The American Revolution

Ch 4

Section 1 - The Colonies Fight for Their Rights• In 1740 the French and British built

forts in the Ohio River Valley to claim the territory which led to the French and Indian War

• The British formed a conference called the Albany Plan of Union that united the colonies to help push out the French, led by Ben Franklin

• This was the first time the colonies were united for anything

• The British General Edward Braddock named George Washington his aide.

• For the next two years fighting spread all over the frontier

• In 1756 the fighting spread to Europe as the Seven Years War

• The turning point in America was the British victory at Quebec

• The Treaty of Paris ended the war in 1763 and eliminated most all French power in North America.

Colonial Discontent

• The war put the British into debt• Britain wanted the colonies to help

pay the debt• The Sugar Act was the first

attempt to do so

Sugar Act

• The act…• Taxed sugar, silk, wine, coffee,

pimento, and indigo

• Colonists argued “taxation without representation” in Parliament

Other Acts

• Stamp Act – taxed printed material, the first direct tax placed on the common man

• Quartering Act – forced colonist to house British troops in their homes to pay for their defense

The Townshend Acts

• Revenue Act – allowed for general search warrants called writs of assistance

• British began to seize property without due process

Colonial Protest

• The protests were led by a group called the Sons of Liberty• Originally started by Isaac

Sears• Led by Samuel Adams

• The colonist boycotted all British goods and passed non-importation laws against British Acts

• On March 5, 1770 British troops fired on colonist in Boston and killed many in the Boston Massacre

Journal Entry 9/18

• Turn to page 134 and read the Preamble to Declaration of Independence and rewrite it in your own words

Section 2

• 1772 the British sent the Gaspee, a customs ship, to patrol North American waters.

• The ship runs aground and is seized by colonist and burned

• The British took suspects back to England for trial

• Colonist felt this was a violation of their right to trial by jury

• Thomas Jefferson created the Committee of Correspondence for colonies to talk to each other about Britain

Tea Act / Tea Party

• The British East India company was going bankrupt

• In 1773 Parliament passed the Tea Act to tax tea from the Dutch and force colonist to buy from them

• In December 1773, colonist dumped 342 chests of East India Tea into the Boston Harbor

• This became known as the Boston Tea Party

Proclamation of 1763

• King George of England drew a line from north to south along the Appalachian Mountains and declared that colonist couldn’t settle west of the line without permission

Intolerable Acts

• Coercive Acts – four new laws passed by the British in response to the Boston Tea Party

• Quebec Act – gave more land to Quebec and made it harder for colonist to move west

First Continental Congress

• Met in Philadelphia in 1774

• Wrote the Declaration of Rights and Grievances – which gave loyalty to the king but condemned the Intolerable Acts

Revolution Begins

• The town of Concord created the first Minutemen militia

• The colonist split into 2 groups• Loyalist – (Tories) those still loyal to

the king• Patriots – (Whigs) wanted

independence

Lexington and Concord

• April 18, 1775 British Gen. Gage wanted the arms stockpile at Concord

• Lexington was on the way

• Paul Revere and William Dawes were sent to warn that “the Red Coats were coming”

Second Continental Congress

• After the victory delegates met to address the issue of defense

• The Congress adopted the militia and named it the Continental Army with Washington as it’s General

• Battle of Bunker Hill – huge boost to American confidence that they could stand up to the British army

• Olive Branch Petition – Continental Congress tried to make peace with King George

• Jan 1776 Thomas Paine wrote the pamphlet “Common Sense” calling for independence

• July 4th, 1776 Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress declaring themselves the United States of America

The Colonies

• Advantages• Fighting on home ground• Good generals• Fighting for freedom• French Alliance

• Disadvantages• Untrained, small army• Food & Ammo shortages• Weak, divided central

govt.

British

• Advantages• Well-trained, well-supplied

military• Wealth of resources• Strong central govt.

• Disadvantages• Fighting in unfamiliar,

hostile territory• Fighting far away from

Britain and resources• Troops indifferent, little

support at home

Northern Campaign

• British Strategy• Seizure of New York• Crossing the Delaware• Capture of Philadelphia and winter at

Valley Forge• Battle of Saratoga

• France enters the war

War In the West

• George Rogers Clark• Ohio River region

• British alliances with native tribes

War at Sea

• American Naval Strategy• Letters of Marque

• John Paul Jones

Southern Campaign

• Strong Loyalist support• Fall of Savannah and Charles Town• Turning Point in the South

• British tactics• Battle of King’s Mountain

• Francis Marion

American Victory

• British try and take Virginia• Victory at Yorktown• Treaty of Paris

• Recognition of the United States with Mississippi River as its western border

A New Nation

• Republic• State Constitutions

• Limited Power • Checks and Balances• “Tyranny of the Majority”

• Expansion of voting rights• Elimination of state funding for

churches

War and American Society

• Equality of white men• Emancipation of slaves

• Contradicted liberty and equality• Emancipation in northern states• Religion in African culture

• Loyalists flee• Education

• “Keystone of our arch of govt.”