Footsteps to Revolution

1. Footsteps to Revolution The Causes of the American Revolution

2. French and Indian War • 1754-1763 • British and American Colonists vs France, Spain, and their Indian allies • British won! • This was a costly war, and the British felt that the colonists should help pay for the war since it was fought in their defense. • The colonists disagreed and were angered by taxation.

3. Proclamation of 1763 • After the French and Indian War ended, the British passed a law stating that the colonists could not settle west of the Appalachian Mountains. • This angered the colonists because they wanted to settle this land.

5. Sugar Act, 1764 • The British government taxed sugar, molasses, coffee, indigo, and wine. • The colonists boycotted these goods.

6. King George III and Parliament Established the Sugar Act

7. Stamp Act, 1765 • This law taxed printed materials, by requiring that colonists had to pay for a stamp on anything made from paper. • The colonists boycotted English goods and it was repealed.

9. Some Stamps from the Stamp Act

10. Protesting the Stamp Act

11. Townshend Acts, 1767 • Placed a tax on all goods imported by the colonies. • These included glass, lead, paper, and tea. • Again the colonists boycotted British goods.

12. Protests • The Colonists protested the taxes because they had no representation in Parliament. • One method was to boycott British goods. • This was effective for a short time until a new tax was created. • Other methods were more violent such as tarring and feathering tax collectors.

13. Tarring & Feathering a Tax Collector

14. Boston Massacre, 1770 • Angry colonists attacked a British soldier in Boston. When he called for help, other soldiers arrived, shots were fired, 5 citizens were killed and 6 wounded.

15. Boston Massacre

16. Tea Act, 1773 • The British East India Company was given the right to ship tea to the colonies tax free. • Tea from any other merchants was taxed. • In response, many colonists boycotted tea.

17. Boston Tea Party, 1773 • Three ships of the British East India Company were docked in Boston Harbor. • On December 16, 1773, the Boston Sons of Liberty dressed like Indians and boarded the ships and threw the tea overboard. • The tea was worth thousands of pounds.

18. Boston Tea Party

19. The Intolerable Acts, 1774 • Parliament and King George III reacted harshly to the Boston Tea Party. • They closed Boston Harbor until the Massachusetts citizens paid for the tea. • Town meetings were forbidden. • Boston citizens had to keep British soldiers in their own homes.

20. Intolerable Acts

21. The First Continental Congress, September, 1774 • Delegates from all colonies except Georgia met in Philadelphia to discuss the growing problem. • This group called itself the First Continental Congress. • Since it was the newest colony, Georgia still had close ties to Britain. • The Continental Congress voted to boycott British goods in all colonies. • They decided that all colonists should form militias which are groups of citizen soldiers. • These militias called themselves minutemen because they could be ready to fight at a minute’s notice.

22. The British Army Acts, April, 1775 • The British had 3,000 soldiers in and around Boston. • Parliament sent orders to take away all weapons from the Massachusetts militia and arrest the leaders. • On April 18, the British army began to prepare to march out of the city to carry out these orders.

23. The Shot Heard Around the World • The minutemen first met the British Army at Lexington in the early morning of April 19, 1775. • The minutemen defeated the British at Concord and chased them back to Boston. • The American Revolution had begun.

24. Timeline • Create a timeline listing the events that led to the American Revolution. • Begin with The French and Indian War. • End at The American Revolution