Causes of the American Revolution

1. Causes of the American Revolution SS8H3 The student will analyze the role of Georgia in the American Revolution. a. Explain the immediate and long-term causes of the American Revolution and their impact on Georgia; include the French and Indian War (Seven Years War), Proclamation of 1763, Stamp Act, Intolerable Acts, and the Declaration of Independence.

2. The French and Indian War(Seven Year’s War) • The French and Indian War was part of the European Seven Years War. • It was a dispute involving most of the European nations at the time. • It is called the Seven Years War in Europe and called the French and Indian War in America. • Both the British and French were allied with Native Americans in the New World

3. The French and Indian War • It was the result of disputes between France and Great Britain that had been going on for almost 65 years. • The causes of the was were greed and fear: • The Greed was a hope to capture the most land in the New World and control the treasures of the territory. • The Fear was that one country would gain more power than the other.

4. The French and Indian War • The tension increased when both claimed the area of the Ohio River Valley. • The British traders had formed profitable agreements with many tribes that had formerly traded only with the French. • The British sent George Washing to warn the French that the Ohio River Valley did not belong to them and to stop building forts. • Those demands were ignored.

5. The French and Indian War • Washington was sent back the following year with militia troops attacking 30 French soldiers killing 10 and forcing the rest to surrender. • The French responded by attacking a British fort starting The French and Indian War.

6. The French and Indian War • The first few years were a series of losses of the British. • In 1757, William Pitt was put in charge of the war and captured key French cities of Quebec and Montreal. • A year later Washington led attacks on Fort Duquesne which resulted with the region coming under British control.

7. The French and Indian War • Georgia did not take part in the war, but was helped by it. • The Treaty of Paris of 1763 formally ended the war and moved Georgia’s western boundary at the Mississippi River.

8. The French and Indian War • Perhaps even more importantly, the French and Indian War led to the American Revolution. • After the war, Great Britain found itself with a huge war debt. • The British felt that the colonist should pay for the war and taxed them to cover the war expenses.

9. Proclamation of 1763 • At the end of the French and Indian War, France surrendered all of its North American territories east of the Mississippi to Britain. • In addition, Spain gave Florida to Britain, but received the Louisiana Territory and New Orleans from France.

10. Proclamation of 1763 • After the war, Britain needed to deal with the growing Native American grievance against European settlers. • The proclamation reserved land west of the Appalachian Mountains for Native American tribes.

11. Proclamation of 1763 • In addition, colonists already living in this territory were commanded to leave. • The colonists wanted to explore and grow their colonies. • The Proclamation of 1763 made the colonists feel betrayed by their own government.

12. Stamp Act • In 1765, the British Parliament passed the Stamp Act in an attempt to raise money to pay for the French and Indian War. • The colonists did NOT have representatives in Britain’s government. • This act placed a tax on newspapers, legal documents, permits, commercial contracts, pamphlets, playing cards, and licenses.

13. Stamp Act • After paying the tax, these documents would receive a stamp. • The stamps were very expensive and could only be paid in silver and gold. • Throughout the colonies, the reaction to the Stamp Act was swift and sometimes violent.

14. Stamp Act • Many colonists ignored the Stamp Act. • They even threatened tax collectors. Many tax collectors were too afraid to enforce the law. • To protest the act, colonists boycotted British goods, which hurt British manufactures.

15. Stamp Act • A group of Georgian came together to oppose the Stamp Act. They called themselves the Liberty Boys. • The Liberty Boys were part of a larger group, the Sons of Liberty, whose daring acts came to represent the spirit of the Revolution.

16. Stamp Act • Georgia was the only colony that ever sold the stamps. Only a few were sold. • Georgia’s only newspaper, The Georgia Gazette, had to stop printing while the Stamp Act was in effect.

17. Stamp Act • A Stamp Act Congress met in Boston, Massachusetts, to speak against the tax. The Georgia colonial assembly was not in session at the time, so it did not send a representative to the Stamp Act Congress. • The congress wrote the Declaration of Rights and Grievances. It was sent to the Parliament and king. • Parliament voted to end the Stamp Act in March 1766.

18. Intolerable Acts- Background • In 1773, the British passed the Tea Act to help the British East India Company. • The act gave the company a monopoly of selling tea in the colony by regulating tea prices. • Colonist merchants feared they would lost their businesses if the cheap British tea flooded the market.

19. Intolerable Acts- Background • In Philadelphia and New York, colonists forced the tea ships to turn back. • In Charleston, SC, colonists let the tea sit of the docks until it rotted.

20. Intolerable Acts- Background • Boston was well-controlled by British forces. • However, on December 16, 1773, Boston colonists protested the Tea Act by sneaking into Boston Harbor after dark dressed as Native Americans. They boarded the tea ships and dumped 90,000 pounds of tea into the water. • This event was known as the Boston Tea Party.

21. Intolerable Acts • To punish the colonists of Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party, Parliament passed four laws, which because of their harshness became known as the Intolerable Acts.

22. Intolerable Acts • One law closed the port of Boston until the Massachusetts colonists paid for the tea. • Massachusetts colonists could not have a town meeting without the agreement of their governor, who was the commander of the British troops.

23. Intolerable Acts 3. The court system was changed so that any British official who committed a crime in the colonies would be tried in Great Britain rather than by a colonial court. 4. The Quartering Act required that the citizens of all colonies house and feed British soldiers at their own expense.

24. First Continental Congress • As a result of these acts, the colonists formed the First Continental Congress to discuss how to respond to the British. The Congress agreed to stop all trade with Great Britain • All the colonies had representatives there except Georgia. • The Anti-British movement was growing in Georgia, but the people seemed more concerned about which parish (like a county) would have the most power in Georgia’s assembly. • The colony had did well as a Royal colony and depended on Great Britain for protection. As a result, Georgia decided not to send a representative.

25. A Divided Georgia • Georgia’s loyalties were divided. • Colonists who supported Great Britain were called Loyalists. • Colonists who supported the revolution were called Patriots.

26. The American Revolution Begins • In May of 1775, news of the first battles of Lexington and Concord reached Georgia. • Support of the Revolution grew in Georgia and that same year they joined the other colonies in the fight for independence from Great Britain.

27. The Declaration of Independence • On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence. This document announced the separation of the thirteen colonies from Britain. • The 1,458-word document, written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, has three parts.

28. The Declaration of Independence • The Preamble, or introduction, stated how the colonists felt about democracy. • The second part, or body, listed twenty-seven grievances (complaints) against King George III and his government that led the colonists to seek independence from Great Britain. • The third part, the conclusion, declared the colonies to be an independent nation for all future times.

29. The Declaration of Independence • This document was signed by representatives of all thirteen colonies. • The three signers from Georgia were: • Lyman Hall • Button Gwinnett • George Walton

30. The Declaration of Independence • The Declaration meant that the colonies were one nation, not in total agreement, but still one nation.