American Revolutionary War

1. Abou Bakr Belkaid University
English Department
Module: ASCC
Level: LMD 2
Teacher : Souad HAMIDI

2. The American Revolution
‘ the revolution was effected
before the war commenced.
The revolution was in the
hearts and minds of the
people’ Former President
John Adams

3. The French and Indian War
• 1754 to 1763 war fought over the land in
America between the English and French.
• It was called the Seven Years War in Europe.
• Called the French and Indian War because the
Indians helped the French in the war against
the British. The Indians had nothing to lose.
The British were taking their land, the French
were not.
• The British won, but it cost a lot of money.

4. Join, or Die Political Cartoon by Benjamin
Franklin
A political cartoon calling for American colonies to
band together for protection against Indians and
the French. First published in the Pennsylvania
Gazette on May 9, 1754.

5. Proclamation of 1763
• Forbid colonists to settle west of the
Appalachian Mountains.
• Created to protect colonists from the Indians
• Many colonists reacted with anger toward the
Proclamation. They did not like being told
what to do or where they could live.

6. The war of Independence
• : (also called the Revolutionary war) is the war waged by
the 13 British colonies against Britain to get their
independence as the United States of America. The war
(1775-1783) was the result of the American Revolution,
the acts of rebellion against British tax oppression. It
was officially declared with Thomas Jefferson’s
Declaration of Independence on July 04, 1776 and was
fought by Continental Army (minuteman) under the
command of George Washington. The military final
victory was ensured at the battle of Yorktown, Virginia.
In the Autumn of 1781, with the submission of the
British General Lord Cornwallis. This started peace
negotiation which ended in the General Treaty of Paris (
September 3, 1783) which sealed the official
independence of America.

7. Causes of the American Revolution:
1. The distance separating Britain from the colonies.
2. The many years during which the British parliament did
not interfere with the colonial interests or activities.
3. The long standing of and respect for representative
government in the colonies.
4. The decision made by the British Government to make
the colonies pay a large share of the war dept from the
French and Indian War.
5. The failure of both colonial and British understanding,
diplomacy and patience
6. The spirit of self-reliance fostered by conditions of
colonial and frontier life.

8. The Laws passed by the British Parliament
started with:
• The Navigation Act 1760: laws made to
restrict American interest in terms of business.
The British imposed taxes. They prevented
American colonists from making business for
the British were the intermediates. This law
was bad for the colonists but good for the
British.

9. The Sugar Act (1764):
• Acts passed by Britain which placed taxes on
sugar, wine, coffee and other products
commonly exported to the colonies to help
raise revenues to pay for Britain’s war against
France and its Indian allies.
• This act dealt with taxes whenever the
American colonists imported sugar,
coffee,…etc, they had to pay taxes.

10. The Stamp Act: (1765)
• A direct tax in the American colonies imposed
by the British parliament, requiring the
purchase of stamps as a tax to be affixed to all
documents including newspapers, magazines,
and commercial papers. This tax with other
taxes helped the increase of the colonist’s
discontent and outrage which would
materialise into the desire for American
Independence.

11. The Act of 1773
• British law that granted to the East India
Company a monopoly on the importation of tea
to the American colonies for the purpose of
undercutting colonial merchants. This was part of
the provocation that induced American colonists
to ask for independence.
• East India Company: sent ships to Asia to bring
tea and sell it all over the world. In fact , it was
the business of East India Company which means
a monopoly (exclusive exploitation).

12. No Taxation without Representation
• The colonists claimed “no taxation without
representation” because they were being
taxed but had no vote in Parliament and had
no say in how the colonies were being
governed.
• The colonists started a boycott, or a refusal to
buy certain goods, from the British.

13. American political cartoon showing a man aiming a gun at a man
representing colonial America; He tells a British member of
Parliament, "I give you that man's money for my use", to which
the American responds by saying, "I will not be robbed". Boston
is burning in the background.

14. A violent event happened to protest against the Tea
Act:
• Boston Tea Party: (1773): the first real reaction
against the unjust acts. The British were unjust
when they imposed laws on the colonies for
there was no representatives from the colonies in
the British Parliament. The Boston Tea Party was
one of the events of the American Revolution
which occurred on December 16, 1773 when 150
Boston Colonists disguised themselves as Indians,
boarded the East India Company ships in the
Boston Harbour and threw the tea on those ships
into the waters below to show their outrage at
the tea tax that had been imposed by the British
Parliament through the Tea Act of 1773.

15. The Boston Tea Party

16. Coercive Act (intolerable Act)
• In order to punish the colonists; first, the Boston
harbour had to be closed which means no
business. Second, Town meetings were severely
restricted.
• The Quartering Act: the British sent 4000 soldiers
to protect the harbour and the city of Boston
which means that every house was accompanied
by a soldier. The act was an escalation in
humiliation and injustice. The presence of British
soldiers in peacetime made the colonists feel like
enemies of the British, not fellow British citizens.
Neither King George III nor Parliament paid
attention to this colonial attitude. They felt the
laws and taxes were reasonable.

17. The first episode: the war had already
begun
First event Second event Third event
British laws Violent reactions The British
Retaliation
(revenge)

18. The First Continental Congress
• After the retaliation of the British,
the colonists decided to meet to
discuss their problems with Britain
in the First Continental Congress.
This meeting lasted for more than
40 days during which the Delegates
discussed and debated. It took
place in Philadelphia (PA). The
British and the Colonists took
decisions together; about 56
delegates met in the First
Continental Congress that took
place on September the 5th
through October 26th, 1774.

19. Decisions taken at the First
Continental Congress:
1. To officially oppose the Coercive Act.
2. Boycott British goods.
3. The right to petition and assembly.
4. Freedom from army.
5. Trial by peers (jury); judged by colonists like
them.
6. The selection of representatives councils to
collect taxes.

20. The Second Episode of American
History in the Second Continental
Congress
• These decisions were written in the
Declaration of Rights and Resolves signed by
the colonists as a petition and sent to the
British Crown and Parliament; the Delegates
would meet again if the King didn’t
recapitulate (changes his mind) to take other
decisions.

21. Second Continental Congress
• In May, 1775 the American Delegates met
again because their demand were not
answered by the King. They asked Britain to:
a. To have armed vessels, i. e , a navy.
b. To form the Continental Army.
c. To make their trade and business free from
any British interference.
d. To issue their own currency.

22. Separation from Mother Country
• Not all of the colonists had the
same opinion about the separation;
some of them were Loyalists who
showed their allegiance to the king
and still hoped for a peaceful
settlement. To convert these
colonists to the cause of
independence, Sir Thomas Paine, a
recent immigrant from Britain
wrote a pamphlet called Common
Sense on January 9th , 1776 calling
American colonists for
independence from Great Britain.

23. The Declaration of Independence
• The United States first needed to declare
independence from Great Britain.
• Thomas Jefferson, at the young age of 33, wrote
the Declaration of Independence.
• The Declaration of Independence was signed on
July 4, 1776.
• That is why American celebrate Independence
Day on July 4th.
• This is the day that the United States of America
declared their independence from King George
and Great Britain.

25. Benjamin Franklin
• Benjamin Franklin,
one of the most
famous men in the
world, was sent to
France to ask for
military aid as well as
a loan.
• And the war was on!

26. Sources:
• An Outline of US History, Bureau of
International Information Programs U.S.
Department of State http://usinfo.state.gov/
2005

27. Compare between Common Sense
and the Declaration of Independence
• Thank you very much for your attention