American Revolution Era, 1775 - 1783

1. American Revolution Era, 1775 - 1783 Taxation without Representation Boston Massacre Boston Tea Party Unalienable Rights Battles of Lexington and Concord, Saratoga, and Yorktown Declaration of Independence Articles of Confederation

2. 1776 • Adoption of the Declaration of Independence • Main Author: Thomas Jefferson • Committee Included: Ben Franklin, John Adams, Roger Livingston • “Common Sense” • Written by: Thomas Paine

3. Causes of the American Revolution • Proclamation of 1763 • Stamp Act • Intolerable Acts • Mercantilism • Lack of representation in Congress • British economic policies following the French and Indian War

4. Causes of the American Revolution • Proclamation of 1763 • Stamp Act • Intolerable Acts • Mercantilism • Lack of representation in Congress • British economic policies following the French and Indian War

5. Taxation without Representation • Since the formation of the colonies, the colonists had set up their own legislative assemblies. • Colonists were unhappy about Britain’s insistence on the supremacy of Parliament (taxation). • The debate turned into one regarding representation in Britain’s law-making body (Parliament). • Britain argued that the colonies had “virtual representation.”

6. Mercy Otis Warren • Wife of a Massachusetts Patriot • Anonymously wrote several propaganda pieces supporting the Patriot cause

7. Crispus Attucks • African American male • Unemployed dockworker in Boston, MA • Became the first casualty (first to die) of the American Revolution • Shot and killed in what became known as the Boston Massacre, March 5, 1770

8. Thomas Jefferson • Virginian • Early leader in the American Revolution • Delegate to the Constinental Congress in Philadelphia in 1776 • Member of the committee that wrote the Declaration of Independence • Chief author of the Declaration of Independence

9. Writing of the Articles of Confederation • Occurred at the Second Continental Congress • Created a new form of government for the independent colonies • Included one branch – a Congress • Each state had one vote • Created a very weak government with no executive

10. Treaty of Paris, 1783 • Peace treaty that ended the American Revolutionary War and recognized American independence • Great Britain gave up almost all of its land claims in North America • Boundaries extended to Canada in the north, the Mississippi River in the west, and Florida in the South

11. Unalienable Rights • Fundamental rights, or natural rights, guaranteed to people naturally instead of by the law. • In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson said these are the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

12. Civil Disobedience • The concept of refusing to follow laws within a community or ignoring the policies and government of a state or a nation when a person considers the laws unjust.Refusing to follow laws considered to be unlawful and/or unconstitutional. • Examples include boycotts, protests, refusal to pay taxes • Boston Tea Party is an example of civil disobedience.

13. French and Indian War • Fighting between the British and the French for control of North America. • Allies of the French were the Native Americans, or Indians. • Broke out in the Ohio River Valley in 1756. Throughout the world it was known as the Seven Years’ War • Ben Franklin suggested that the colonies join together to fight against the French in the Albany Plan of Union.This was the first attempt to unify the colonies • French and Indians were defeated. • British became in debt because of the war and taxed the colonists as a result.

14. Boston Massacre • Engraving of the Boston Massacre by Paul Revere • March 5, 1770 • Event in which British soldiers fired into a crowd of unarmed citizens of Boston • Killed five • This engraving was used as propaganda to encourage patriotic sympathies and support for American Independence • Paul Rever, a silversmith and engraver, was also a member of the Boston Sons of Liberty

15. Colonial Grievances listed in the Declaration of Independence and how those grievances were addressed in the U.S. Constitution • Grievance in Declaration of Independence • Constitution • Taxation without representation • All states have representation in Congress, which sets taxes • King has absolute power • Congress has the power to override Presidential veto • Colonists not allowed to speak out against the King • 1st Amendment – Freedom of Speech • Quartering Act forced colonists to house troops • 3rd Amendment – No quartering of Troops • allowed homes to be searched without warrants • 4th Amendment – No unwarranted search & seizure • No trial by jury of peers • 6th amendment—Speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury • 7th amendment—Right of trial by jury