Bell-Ringer

Turn to page R53 and Read :

1. Read A Vindication of the Rights of Women and answer the 6 Document

Based Questions

Chapter 22, Section 4“The American Revolution”

I. Britain and Its American Colonies A. 13 colonies

1. population of 2,150,000 2. thrived on trade with European nations 3. each colony had own government 4. still British subjects; expected to obey British law

a. saw themselves as colonists, not “British” B. Navigation Act

1. colonies couldn’t sell most valuable products to any country except Britain

2. high taxes on imported French & Dutch goods 3. policies, however, benefited colonies & Britain

II. Americans Win Independence A. French and Indian War

1. led to tensions between British and colonists a. colonists expected to pay for war b. Stamp Act

1. official documents must be stamped 2. “taxation without representation”

B. Growing Hostility Leads to War 1. Boston Tea Party

a. protest import tax on tea b. closed Boston port

2. First Continental Congress, Sept. 1774 a. colony representatives met in Philadelphia b. protested treatment of Boston c. King George III paid little attention

3. Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts a. British soldiers & American militiamen exchanged gunfire

4. Second Continental Congress a. voted to raise an army b. George Washington chosen to command

C. The Influence of the Enlightenment 1. Declaration of Independence

a. written by Thomas Jefferson b. ideas of John Locke & the Enlightenment c. unalienable rights

1. life, liberty, pursuit of happiness

George Washington

Thomas Jefferson

D. Success for the Colonies 1. Reasons for colonists success

a. strong motivation b. overconfident British generals c. time was on side of colonists d. help from France

III. Americans Create a Republic A. A Weak National Government

1. Articles of Confederation a. established a republic – states maintained

most of the powerb. one body of government – Congress

1. declare war, enter treaties, coin $ 2. couldn’t tax or regulate trade

B. A New Constitution 1. Constitutional Convention, May 15, 1787

a. used ideas of Enlightenment to create a new system of gov’t

C. The Federal System 1. legislative, judicial, & executive

a. checks and balances 2. federal system

a. Power divided between nat’l & state gov’t

D. The Bill of Rights 1. signed Constitution Sept. 17, 1787

a. needed approval of at least 9 of 13 states b. Federalists – supporters of Constitution c. Anti-Federalists

1. too much power to central gov’t 2. wanted a bill of rights

2. added a Bill of Rights to Constitution a. protected basic freedoms of citizens

1. ideas of Voltaire, Rousseau, & Locke

Daily Essential Questions

1.Why did the colonists criticize the Stamp Act as “taxation without representation?”

2.How did John Locke’s ideas influence the American colonists?