BACKGROUND TO THE REVOLUTION

13 Colonies
Ruled by King George III
Citizens were subjects of
the British Empire
Colonies were selfgoverning
Colonies provide
England with raw materials
England manufactures
goods for international sale
Navigation Acts prevent
colonies from selling goods
to other nations and
created high taxes

BACKGROUND TO THE REVOLUTION

7 YEARS WAR (1754-63)
1754 England at war
with France
1763 England defeats
France, gains control of N.
America
Ended by the Treaty of
Paris (1763)
Tax American colonies
to pay for the war

PATH TO REVOLUTION
British issue Proclamation
Line of 1763 no settlement past
the Appalachians
Colonists ignored the
proclamation and settled anways
British in debt 150,000,000
and interest alone is of
national budget
Colonists stuck paying the bill
through a variety of taxes

TOWNSHEND ACTS - 1767

Board of customs and increased taxes
Purpose raise money, enforce
compliance, and punish New York
Met with resistance occupation of
Boston by British troops 1768
Boston Massacre - 1770!

STAMP ACT - 1765

All printed material required to carry
a one penny stamp
Decision boycott all British goods
first united effort to challenge British
Repealed 1766 replaced with the
Declaratory Act justifying British rule

TEA ACT - 1773

Dumped cheap tea on colonists
Cut into profits of tea merchants
British felt they could tax whatever they
wished
Boston Tea Party - 4 million loss
Closes harbor Intolerable Acts passed

SUGAR ACT 1764

Although tax reduced from 6 pence
to 3 but was enforced
British could try colonial smugglers
Banned import of foreign rum and
French wines

PATH TO REVOLUTION
NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION
Colonists have no representatives in Parliament
Parliament created taxes
Unfair to pay without a vote
Large number decide not to pay taxes - boycotts
Leads to major unrest in colonies

FIRST CONTINENTAL
CONGRESS 1774
Representatives from 12 of 13
colonies met in Philadelphia
Colonists organize militias and
prepare for war

SHOT HEARD ROUND THE WORLD

British troops march to Lexington
to arrest Samuel Adams and John
Hancock
Then march to Concord to seize
militia arsenal
Shot fired on Lexington Green
American Revolution had begun!
Whigs, Tories, British, and Slaves

Second Continental Congress met in

1775 with 56 delegates
Raised a continental army and
placed George Washington in
command
Moved towards independence
adopting the United States Declaration
of Independence on July 4, 1776

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

1781 Colonies ratify new

government Articles of
Confederation
Republican government people
rule through elected representatives
Power at state level feared giving
too much power to national govt
Laws needed 9 of 13 votes to pass
No power to tax nor regulate trade

Written by Thomas Jefferson

Inspired by Locke & Rousseau
Defines democracy & Social
Contract
Explains reasons for independence
from England
Explains faults of George III
Announces that colonies are now
free and independent

AN INDEPENDENT STATE
Great Britain did not recognize
independence of the colonies
War continued until Great Britain
surrendered at Yorktown in 1781 with
help from French and Spanish forces
Peace of Paris (1783) formally
ended the war and recognized
independence for the United States of
America

1787 Congress approves constitutional convention to revise Articles of

Confederation and create entirely new government
55 delegates meet for 4 months in Philadelphia
Create federal government, constitution, and Bill of Rights

CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES

THE U.S. CONSTITUTION WAS WRITTEN IN 1787. IT ESTABLISHED A

FEDERAL REPUBLIC BASED ON POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY AND THE
SEPARATION OF POWERS. IT ALSO RECOGNIZED THE LEGAL EQUALITY
OF ALL CITIZENS, ALTHOUGH IN MOST STATES SUFFRAGE WAS LIMITED.

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

So what was truly revolutionary
about the American Revolution?
Eliminated rule by an imperial
monarchy replaced by representative
government without a king
Revolutionary ideals embodied and
informed by the Enlightenment!
Revolution of mind what
people are, how society is organized,
liberty
Americans viewed themselves as
equal to each other birth is not
destiny
True religious freedom separation
of church and state
Outcomes not overly revolutionary
leaders, property rights, liberty