quartering Act, and to establish the precedent that the British
Parliament had the right to tax the colonies.”
(Boundless 3:2)

27. Boston Massacre (1770) – The Incident on King St.
• March 5, 1770 outside of Customs House on King Street
• Colonists gather and surround guard on duty
• Harassment, verbal abuse, snowball throwing at guards
• Captain Preston calls for 8 troops for backup
• Does not give order to fire, however one officer does anyways
• Chaos ensues, resulting in 5 deaths
• Crispus Attucks – considered first American casualty of the war

29. Boston Massacre (1770) - aftermath
• Trials for the troops found guilty of manslaughter
• Turned MA and colonial sentiment against the King and Parliament
• Used as colonial propaganda
• John Adams – “On March 5, 1770, the foundation of American
independence was laid”
• Neil Langley York – “It is perceived as a significant event leading to the
violent rebellion that followed”
(Boundless 3:2)

30. Tea Act (1773)
• Need arose from two situations:
1. Financial problems of British East India Company
2. Dispute over Parliament’s control and authority on colonies
• The Tea Act retained the 3 pence Townshend duty on tea imported to
the colonies
• Once again, the Tea Act was met with great resistance from the
colonists and resulted in one of most infamous rebellions in colonial
history
(Boundless 3:3)

31. East India Company – in debt
By late 1772 the East India Company, one of
Britain's most important commercial
institutions, was in a serious financial crisis.
(Boundless 3:3)

32. The Boston Tea Party (1773)
• Political protest led by the Sons of Liberty – Sam Adams disputably
planned, organized, publicized
• While protestors prevented taxed to be unloaded in 3 other colonies,
MA Royal Governor Thomas Hutchinson did not allow tea to be
shipped back to Boston
• December 16 – culmination of events led to hundreds of crates of tea
dumped in Boston Harbor
• Protestors dressed as Mohawks boarded ships at night and emptied
crates
(Boundless 3:3)

35. The Boston Tea Party (1773) - aftermath
• “No taxation without representation”
• Issue was less of tax on tea but rather the tax passing sans American input
• Lord North – “Whatever may be the consequences, we must risk
something; if we do not, all is over”
• Port of Boston is closed
• Led Parliament to enact Coercive Acts as colonial punishment
• John Adams – and many others – viewed tea drinking as unpatriotic
after the events, leading to American lasting preference for coffee
(Boundless 3:3)

36. Coercive Acts (1774)
• Sponsored by British Prime Minister Lord North
• Enacted in 1774 in response to the Boston Tea Party
• Comprised of 5 laws:
• Impartial Administration of Justice Act
• Massachusetts Bay Regulating Act
• Boston Port Act
• Quartering Act
• Quebec Act
(Boundless 3:3)

37. Coercive Acts (1774) cont.
• Impartial Administration of Justice Act – allowed the royal governor of a colony to move
trials out of the colony as he saw fit for fear of unfair jury
• Massachusetts Bay Regulating Act – all law officers were to be subjected to appointment
by royal governor; banned town meetings without approval of the royal governor
• Boston Port Act – closed the port of Boston until the dumped tea price was realized and
repaid; moved capital of Massachusetts to Salem; Marblehead became the new official
port of entry in Massachusetts
(Boundless 3:3)

38. Coercive Acts (1774) cont.
• Quartering Act – provided royal troops shelter in colonists’ homes/buildings in
lieu of proper barracks; citizens had no say and had to give troops shelter without
notice
• Quebec Act – granted civil government and religious freedom to Catholics who
lived in Quebec
(Boundless 3:3)

39. Coercive Acts (1774) - reaction
• Harshest of all the Acts passed by Royal Parliament
• Acts aimed at taking away MA’s self-government and rights
• Met with criticism and colonial outrage and resistance
• September-October 1774 - First Continental Congress assemblies in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Georgia only colony to not send delegates
(Boundless 3:3)

41. Battles of Lexington & Concord (1775) – terms to know
• Powder Alarm – a massive popular reaction to the removal of
gunpowder from a magazine by British soldiers under orders from
General Thomas Gage, royal governor of the Province of
Massachusetts Bay, on September 1, 1774
• Thomas Gage (1719 or 1720–April 2, 1787) - British general, best
known for his many years of service in North America, including his
role as military commander in the early days of the American
Revolution
• Minutemen - members of teams of select men from the American
colonial partisan militia during the American Revolutionary War
(Boundless 3:4)

42. Battles of Lexington & Concord (1775)
• A British attempt to seize military stores in Lexington and Concord led
to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War.
• British General Thomas Gage, military governor and commander-in-
chief in North America, received orders to disarm the colonial rebels
who had supposedly hidden weapons in Concord, and to imprison the
rebellion's leaders.
• April 19, 1775 – colonial militia fight valiantly against Royal troops,
resulting in significant casualties
• The Battles of Lexington & Concord are the general consensus as the
commencement of the American Revolution.
(Boundless 3:4)

43. British troops in Concord

44. The Battle of
Lexington

46. Battles of Lexington & Concord (1775) - aftermath
• “In the morning, Gage awoke to find Boston besieged by a huge militia
army, numbering 20,000, which had marched from throughout New
England. This time, unlike during the Powder Alarm, the rumors of fighting
were true, and the Revolutionary War had begun. The militia army
continued to grow as surrounding colonies sent men and supplies. The
Continental Congress would adopt and sponsor these men into the
beginnings of the Continental Army. Even now, after open warfare had
started, Gage still refused to impose martial law in Boston. He persuaded
the town's selectmen to surrender all private weapons in return for
promising that any inhabitant could leave town.”
• And the Revolution has begun!
(Boundless 3:4)

49. Works Cited
• Boundless. (n.d.) US to 1877. Retrieved from http://www.boundless.com
• Boundless. “The Townshend Acts.” US History to 1877. Boundless, 14 Nov. 2014. Retrieved 21 Mar. 2015 .
• Boundless. “The Boston Massacre and Military Occupation.” US History to 1877. Boundless, 14 Nov. 2014.
Retrieved 21 Mar. 2015.
• Boundless. “The Boston Tea Party.” US History to 1877. Boundless, 14 Nov. 2014. Retrieved 21 Mar. 2015.
• Boundless. “Lexington and Concord.” US History to 1877. Boundless, 14 Nov. 2014. Retrieved 21 Mar. 2015.
• "British Legislation and Colonial Reactions: Conflict in the Colonies." Web. 13 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.teacherweb.com/MA/WilliamDiamondMiddleSchool/Diamond-Barrym/Timeline-Chart-
COMPLETE.pdf>.
• Encyclopedia Britanica. (n.d.). Encyclopedia Britanica. Retrieved from
• Helicon, P. (2006). Hutchinson Inside American History. Abingdon, Oxfordshire, GBR: Helicon Publishing.
Retrieved from http://www.ebrary.com
• http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/375578/mercantilism
• http://www.stamp-act-history.com/timeline/declaratory-act/