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The American Revolution. 1776-1791. History’s first global war - The Seven Years’ War - would be fought on three continents simultaneously. The French and Indian War Though victorious, the cost of fighting such an expansive war left Great Britain with a huge war debt.
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The American Revolution 1776-1791
History’s first global war - The Seven Years’ War - would be fought on three continents simultaneously. • The French and Indian War • Though victorious, the cost of fighting such an expansive war left Great Britain with a huge war debt
From the war, Britain acquired significant new territories, including lands directly west of her thirteen American colonies. • Expecting the citizens of these colonies to help Britain pay-of its debts,… • a series of taxes were placed on the American colnists,… • significantly straining the relationship between the British gov’t and her American subjects. • Without representation in Parliament, the American colonists objected to Britain’s unfair taxation policies,… • claiming that “taxation without representation” violated their natural rights,… • and failed to acknowledge their “general will.”
John Smith: leader of new colony in North America Jamestown: First permanent English settlement in North America (1607) Disastrous start Smith held Jamestown together until more settlers arrived in 1609 Tobacco grown in Jamestown CASH CROP Indentured Servants: 4 to 7 year servants worked to pay for passage to America An English Settlement at Jamestown
Colonists wanted more land, but it was already occupied Jamestown leaders demanded food and labor frm. Native Americans English settlers took hostages: One hostage was named Pocahontas Pocahontas married John Rolfe & fighting stopped for a while By 1644, 10,000 English lived in America Colonists Clash With Native Americans
Puritans were a new religious group that wanted to break away from the Catholic church and the Church of England In 1620, a small group of Puritans set up a colony in America This group became known as the Pilgrims Settled in Massachusetts Mayflower Compact John Winthrop: first governor of Mass. Bay Colony Puritans Create “New England”
Btwn. 1630-1640 about 20,000 colonists moved to the colony This movement was called the “Great Migration” Boston became the capital and a busy seaport The Puritans came to America to escape persecutions Ironically, they were intolerant of other religions in Massachusetts The Massachusetts Bay Colony
Some Puritans felt that the govt.. should not punish people for their religion Roger Williams was arrested and was to be deported to England he escaped and founded a new settlement 1636 Williams founded Providence (Which later became capital of Rhode Island) he purchased land from Native Americans Other Puritans, like Anne Hutchinson moved to Providence too Dissent in the Puritan Community
Tension btwn. Colonists and Native Americans was building for 40 yrs by the 1670s over 50,000 colonists lived in America Chief Metacomb, nicknamed King Philip organized several tribes to fight 1675 war btwn. Colonists & Nat. Americans began Native Americans wore down with disease and starvation, colonists won King Phillip’s War
New Amsterdam was founded in 1625 The Dutch invited people of many nations to settle in New Amsterdam People enjoyed religious freedoms 1644 England took over New Amsterdam and re-named it New York after its owner The Duke of York then gave a portion of this land away and named it New Jersey The Dutch Found New Netherlands
William Penn was given a large sum of land by English King Charles II Land was named Pennsylvania (Penn’s Woods) after William’s father Penn was a Quaker: a religious group that was radical for its time Penn treated Native Americans fairly & paid for the land he took The Quakers Settle Pennsylvania
Mercantilism: nations could increase wealth and power (1) by finding as much gold & silver as possible (2) by having a favorable balance of trade Colonies were the key to mercantilism England passed the Navigation Acts in 1651 to make more money from the colonies Mercantilism and the Navigation Acts
Navigation Acts ordered the following: 1. All ships used for trade w/ the colonies must be built in England or the colonies 2. All crews on ships must be 3/4 English or Colonial 3. Colonists could sell certain products only to England 4. Almost all goods sent from the colonies to Europe had to go through an English port The Navigation Acts
The King chose a Governor for the colony Governor appointed a council of advisors male landowners elected a local assembly From the 1600s to the early 1700s, most Colonists saw themselves as English citizens living in America Colonial Governments
Colonial Resistance & Rebellion Ch. 2 sect. 1 p. 48-55
Proclamation of 1763 angered colonists British govt. broke after French & Indian War, passed new taxes 10,000 British troops remained in America after war British govt. saw this as protection for colonists Colonists saw soldiers as a threat to their freedoms British King George III taxed the colonies to balance his budget The Colonies & Britain Grow Apart
The Sugar Act: 1764 designed to prevent smuggling in the colonies, lowered the tax on foreign molasses & it forced smugglers to be tried by British judges, not colonials The Stamp Act: 1765, tax on legal documents like wills, marriage licenses, deeds to property & other things like newspapers & playing cards colonists had to pay for an official stamp on these things New British Taxes
May 1765 the Sons of Liberty formed in Boston “NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION” Oct. 1765 merchants in NY, Boston, & Philly boycotted Stamp Act March 1766 British Parliament repealed the Stamp Act The Townshend Acts: 1767, a tax on imports brought in to the colonies from Britain. 3-penny tax on tea (most popular drink in the colonies) Samuel Adams & Sons of Liberty organized another boycott on British goods The Colonies Organize to Resist Britain
Boston Massacre: March 5, 1770, conflict btwn colonists & British soldiers ends with 5 colonists shot & killed Who was at fault? Was it really a massacre? Colonists furious over the event Paul Revere’s engraving added to the outrage New Prime Minister of Britain repealed Townshend Acts, (except the tea tax) Tension Mounts in Massachusetts
British tea companies were close to bankruptcy due to boycotts 1773 Tea Act allowed British tea companies to sell w/o tax, but colonial tea companies had to keep the tax Colonial tea companies could not compete w/ lower British prices & were furious Dec 16, 1773 Boston Rebels dumped 15,000 pounds of British tea in Boston Harbor The Boston Tea Party
King George III was furious w/ colonists for the Boston Tea Party & passed a series of laws in response These laws were called the Intolerable Acts (1774) by the colonists Boston Harbor was shut down until colonists paid for the tea they destroyed The Quartering Act forced colonists to house British soldiers The Intolerable Acts
British General Gage was made governor of Massachusetts Colonists formed Committees of Correspondence to write to each other about what to do next Sept 1774, First Continental Congress met in Philly and drew up a declaration of colonial rights they agreed to stick together & meet again in 1775 if things did not improve The Intolerable Acts
After the First Continental Congress, colonists prepared to fight if necessary Minutemen were civilians who were trained to be ready to fight at a minutes notice General Gage learned minutemen were stockpiling weapons Spring of 1775 Gage ordered British troops to Concord, Massachusetts to take weapons The Road to Revolution
Apr. 18, 1775 Paul Revere, William Dawes, & Samuel Prescott rode to alert Minutemen that 700 British soldiers headed to Concord 70 Minutemen cut the British off @ Lexington, Mass British commander ordered colonists to leave, somewhere a shot fired, eight Minutemen killed, nine wounded. One British soldier wounded British army moved on to Concord, but weapons arsenal emptied by colonial militia British soldiers marched back to Boston Btwn 3,000 & 4,000 Minutemen ambushed the British during the march Fighting at Lexington and Concord
May 1775, Delegates argued whether to declare independence, or to make up w/ Britain the Congress decided to make the militia an official army 43 yr. old George Washington made commander of Continental Army Also decided to print their own money to pay soldiers & begin relations w/ foreign nations The Second Continental Congress
June 17, 1775 General Gage sent 2,400 soldiers to attack colonial army Deadliest battle of the war: 311 colonists died, over 1,000 “redcoats” died Despite losses, British army took the hill when Minutemen ran out of ammunition July 8, 1775 Congress sent Olive Branch Petition to Britain as last attempt to avoid war The Battle of Bunker Hill
John Locke, an Enlightenment thinker frm. England reasoned people have a right to life, liberty, & property he said there was a Social Contract that said a govt should protect peoples’ rights Locke’s ideas would be used to build the USA Thomas Paine wrote a 47 pg. pamphlet: Common Sensewhich criticized King George & encouraged independence The Patriots Declare Independence
June 1776, a committee to prepare a formal declaration of American independence Thomas Jefferson was chosen to write the declaration Jefferson drew heavily on Locke’s ideas and the Enlightenment “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” “all men are created equal” Declaring Independence
The first draft included an attack on the evils of slavery South Carolina and Georgia were offended & refused to sign the Declaration until it was removed July 4, 1776 the American colonies declared independence frm. Britain The United States of America was formed The Declaration of Independence
The War for Independence Ch. 2 sect. 2 p. 59-65
Loyalists: colonists who opposed the revolution & sided w/ Britain Patriots: supporters of the revolution, wanted the US to separate frm. Britain Many Americans were neutral or switched sides during the war Most Native Americans sided w/ Britain Americans Choose Sides
Fighting began in New England, esp. Massachusetts March 1776, Britain left Boston & moved to the Middle States Summer of 1776, Britain took New York George Washington was pushed into Pennsylvania “These are the times that try men’s souls.” Thomas Paine War Moves to Middle States
Christmas night 1776, Washington crossed the icy Delaware River in rowboats He & 2,400 soldiers then marched 9 miles to fight @ Trenton,New Jersey Washington won @ Trenton in surprise attack US won again @ Princeton, New Jersey Spring 1777, Britain took US capital Philadelphia Brit. General welcomed by loyalists American Victories & Defeats
Oct. 17, 1777 US Continental Army won important victory @ Saratoga, NY France gained faith in US & agreed to support the revolution openly Feb 1778, France signed alliance w/ US Washington & his troops made winter camp @ Valley Forge, Penn. Harsh winter conditions, little food, tattered clothing 2,000 of his 10,000 soldiers died. Survivors refused to give up Saratoga and Valley Forge
Foreign military leaders began to help the US Army Fredrich von Steuben frm Prussia helped Washington train soldiers Marquis de Lafayette joined Washington @ Valley Forge he lobbied for more French soldiers in 1779 he led a command of Virginia soldiers at the end of the war Winning the War
May 1780 British General Cornwalis captured Charles Town, South Carolina & took 5,500 American troops as POWs Jan. 1781 Americans won @ Cowpens, South Carolina British leaders expected outnumbered Americans to flee, but the US stayed and won The British Move South