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Causes of the American Revolution:
Causes of the American Revolution:
The EnlightenmentVery important period because political philosophers began
expressing democratic ideas. These ideas would help fuel the coming
revolution in the colonies!
Thomas Hobbes:
Believed people were nasty and brutish. Rights must be given up to ruler who can & will keep order in society. The ruler must have absolute power. Do you believe what Hobbes believed?
John Locke:
Believed people were reasonable and they would cooperate with each other. Rulers, therefore, must have the consent of the people to stay in power. The people have a right to rebel because people have natural rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of property. Sound familiar?
Baron de Montesquieu:
Believed the government must be separated into different branches as well as the idea of checks and balances so no one branch of government was too powerful!
Voltaire:
Said “I do not agree with a word you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” What was he for?
John Rousseau:
Believed people were good until
society corrupted them. Believed all men were created
equal (not thinking in terms of race, but
social standing). Wrote: The Social
Contract
The Great AwakeningOne of colonial America's most popular preachers, George Whitefield was among the first to perform mass revivals. Sometimes preaching 40 to 50 hours a week, he was instrumental in spreading the evangelical Protestant movement known as the Great Awakening. This movement also allowed colonists to challenge not only the church, but also their leaders!
Salutary neglectGave the colonists lots of economic freedom. Do you think they were happy when the King started to take away some of that freedom?
French and Indian War?? What??
The War was between the French and Native Americans versus the
English and Native Americans. The French relied more heavily on their Indian friends than did the British.
The French and Indian War
The English, French and
Native Americans struggle to
control North America (1754
– 1763)
The French wanted to extend their empire in North America, but the English didn’t want this to happen.
The first battle of the French and Indian occurred when a young commander attacked and killed some French soldiers. The commander and his men quickly built a fort (Necessity). The French surrounded the fort and forced the commander to surrender. Who was this doomed commander?
Up until 1758 the French were winning the war; Mainly because there were not enough British troops
in North America.
But as British troops started to arrive, French victories dwindled.
British forces under the command of Gen. James Wolfe take Quebec on September 13, 1759, effectively ending the French and Indian War.
Treaty of Paris, 1763
French turned over all land east of the miss. River
and much of modern day Canada to
Great Britain
Colonists Reaction to Increase in British Troops
• More British troops would stay in the colonies to offer increase protection for the Native Americans .
• British officers treated colonial officers as inferiors. • Foul language used by British troops upset many in the
New England colonists • Colonists believed they were full fledged citizens of the
British empire, but the French and Indian War made many colonists feel less than equal to those from Britain.
• To help pay for the War and the newly needed British protection, the King & Parliament decide to raise the taxes of the colonists.
• Can you say “trouble on the horizon?”
The Proclamation of 1763
After the War, the proclamation of 1763 prevented colonists from crossing over the Appalachians. The King didn’t want to spend too much money defending the colonists, so he limited their freedom and land opportunities.
The Sugar Act1764: Britain requires colonial vessels to fill out papers detailing their cargo and destination. The royal navy patrols the coast to search for smugglers, who were to be tried in special courts without a jury. To maintain the army and repay war debts, Parliament decides to impose charges on colonial trade. It passes the Sugar Act, imposing duties (taxes) on foreign wines, coffee, textiles, and sugar as well as other commodities.
No taxation without representation!
The Stamp Act1765: To increase revenues to pay the cost of militarily defending the colonies, Parliament passes the Stamp Act, which requires a tax stamp on legal documents, almanacs, newspapers, pamphlets, and playing cards (just about anything made out of paper). The Stamp Act made many Americans realize for the first time that the British government could act contrary to the colonies' interests.
The Sons of Liberty
A secret group led by Samuel Adams that came together to develop protests against the Stamp Act. They created all types of protest to fight British policies.
Colonists burn stamped paper in protest during the Stamp Act riots of 1765. The Stamp Act, which was enacted in 1765, was the first direct tax ever laid on the North American colonists.
PROTESTS ERUPT!
The Quartering Act1765: Parliament approves the Quartering Act, requiring colonial governments to put up British soldiers in unoccupied buildings and provide them with care (candles, bedding, and beverages). When the New York Assembly resists, the British governor suspends the assembly for six months.
The Townshend DutiesStamp Act is repealed in1766. 1767: Chancellor of the Exchequer Charles Townshend imposes new duties on imports of glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea to the colonies. The Townshend Acts also expand the customs service. Revenue from the acts was to pay the salaries of colonial governors and judges-preventing colonial legislatures from exercising the power of the purse over these officials.
King George III makes his
administrators impose more duties
on the colonists.
The Boston Massacre March, 1770
1770: British soldiers under Captain Thomas Preston fire on a Boston crowd, killing five and wounding six. In a subsequent trial, in which John Adams defended the soldiers, all but two of the soldiers are acquitted of murder. Although the soldiers pretty much had every right to fire on the crowd, the incident was used as an effective piece of Propaganda against the British!
Colonists attack tax collectors!
The Tea Act: 1773 To save the East India tea Co., Parliament imposes this new tax on the colonists. How do you think they liked the new tax?December 16, 1773. The Boston Tea Party was the most dramatic (and most illegal) in a series of actions organized by the Sons of Liberty to protest the British Tea Act of 1773.
The Intolerable Acts
In response to the Boston tea Party, the Coercive (Intolerable) Acts are placed upon Massachusetts. Boston Harbor is closed and the Mass. Legislature is dissolved. The Crown will now run Massachusetts. The British overreacted & this was the straw that really broke the camel’s back.
1774: First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress, held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1774. The First Continental Congress brought the leaders of the American colonies together to organize a unified response to unpopular British actions. Other than boycotting British goods, the first meeting accomplished little.
Battle of Lexington and ConcordThe Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775. This battle, and another on the same day at Concord, Massachusetts, were the opening engagements of the American Revolution.
While the minutemen lost at Lexington they harrassed the British all the way back to Boston, inflicting a lot of Recoat casualties.
Give me Liberty or Give me Death
March 23, 1775Who said these famous words and and where did he say them? W
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress met in May of 1775. George Washington
was made Commander of the Colonial
(Continental) Army.
Battle of Bunker HillJune 17, 1775
First real major engagement of the Revolutionary War. The British won, but had 1000 casualties while the patriots had less than 500. It proved to the British that the Americans were good fighters, having held their own against one of the best armies in the world.
“Common Sense”By 1776, most of the colonist still wanted to remain a part of the British Empire. Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet called Common Sense. Its plain language that Paine used spoke to the common people of America and was the first work to openly ask for independence from Great Britain. It caused many neutrals to become patriots.
July 4th 1776The Declaration Independence
Who was its chief author?
