1
Social Sciences 7 – Unit 7.3 Below are the big ideas and concepts you need to understand for
7.3 This is supposed to be a support to your notes. It is suggested that you make flashcards, a split-page review guide or some other
means of studying based upon your notes.
Events leading to the Revolution War French and Indian War – causes, results
Albany Plan of Union – who made, result
Colonial methods of protest
Various acts, protests against
“No taxation without representation”
Role of colonial leaders
Key conflicts such as Boston Massacre and Boston Tea Party
American Revolution Key details of battles such as Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, Saratoga, etc.
Strengths and weaknesses of the British / Continental Army
Colonists joining together as one – Continental Congresses
Details / impact of Common Sense and Declaration of Independence
Military leaders – what did they do?
Role of women and African Americans in the war
Other key events such as Valley Forge
Key vocabulary you need to know (see vocabulary 7.3 for definitions): Albany Plan of Union Boston Massacre Boston Tea Party boycott Common Sense Declaration of Independence French and Indian War Intolerable Acts loyalist patriot Proclamation of 1763 Quartering Act repeal – smuggling Sons of Liberty Stamp Act Tea Act tory Townshend Acts Treaty of Paris (1763)
blockade Continental Army First Continental Congress Green Mountain Boys guerrilla warfare Hessians independence militia minutemen Olive Branch Petition patriotism rebellion revolution Revolutionary War Second Continental Congress traitor Treaty of Paris (1783) Valley Forge
2
French and Indian War (1754-1763)
Mr. Cripps’ Notes Your Notes Background: Britain and France have a history of warfare
French Allies: Huron and Algonquin
British Allies: Iroquois
Where / Why did the war begin: Fur trade in Ohio River
Valley
Albany Congress
Proposed by: Ben Franklin
Albany Plan Of Union: Colonies would form a
government to protect the colonies Result: It was defeated because the colonies didn’t
want to give up their power.
French British
Strengths -1 government
-more Native American allies
Strengths -15 times more people
-easier to defend
Weaknesses -settlement spread out
Weaknesses -13 separate colonies
Mr. Cripps’ Notes Your Notes
Final Battle of the War: Quebec
Treaty to end the war: Treaty of Paris (1763)
Results of the War:
1. All French lands in North America now belong to Great Britain
2. Colonists see the wonderful land of the Ohio River Valley – fertile soil and furs
3
boycotts Refusing to buy taxed goods. The purpose was to get
factory owners in England mad because they were losing
business. They would put pressure on Parliament to repeal
the act. The most commonly used and successful colonial
method of protest.
Committees of
correspondence
A network of colonists who wrote each other so that people
in other colonies knew what the British were doing. They
also could coordinate their protest actions.
Hanging in
Effigies
Hanging of representations of somebody. Usually
government officials or tax collectors. They served as a
warning to tax collectors that if they continued to collect
taxes they could be hanged. Most tax collectors would quit
which made collecting the tax impossible.
Harassing
government
officials
Throwing rocks, burning houses, beating up government
officials to get them to stop doing their job.
Make your own Making your own goods so you don’t have to pay taxes.
Examples include liberty tea and homespun cloth.
Form militias A later protest. Forming groups of volunteer soldiers to
protect the colonist’s interests.
petitions Sending letters to King George and Parliament to try and
get changes made. They usually were not successful.
riots Usually unorganized protests that got out of control.
smuggling Sneaking goods into the country to avoid paying taxes.
There was a history of this dating back to the Navigation
Acts (1660’s).
Sons of Liberty
/ Daughters of
Liberty
Colonial organizations with the purpose of protesting
British actions. Biggest concentration was found around
Boston, Massachusetts.
Tar and
Feather
Tax collectors were threatened with tarring and feathering
which was painful and humiliating. Most decided to quit
their jobs making collecting taxes difficult for the British.
4
Proclamation of 1763 / Sugar Act Mr. Cripps’ Notes Your Notes
Britain passed a series of acts over the next 10 years to gain money for Britain to cover the costs of running and protecting the colonies. Initially they said it is a result of the French and Indian War.
Proclamation of 1763 Settlers could not move west of the Appalachian
Mountains
Colonists Response
Colonists ignored the act and moved west
anyways
Sugar Act (1764) Taxed sugar and molasses
Colonists Response
Smuggled goods into the colonies
Bribed tax officials
Stamp Act Mr. Cripps’ Notes Your Notes
Stamp Act (1765) o Taxed paper goods such as newspapers, marriage certificates, wills, diplomas, dice and playing cards
Colonists Response
-harassed stamp agents
-riots
-Stamp Act Congress -9 colonies -sent petitions to King George
5
Colonial Leaders Mr. Cripps’ Notes Your Notes
Sam Adams - Massachusetts
Leader of the Sons of Liberty
John Adams - Massachusetts
Lawyer – knew British law
Sam’s cousin
George Washington - Virginia
House of Burgesses member
Against Townshend Acts
Patrick Henry - Virginia
House of Burgesses member
Fiery speaker
“Give me liberty or give me death”
Townshend Acts / Quartering Act / Boston Massacre
Mr. Cripps’ Notes Your Notes
Townshend Acts (1767) -Taxed glass, paper, lead, paint, tea -established writs of assistance which allowed British officials to search ships without giving a reason
Colonists Response
-Nonimportation agreements – colonists merchants agreed to stop importing British goods -boycotts -Sons of Liberty / Daughters of Liberty -hangings in effigy -made homespun cloth and liberty tea
6
Quartering Act (1767)
-Said colonists had to house British soldiers
Colonists Response -riots -Boston Massacre
Boston Massacre (March 5, 1770) a. 5 colonists killed b. not sure who started it c. Sons of Liberty blamed the British
Tea Act
Mr. Cripps’ Notes Your Notes Tea Act (1773)
Gave monopoly of the tea trade to the
British East India Company
Cut local merchants out of the tea trade
Colonists boycotted tea
Boston Tea Party
Sons of Liberty dressed as Mohawks and
dumped the tea
The main problem the colonists had with the taxes
was the issue of “No taxation without representation.”
“No taxation without representation” means that
the colonists felt that Parliament had no right to tax
them if they did not elect representatives to
Parliament.
7
Intolerable Acts
Mr. Cripps’ Notes Your Notes
Intolerable Acts -British reaction to the Boston Tea Party
Shut port of Boston
1 town meeting a year
British officials to be tried in England
New Quartering Act
First Continental Congress
(1774)
Boycott British goods
Set up and train militias
VERY FEW people thinking about separating from
Britain
Lexington and Concord
Mr. Cripps’ Notes Your Notes Lexington and Concord (1775)
British trying to capture
1. guns
2. ammunition
3. John Hancock
4. Sam Adams
Paul Revere warns the colonists
First shots at Lexington
“Shot heard ‘round the World”
minutemen won the battle
8
Continental Army vs. British Army
British Army Continental
Army
Approximately
12,000,000 people
Approximately
2,800,000 – many loyal
to England
Highly developed and
flourishing
Practically none
Lots of money -
wealthy
Little money
Best army in the
world
No army – just militia
Not good
George Washington
and other good leaders
Unfamiliar with land
Knew the land
The best in the world
none
9
Fort Ticonderoga (May 1775) Mr. Cripps’ Notes Your Notes
New York Colony
American Leaders – Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen
Ethan Allen led the Green Mountain Boys from Vermont
Importance: captured cannons
War not officially started yet
Second Continental Congress (May 1775)
Mr. Cripps’ Notes Your Notes Results:
1. Olive Branch Petition to King George III 2. Set up Continental Army – George
Washington is leader
Sides during the war Patriots are people who believe that the colonists would be better off if they
separated from Great Britain. Sons of Liberty
were examples of patriots.
Neutral people aren’t on either side in the
Revolutionary War. They see advantages of
remaining a colony and of declaring their independence.
Loyalists / Tories are people who want to remain a colony of Great Britain. They think the colonies need the support and
protection Britain offers.
Bunker Hill (June 1775) Mr. Cripps’ Notes Your Notes
Outside of city of Boston
Americans were doing well until they ran out of ammunition
“Don’t shoot until you see the whites of their eyes!” - William Prescott
British won the hill but had many more wounded and killed soldiers
Proved: 1. Americans wouldn’t be easy to defeat
2. The British wouldn’t give up ------------------------------------------------------- The British used their navy to blockade the United States. This meant that they were going to sail ships up and down the American coast to make sure ships couldn’t bring supplies to the colonies. This was very effective because the colonies had basically no navy.
10
Common Sense Mr. Cripps’ Notes Your Notes
Thomas Paine
January 1776
It was obvious that the colonies had little
to gain by being a colony.
500,000 copies sold
Everyone read
Very persuasive
Declaration of Independence Mr. Cripps’ Notes Your Notes
July 4, 1776
Group of 5 wrote it – main author was Thomas Jefferson
Said the colonies were free from British control
John Hancock signed really big so that the King could read his name and know he signed it.
3 parts 1. Purpose of governments
2. Listed all the wrongs done to the colonies by
Great Britain – it was a very complete list so that Great Britain and the World would realize that the colonies had real reasons for wanting independence and wasn’t just throwing a fit.
3. Declared the colonies independent
If the war was lost, all of the people who signed it would have been traitors and been killed.
11
Fighting in NY, Nathan Hale, Crisis, Trenton, Foreign Help, Valley Forge
Mr. Cripps’ Notes Your Notes
Battles for New York
Washington tried to stand up to the British in this location. His
troops were beaten and/or captured in several small battles.
Things didn’t look good for his army. The main city of New York
was captured and much of it was burned to the ground.
Nathan Hale
This person was a former school teacher who tried to find
information about the British in New York City for Washington.
He had no experience as a spy. His loyalist uncle spotted him and
ratted him out as a spy. As he was brought to the gallows he said,
“I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”
Known as the most famous American spy.
The Crisis - Thomas Paine
This person was famous for writing Common Sense. He wrote
The Crisis in 1776 to try to convince people to enlist as soldiers.
He called the American “sunshine soldiers” meaning that they
were willing to serve when the weather was nice and things were
going well but when the going got tough they went home. The
Crisis was very influential.
Battle of Trenton
This battle gave the Americans some momentum in the war. It
occurred just before many of the soldiers contracts were to run
out. These soldiers would have gone home without some sign of
encouragement effectively destroying the army and ending the
war. This battle convinced many soldiers to re-enlist.
Washington crossed the icy Delaware River and surprised the
Hessian mercenaries (soldiers for hire) who were recovering from
their Christmas celebration. No Americans were killed.
Baron von Steuben - This Prussian soldier helped teach the
Americans how to fight better. He trained the soldiers.
Marquis de Lafayette - This Frenchman was a valuable aid and
close friend of Washington.
Valley Forge - This is where Washington and the Continental
Army spent the winter of 1777-1778. They were cold and hungry.
12
British 3 – Fold Plan The purpose of the British 3 – Fold Plan was to capture the city of
Albany.
British General Goal Actual Result
General St.
Leger
Attack Albany from Lake
Ontario
Defeated at the
Battle of Oriskany
General Howe
Attack Albany up the
Hudson River from New York
City
Captured Philadelphia
and stayed there for
the winter
General
Burgoyne
Attack Albany by going
down Lake Champlain
Defeated at Saratoga
The map below shows what the British hoped was going to happen.
Battle of Saratoga:
13
Mr. Cripps’ Notes Your Notes
Saratoga British General: John Burgoyne
American General: Horatio Gates, Benedict Arnold
Nickname: Turning Point of the War
Result of the battle: Burgoyne surrendered close to 7,000
soldiers
France helped the Americans
Benedict Arnold Very good American general
He and John Andre try to give West Point to the British
Unsuccessful – most famous traitor
14
Women and African Americans in the War, Fighting at Sea and on the Frontier
Mr. Cripps’ Notes Your Notes
Women helped keep the farms going during the war. Many also went with their husbands to war where they did laundry, cooked, etc. Betsy Ross was credited with making the first American flag. Mary Ludwig Hays took over for her husband and fired a cannon at the battle of Monmouth. She was also known as Molly Pitcher. Deborah Sampson dressed up as a man and fought in several battles.
African-Americans played an important part in the war. At first they were not allowed to fight but when the British offered them freedom if they fought on their side. General Washington realized that it would be beneficial if they could fight in the Continental Army. Some African-Americans proved to be heroes in the war. Peter Salem and Salem Poor fought at Bunker Hill. Many African-Americans hoped for an end to slavery because the Declaration of Independence said “all people are created equal.”
Most of the Native Americans helped the British. George Rogers Clark was the American commander in the West. He captured forts at Kaskaskia and Cahokia. He made a surprise attack at Vincennes after marching through a swamp. The best American naval leader was John Paul Jones. He commanded a ship called the Bonhomme Richard. He defeated the British warship called the Serapis. It looked like he might lose the battle and he was asked if he surrendered. He responded, “I have not yet begun to fight!”
15
Sullivan-Clinton Campaign Mr. Cripps’ Notes Your Notes
series of battles in this area
goal is to destroy Iroquois villages
Fighting in the South Mr. Cripps’ Notes Your Notes
A. Main fighting 1. Charles Cornwallis (Br.) 2. Nathanael Greene (Cont.) 3. American doing poorly
a. lots of loyalists
B. Guerrilla Warfare 1. hit and run tactics 2. Francis Marion (Swamp Fox)
C. Yorktown (1781) 1. Yorktown Peninsula, Virginia 2. last major battle of the war 3. Cornwallis (BR.) surrounded by
Washington on land and the French fleet by sea 4. Surrendered
D. Treaty of Paris (1783) 1. U.S. recognized as an independent nation 2. Western boundary extended to the Mississippi River 3. Loyalists to be repaid