Road to Independence: American Revolution Overview

1. The American Revolution

2. The French and Indian War In 1754 The British and French went to war over land in North America. Some Americans joined the British army. France lost to Britain in 1763 and gave up their North American colonies. The Americans were proud of the victory and hoped the british would value their sacrifices but, after the war Britain had huge war debts and taxed the colonists to try to pay them off.

3. The Boston Massacre The Americans protested the British tax laws for several years. They had no voice in making the laws so they didn’t want to pay the taxes. British government sent soldiers to enforce the laws. The colonists taunted the soldiers but, in 1770 it went too far and one man threw a wooden club and knocked a soldier on the ground. The soldiers suddenly fired into the crowd and five colonists were shot to death.

4. British Taxes Britain’s main governing body, parliament, levied taxes that colonists refused to pay. The colonists reasoned that parliament had no right to tax them because they couldn’t vote for representatives. “Taxation without representation is tyranny” became a rally cry for the colonists. The colonists refused to buy british goods which hurt the economy and convinced parliament to repeal some of the tax laws.

5. Start of The Revolutionary War After the colonists refused to pay the taxes and not purchase british goods, Britain sent soldiers to stay in colonists homes. The soldiers there in time of peace made the colonists angry, they banded together and ignored British law. Britain then took away the colonists’ right to self government.

6. The Revolutionary War After the right of self government was taken away from the colonists they united in 1775 and went to war with the British. They broke free from Britain in 1776 having the right to do so in the Declaration of Independence. The war lasted until 1781 when General Washington surrounded the British Army at Yorktown, Virginia, and the British surrendered.

7. The Articles of Confederation The 13 colonies came together during the Revolutionary War to write an agreement called the Articles of Confederation. The Articles made each colony an independent state with its own constitution and described the form of government and basic rights of citizens, which include, freedom of speech, press, religion, and the right of trial by jury.

8. The Constitution By 1787 many americans felt we needed a new plan for government and in the late 1780s American leaders came up with the constitution. The leaders that wrote the Constitution had to please the people of the all the states. The law-making part says the legislature is divided into 2 parts: the House of Representatives and the Senate.