Road to Revolution

1. The Road to Revolution

2. Our Political Beginnings
• American colonists believed that gov’t
should be:
– Ordered --> organized into offices
– Limited --> it was NOT all-powerful
– Representative --> gov’t was to serve the
people’s interests, not its own

3. Where Our Gov’t Ideas
Came From
• Magna Carta (1215) - first document that
officially limited the power of the English king
– Basically said that the king did not have unlimited
power
• The Petition of Right (1628) - further limited
the king’s power
– couldn’t throw people in prison without a trial
– couldn’t use the military to rule people in times of
peace

4. The English Bill of Rights
(1689)
• Said:
– Parliament was in control of taxing, not the
king
– People couldn’t be punished for asking the
king to fix problems
– No cruel and unusual punishment
– Everyone got a fair trial

6. The Colonies (1607-1733)
• 13 English colonies were established in
America for
– religious freedom
– commercial trading/farming/fishing
– New home for debtors
– All colonies were started with a charter -
written permission from the king

7. Types of Colonies
• Royal Colony- under the direct control of the
king
• King named a royal governor to rule the
colony
• Had a bicameral legislature
– “bicameral” = two houses
– “legislature” = group of representatives that make
laws

8. • Proprietary Colony - king gives land to a
proprietor (overseer/owner), who organized
the colony
– colony was directly controlled by the proprietor,
not the king (still reported to him)
• One colony had a unicameral (one-house)
legislature

9. • Charter Colony - based on charters
given straight to the colonists
– Mostly governed themselves
– Officials were elected by the people, not
the king or proprietor

11. Group Work
• Imagine you are subjects under King John
John XXXXVII.
• Create a Bill of Rights listing all the
freedoms you wish to have as the king’s
subject (List at least ten)
– What freedoms do you value? What rights should
all people have?
– Make your list REALISTIC, as if the king were
going to read it.

12. British Colonial Policies
• Britain was in serious debt after the
French and Indian War
– Decided that the colonies should help pay
the debt
– The colonies had been taxing themselves
and had been left alone for several years
by the Crown

13. Problems With Britain
• “Taxation Without Representation” -->
American colonists were not given a voice in
Parliament
– saw themselves as British subjects and believed
representation was a right of all Englishmen
– Colonists believed Parliament had no right to tax
them
• Taxes:
– Stamp Act - tax on paper goods and documents
– Other taxes laid on imports like tea, paper, and
glass

14. • Great Britain also:
– Housed troops in people’s homes
– Left troops to monitor cities
– Cracked down on smuggling and enforced
strict trade rules (colonies could only trade
with Britain)
– Took power from local colonial gov’ts

15. Response of the
Colonists
• To avoid paying taxes, they would
smuggle (sneak) other goods in
• They boycotted (to protest by not
buying something) British goods until
Parliament lifted taxes
• Protested, petitioned the
King/Parliament, and destroyed British
property

16. The Boston Massacre
• March 5, 1770 - A mob of Boston colonists
harassed British troops stationed in the city,
and shots were fired in the chaos, leaving 5
people dead
• Used as propaganda against the British to
encourage colonial rebellion

18. The Boston Tea Party
(1773)
• British tea ships block
Boston Harbor until the
colonists bought their
tea
• 116 colonists dress up
as Indians and throw
boxes of tea into the
Boston Harbor
• Then Britain shut down
Boston’s port until they
could pay back the
damage