The English Colonies Rebel: The American Revolution

1. The English Colonies Rebel: The American Revolution Melissa Williamson 9th grade World History

2. Divine Right: idea that monarchs have the right to rule from God • Petition of Right: Parliament alone could impose taxes • No one could question King Charles I or James I in England The English Colonies Rebel

3. James I and Charles I both believed that the Church of England was still too much like the Catholic Church. • Puritan House of Commons opposed the kings • Puritans vs. Protestants • Oliver Cromwell led the Roundheads against Charles I and his Cavaliers • Charles I surrendered and was tried, convicted, and beheaded as a traitor in 1649 The English Civil War

4. Cromwell seized control of the government and declared England a commonwealth, or republic • 1653: Cromwell turned England into a military dictatorship • Military dictatorship: rule by one person, backed by the armed forces • The people wanted a constitutional monarchy, or limiting the power of the monarch by law. The English Civil War

5. Restoration: period between 1660 and 1688 because the monarchy was brought back (brought back to its original form) • William and Mary asked to rule England, but had to sign English Bill of Rights • No bloodshed during this peaceful transition of power, so it is known as the Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution

6. British aided the colonists and natives against the French trying to take over territory in the new world • The war and its new possessions put an economic strain on the British Empire • The need for money became a major problem between Great Britain and the 13 colonies French and Indian War

7. Mercantilism: a nation’s prosperity depended upon a vast supply of silver and gold from its colonies • British did this through the regulation of trade • Stamp Tax: tax paid for all paper products in the colonies • Revenue tax: to raise money, not regulate trade • “No taxation without representation” • Repealed in 1766 Causes of the American Revolution

8. Declaration of Independence signed on July 4, 1776 • Britain had the largest, strongest army and navy in the world • The American army consisted of untrained recruits who served short periods of time and only had a handful of ships • American advantage: strong leadership such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams The War

9. The French, Dutch, and Spanish all sent ships, money, soldiers, and supplies to aid the Americans fight their British enemy • Cornwallis surrendered in October of 1781 The War

10. First written plan of government for the new nation • Stated deliberately adopted a plan that did not create a strong central government Articles of Confederation

11. Inspired by the ideas of the French philosopher Montesquieu • Set up a federal system • Federal system: power is shared among national, state, and local governments • System of checks and balances • Executive, legislative, judicial branches • National government granted powers of army, regulate trade, impose taxes, and create a national system of money • Nine states had to ratify the Constitution before it could be nationally imposed Constitution

12. First 10 amendments to the Constitution • Guarantee freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition; the right to bear arms; freedom from housing soldiers; freedom from unlawful search and seizure; the right to a fair and speedy trial; and freedom from excessive bail, fines, and punishment • To many people in the 1700s, the American Revolution was the fulfillment of Enlightenment ideals Bill of Rights