The American Revolution

1. The American Revolution

2. Causes • Limits on Westward Expansion • French and Indian War • Taxes

3. Limits on Westward Expansion Proclamation Line of 1763 • Keeps colonists from moving West • Prevents another expensive war with Indians • 10,000 Brit. Soldiers sent to enforce • Ignored by most colonists

4. French and Indian War • War was very expensive for the English • The British Parliament wants American colonists to help pay for cost of war. • Begin imposing taxes on colonists

5. Taxes

6. Sugar Act (1764) • Tax on sugar, coffee, indigo, and molasses • No Sugar means no molasses. • No molasses means no rum. • No rum means unhappy Pirates ... And colonists.

7. Stamp Act (1765) • England places a tax on all legal documents • bills of sale • contracts • Wills • newspapers • cards. • Americans begin to organize and protest the taxes.

8. “No Taxation Without Representation” • How it worked: • All taxes and laws are made by the King of England and Parliament. • Only people living in England may elect members • to Parliament. • If Americans cannot elect members to Parliament, then they have no representation there. • These Americans say the taxes are unfair and refuse to pay them. They say that they have the same rights as Englishmen and want representation.

9. Colonial Reaction • Colonists reacted to these taxes in several ways • Boycotts • Harassment of tax collectors • Smuggled goods

10. Townshend Acts (1767) • In response to colonial actions • Navigation Acts enforced • Allowed Brits to search homes and boats for smuggled goods • Added taxes on goods • Glass • Lead • Paper • Paint • Tea

11. Boston Massacre (1770) • Started as a protest against British • Colonists threw snowballs at soldiers and taunted them by calling them names. • Soldiers fired on crowd killing 5 colonists. Someone from the crowd yelled “fire.” • Paul Revere, wrote about the event and called it the “Boston Massacre.”

12. More Taxes • Tea Act (1773) • Lowers price of tea but leaves taxes • Leads to the Boston Tea Party

14. Intolerable Acts (1774) • Enacted to punish colonists for Tea Party • Boston placed under military rule • Closed port of Boston • Additional British soldiers sent to enforce • Quartering Act

15. First Continental Congress • Representatives from each Colony • Meet to discuss their rights • Send petition to King to restore peace • Asked for repeal of intolerable acts • British respond by adding additional taxes • Colonies begin forming militias

16. Lexington and Concord • British wanted to capture arms and ammunition. • British march out of Boston on April 18, 1775 • Paul Reveres rides to warn the countryside of British. • Lexington: Minutemen confront British. Exchange fire • 18 Minutemen killed or wounded. • British march to Concord: Destroyed remaining supplies. Exchange fire. • British march back to Boston: Minutemen fire on British all the way back. • 300 British killed, wounded, or missing. • Americans surround Boston.

18. Second Continental Congress • Representatives from the colonies met in Philadelphia to discuss plans. • Olive Branch Petition (1775): Sent petition to King George III asking to restore peace. King refuses petition. • Continental Army (1775): Created an army to prepare for war under the command of George Washington.

19. Reasons why most people believed that England would win the war. Reasons why the American colonists believed that they would win the war. ADVANTAGES: 1. They were fighting for their homes, families, lives, and freedom. 2. George Washington 3. They were fighting on their home ground. 4. Ben Franklin got the French to help them. 5. Many of the English generals were afraid to make mistakes. 6. The English people would get tired of a long war. DISADVANTAGES: 1. Poorly trained army and no navy. 2. No money to fight a war. 3. Weak, inexperienced gov’t. 4. 2/3 of population were either Tories or didn’t care. 5. Professional English army, Hessians, and Indians against them. 6.Poor equipment and lack of food. 7. Soldiers could leave at will.

20. Reasons why England believed it would win its war with America. Reasons why England might not win the war. ADVANTAGES: 1. Professional army and navy. 2. Factories to make war materials. 3. $ to feed and supply an army. 4. A government to make decisions. 5. 1/3 of the American population were Tories. 1/3 of the American population were neutral or didn’t care. 6. Hessians and Indians on British side. 7. Americans were poorly supplied and trained. DISADVANTAGES: 1. England had a 3000 mile supply line. 2. English soldiers were fighting because they were told to fight. 3. America is a large piece of land and not easy to control or conquer. 4. Many of the English generals were afraid to make mistakes.

21. American Generals British Generals Reasons why England might not win the war. George Washington Nathaniel Green Benedict Arnold* Horatio Gates Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben William Howe Lord Cornwallis John Burgoyne

22. Bunker Hill • American militia surrounds Boston • British advancements, led by Howe, halted twice • Americans urged to conserve gunpowder and to aim at officers • Eventually militia runs out of ammo • Half of Brits killed or injured • British forced to leave Boston

27. Battle of Trenton (1776) • Americans suffered several losses in the early stages of war • Washington wished to end the year on a positive note • Launches an attack on Trenton, NJ • Crosses the Frozen Delaware River. • Successfully catches Hessians asleep • Washington captures 1000 men while losing none

29. Hessians • German mercenary soldiers • About 30,000 fought in Am. Rev.

32. Valley Forge • General Howe captured Philadelphia in 1777 • Washington forced to take up camp 20 miles away Problem • lacked shoes and warm clothing. • Food was scarce. • Diseases • 2500 men died • Friedrich von Steuben. • Former Prussian commander • He knew how to train an army. • Trained the soldiers repeatedly during the winter

33. George Washington Praying at Valley Forge

34. Valley Forge, 1777 – 1778

35. Saratoga • Overconfident Burgoyne takes control of British troops in Canada • Wants to launch and attack through NY to cut off NE from rest of colonies • Burgoyne fails to wait for reinforcements • Despite disagreements on strategy, Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold lead Colonial forces to a victory • Considered the turning point of the war • Benjamin Franklin convinces French to join • Brits abandon northern campaigns

37. Southern Strategy • After the French join the conflict, Brits attempt to focus on the south • Hope to gain support of loyalists • Crush spirit of Rebels • Led by General Cornwallis

39. Southern Strategy • Brits seized Savannah, Charleston and won small battles throughout GA, SC and NC • Failed to gather loyalist support after they lost battle in Kings Mountain, NC. • Defeated Nathaniel Greene at Guildford Courthouse • After resupplying in Wilmington, Brits decided to move campaign into VA to cut supply lines • The remaining army of Greene would go on to retake the South after Cornwallis leaves

40. Yorktown (1781) • Last major battle of the American Revolution. • Washington learned that Cornwallis was nearly pinned in Yorktown and rushes to assist. • The French cut off the sea escape • Washington cut off the land escape • Cornwallis was surrounded. The American and French troops gradually closed in on him. • Cornwallis surrendered to Washington on Oct 19, 1781.

43. Treaty of Paris (1783) • Official end of the war • Terms • POW’s released • Equal access to Mississippi • Confiscation of loyalist property ended • Established Northern Boundaries • Thirteen colonies are free, sovereign states