The Road to the Revolution

1. The Road to the Revolution British flag

2. THINK ABOUT THIS? • The King of England started to tax the colonists for different reasons. • The colonists didn’t want to pay the taxes • WHAT IS A TAX? • A fee imposed by the government people MUST pay.

3. The Colonies & Britain Grow Apart • During the French & Indian War, colonies & Britain fought side by side. • Proclamation of 1763 • no colonists could settle west of the Appalachian Mountains Proclamation Line ORV

4. King George III • King George III,the British King during the Revolutionary War • wanted to enforce the Proclamation so he sent 10,000 British troops into the colonies.

5. Quartering Act & Sugar Act • 1765 Parliament passed the Quartering Act • This required colonist to house, feed, & provide supplies for British soldiers • 1764 Parliament passed the Sugar Act • This put a tax on sugar & molasses brought into America (used to cook) • WHY? • Britain had a large debt from the French & Indian War and needed $$$$.

6. Taxation Without Representation • Many colonists claimed Parliament (British government) had no right to tax the colonists without asking permission. • Colonists were not represented in Parliament. • “No Taxation Without Representation!”

7. Stamp Act • 1765 Parliament passed the Stamp Act • all legal & commercial documents must have an official stamp showing a tax had been paid on the document • Ex: newspapers, diplomas, contracts, playing cards • Colonial merchants organized a boycott of British goods as a result of the Stamp Act. • Boycott is a refusal to buy goods

8. Sons of Liberty / Townshend Acts • Many colonists formed secret societies to oppose British rule. • Sons of Liberty • staged protests against the acts • Samuel Adams was their leader • 1767 the Townshend Acts passed • placed taxes on goods the colonists used daily • glass, paper, paint, lead and tea

9. Boston Massacre • In 1770 • British soldiers and colonists began shouting insults, then throwing snowballs at each other • A fight broke out and British soldiers fired • 5 Americans died • Crispus Attucks

10. The Boston Massacre Crispus Attucks?

11. Tea Act • 1773 Parliament passed Tea Act • A tax put on tea brought into the colonies • Samuel Adams began to form committees of correspondence • groups who exchanged letters and information on colonial affairs

12. Boston Tea Party • As a result of the Tea Act, colonists dressed up to look like Mohawk Indians • They boarded British ships carrying goods into the Boston Harbor • dumped only the tea from the ships into the Boston Harbor

13. The Boston Tea Party

14. Intolerable Acts • A series of laws passed by Parliament • Intolerable Acts • Closed the port of Boston • Made town meetings illegal • Had to house British troops • British officials could go to Britain to go on trial

15. First Continental Congress • Delegates (members) from all colonies met in Philadelphia, Penn • First Continental Congress • Agreed to begin training troops for war • Wanted to fight for colonists rights & independence • Banned trade with Britain

16. TO ARMS!! • By the end of 1774, colonists began to prepare for a war • Militia – force of armed civilians ready to fight for their country. • Minutemen – civilian men ready to act at a minute’s warning • Redcoats – nickname for British soldiers

17. Paul Revere • Paul Revere • rode to Lexington and Concord (Massachusetts) • British troops • were going to attack militia and steal artillery • wanted to capture Hancock and Adams “The British are coming, the British are coming!!”

18. Paul Revere’s Ride

19. Lexington and Concord • British troops found about 70 minutemen waiting. • Shots were fired…the war had begun • ‘the shot heard round the world’ • the first battles of the Revolutionary War

20. Patriots and Loyalists • Those who supported the British in the war were called Loyalists. • Those who supported the colonists (rebels) in the war were called Patriots.

21. The Continental Army • The Continental Army began to form • army of colonists fighting for independence • Over 20,000 militiamen showed up in Boston • George Washington • Commanding General

22. Battle of Bunker Hill • British soldiers forced the militia off the hill in a very bloody battle • 1,000 British killed or wounded • 400 militiamen killed • British redcoats won this battle “Don’t fire ‘til you see the whites of their eyes!”

23. Thomas Paine • Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet called Common Sense • a complete break away from England was necessary • sold 120,000 in 3 months

24. Let’s Declare Independence! • A group was chosen to draft a document called the Declaration of Independence • On July 4, 1776 (Independence Day) Congress adopted • Thomas Jefferson • wrote in 17 days

25. Declaration of Independence • What’s in the Declaration? • unalienable rights • Reasons for separating from Britain • Declared colonies to be free and independent states

26. Unalienable Rights • Unalienable right • a right that cannot be taken away “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

27. The Road to the Revolution The Proclamation of 1763 Townshend Acts 1767 Stamp Act 1765 Boston Tea Party 1773 Boston Massacre 1770 Tea Act 1773 Battles of Lexington & Concord 1775 Intolerable Acts 1774 First Continental Congress 1774 Declaration of Independence written 1776 Revolutionary War begins 1775