Chapter 4

The American Revolution

1754-1789

Section 1

THE STIRRINGS OF A REBELLION

Stamp ActStamp Act = required stamps be bought and placed on almost all printed materialWas the first direct tax imposed by BritishQuartering Act = required colonists to provide housing for British troops or pay for them to be housed Stamp Act caused the most reaction from colonistsSons of Liberty began organizing meetings and protests against the new British Acts

Sons of Liberty at Work

Stamp Act ResponseStamp Act Congress was formed by nine of the coloniesBegan to boycott British Goods – signed nonimportation agreement (Very Effective)Parliament repeals Stamp ActIn response, British pass Declaratory Act claiming Britain had every right and power to pass laws in the colonies

Townshend ActsTownshend Acts = included to Revenue Act placing new customs duties on imported glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea Legalized writs of assistance – general search warrants that enabled officers to search for smuggled goods at any time or locationIn 1769 Virginia passes the Virginia resolves stating only the House could tax Virginians – led by Washington, Patrick Henry, & Thomas Jefferson Daughters of Liberty began making goods at home in order to continue boycotting British goodsNew Boycotts start!!!!

Boston Massacre Violence against British customs officers began to increaseBritain responded by sending in 1,000 soldiers to Boston to maintain orderBostonians heckled and harassed the troopsMarch 5, 1770 – a crowd of colonists began taunting and throwing snowballs at British troopsOne soldier was knocked down and opened fire into the crowd setting off a chain reaction of shots into the crowd5 Dead, 6 woundedShortly after, Britain repealed almost all of the Townshend Acts except the duty on tea!!!

Depiction of the Boston Massacre

Gaspee Affair

Gaspee was a British Custom shipGaspee was burned by about 150 colonistsBritish were outraged, brought accused to Great Britain for trialColonists said this violated their right to be tried by their peersCommittee of Correspondence formed to communicate with other colonies regarding British actions

The Boston Tea PartyTea ActSons of Liberty dressed as Mohawks dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor.

“Dump the tea, Into the sea!”Parliament closed Boston HarborGeneral Gage took over as Mass. Governor

The Coercive ActsCoercive Act = four new laws passed that applied only to MassachusettsPassed as a way to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party and discourage other colonies from revolting – Act included :Boston Port Act – shut down Boston’s ports until it paid for the tea that was destroyedMassachusetts Government Act – counsel members, judges and sheriffs were now appointed only by the colony’s governor Administration of Justice Act – allowed transfer of trials of British soldiers to Great BritainNew Quartering Act passed

1st Continental CongressQuebec Act – extended Quebec's boundaries into present day IL,MI,IN, and WI. Appointed officials to govern this area ( No elected government)Quebec Act & Coercive Act became known as the Intolerable Acts1st Continental Congress meets September 5, 1774 in Philadelphia, PA55 delegates represented 12 colonies (no GA)Endorsed the Suffolk Resolves – urged colonist to to disobey the Coercive Acts, urged people to begin arming themselves and called for a continued boycott of British goods

Lexington British general Gage in April of 1776 sent out troops to seize the Massachusetts militia’s supply depot at ConcordPatriots got wind of plan and sent out Paul Revere and William Dawes to spread the word – “The British are coming”April 19 – Lexington – British troops arrive and spot 70 minutemen, ask them to disperseFirst shot fired by ???British began to fire into the line of minutemen killing 8 – wounding 10

ConcordAfter Lexington, British march to ConcordFind that most all military supplies had been removedWhen they tried to leave town they were confronted by 400 militia – Fighting broke out – British retreatBritish retreat to Boston and face gunfire from farmers along the wayBy the time they reached Boston, 73 had been killed, 174 wounded

Revolution Begins

Section 2

Ideas Help Start a Revolution

2nd Continental Congress• Two Efforts

- Formed a Continental Army of 20,000 Washington appointed commander in chief

- Resolve crisis w/ petition – Olive Branch Petition

• George III rejected petition, sent 20K troops• Jan 1776 Common Sense by Thomas Paine

urging independence• Persuaded many to join the cause

Colonies Declare IndependenceRallied by Thomas Paine’s ideas in Common Sense and weary of British rule, colonists decide to declare independenceJuly 4, 1776 = Declaration of Independence is issuedCommittee composed of Ben Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston and Thomas Jefferson helped write the documentThe colonies were now officially the

United States of America

Loyalists and PatriotsLoyalists = colonists who backed Britain in the Revolutionary War (aka Tories)

Patriots = Fought for independence, believed Britain had become tyrants (aka Whigs)

Patriots were strong in New England while most Loyalists were found in Georgia and Carolinas

Section 3/4

The War for Independence

The Opposing SidesAt the start of the Revolutionary War:

British = 32,000 well trained/equipped soldiers

Continental Army = 20,000 at any one time – poorly equipped and inexperienced

Patriots were outmatched and had troubles paying for the war effort (No gold or silver)Militia big support for the Continental ArmyMilitia were untrained soldiers - but had success using guerrilla warfareGuerrilla warfare = sneak attacks & hit and run ambushes

Northern CampaignBritish knew that a quick victory depended on convincing Americans that the cause was hopelessCrossing of the Delaware – Washington scores victories over the British then camps in N.J for the winterPhiladelphia is captured but Continental Congress escapes to safety

Battle of SaratogaJust over six months after the fall of Philadelphia, Continentals are victorious at Saratoga capturing over 5,000 British troopsBattle was the turning point – also convinced French to join in on the side of the Americans

Other FrontsThe war at sea was another factor in the Revolutionary WarLetters of marque – licenses to private ship owners authorizing them to attack British merchant shipsJohn Paul Jones – known for leading the most famous naval battle in the war defeating the British in a three hour battleIn the Loyalist heavy south, Nathaniel Greene was organizing small militia forces to carry out hit-and-run raids against British camps

The War is WonSpring 1781 – British General Cornwallis link up with former American commander Benedict Arnold and invade VirginiaWhen Washington sends troops to defend Virginia, Cornwallis shifts to the coastal town of YorktownSeptember 28, 1781 – American and French troops surround Yorktown – less than a month later the British surrenderAfter the surrender, Parliament votes to end the warTreaty of Paris – Britain recognizes the United States as a new and separate nation with the Mississippi as its western borderUnder the treaty, Britain kept its land in Canada but returned Florida to Spain