The American Revolution

1. The American Revolution 1775-1783

2. The Beginning of the American Revolution • The American Revolution began in 1775 as an open conflict between the thirteen colonies and Great Britain. • While no one event can be pointed to as the actual cause of the revolution, the war began as a disagreement over the way in which Great Britain treated the colonies versus the way the colonies felt they should be treated. • Americans felt they deserved all the rights of Englishmen

3. Continue • The British, on the other hand, felt that the colonies were created to be used in the way that best suited the crown and parliament. • This conflict is embodied in one of the rallying cries of the American Revolution. “No Taxation Without Representation!”

4. Independent Thinking • Geographic Considerations – the distance of the colonies from Great Britain created an independence that was hard to overcome. • Colonial Legislatures – the existence of colonial legislatures meant that the colonies were in many ways independent of the crown. • Salutary Neglect – this system was an actual enforcement of external trade relations that was suppose to stimulate commerce. • Enlightenment – Many of the revolutionary leaders began thinking and studying the major writings of the Enlightenment Thinkers.

5. Major Events That Led to the American 1.1 Revolution • The road to revolution built slowly over time. Many events fed the growing desire of the 13 colonies for independence. • Following are the major events that led to the Revolution: • 1756-1763-French and Indian War. • This war between Britain and France ended with the victorious British deeply in debt and demanding more revenue from the colonies. • With the defeat of the French, the colonies became less dependent on Britain for protection.

6. Major Events • Sugar Act 1764 – this act raised revenue by increasing duties on sugar imported from the West Indies. • Currency Act 1764 – Parliament argued that colonial currency had caused a devaluation harmful to British trade. They banned American assemblies form issuing paper bills or bills of credit.

7. Continue of Major Events • Committees of Correspondence 1764 – Organized by Samuel Adams, these helped spread propaganda and information through letters. • Quartering Act 1765 – Britain ordered that colonists were to house and feed British soldiers if necessary. • Stamp Act 1765 – This required a tax stamp on paper goods, such as newspapers, playing cards, marriage licenses. • Stamp Act Congress 1765 – 27 delegates from 9 colonies met in New York City and drew of a statement of rights and grievances against Britain.

8. Continue Major Events • Sons and Daughters of Liberty 1765 – Colonists tried to fight back by imposing non-importation agreements, took the law into their own hands enforcing these agreements by methods like tar and feathering.

9. Continue • Boston Massacre 1770 – The colonists and British soldiers openly clashed in Boston. This event was used as an example of British cruelty despite questions about how it actually occurred. • Tea Act 1773 – To assist the failing British East India Company, the Company was given a monopoly to trade tea in America. • Boston Tea Party 1773 – A group of colonists disguised as Indians dumped tea overboard from 3 ships in the Boston Harbor.

10. Continue • Intolerable Acts 1774 – These were passed in response to the Boston Tea Party and placed restrictions on the colonists including outlawing town meetings and the closing of Boston Harbor. • First Continental Congress 1774 – In response to the Intolerable Acts, 12 of the 13 colonies met in Philadelphia September-October 1774, the main results of this was the agreement of boycotting of British goods.

11. Lexington and Concord –April 1975 1.2 In April, British troops were ordered to Lexington and Concord to seize stores of colonial gunpowder and to capture Samuel Adams and John Hancock. At Lexington, open conflict occurred and eight Americans were killed. At Concord, the British troops were forced to retreat with the loss of 70 men. This was the first instance of open warfare.

12. Second Continental Congress 2.1 All 13 colonies were represented at this meeting in Philadelphia beginning in May. The colonists still hoped that their grievances would be met by King George III. George Washington was named head of the Continental Army. • Bunker Hill 1775 – This major victory for the Colonists resulted in George III proclaiming the colonies in rebellion.

13. Violence against perceived enemies 2.2 • American patriots used tar and feathers to wage a war of intimidation against British tax collectors. • increasingly applied to Tories and their sympathizers. In Georgia, New Jersey, and Connecticut, villagers were quick to feather any perceived "enemy to the rights of America." • Recognizing that unrestrained violence could only bring the American cause into ill repute, Boston leaders called a halt to the practice of tarring and feathering.

14. Results In the end, the American Revolution grew out of increasing restrictions placed upon the colonies by the British. One interesting side note: It is estimated that only one-third of the colonists were in favor of rebellion. One-third continued to side with the British, but the last third were neutral concerning the rebellion and break from Great Britain. Ended with the treaty of Paris – September 1783.

15. Washington • Compared to other political leaders of his time, such as Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, Washington was far from outstanding. He had little formal education. He knew no foreign languages. He had never traveled to Europe. Personally aloof, even cold, he was not a great thinker, writer, or speaker. • In many ways President George Washington must be put into a class by himself. Unlike the other founding fathers, Washington was a true non-partisan. He hated it when people divided into hostile groups, and he tried to avoid taking sides during political disputes. As president of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, he contributed almost nothing to the heated debates that took place. Instead, he used his considerable prestige to calm people down and get them back to their main job: creating a new form of government for the United States. • When it came time during the Convention to design the executive branch of the federal government (Article II of the Constitution), virtually everyone assumed Washington would become the first president. Indeed, the writers of the Constitution created the office of president with Washington in mind. • For his part, Washington reluctantly accepted the presidency. Jefferson told him: "We cannot, Sir, do without you." None of the other founding fathers, despite all their brilliance, could command the respect and trust George Washington did. Washington became the first and only president to be unanimously elected.