APUSH In Class Lecture
Learning Target I can explain how British Imperial attempts to reassert control over its colonies and the colonial reaction to these attempts produce a new American republic, along with struggles over the nation’s social, political and economic identity.
French & Indian War Also known as the Seven Years War, the French & Indian War started America down the path to Revolution.
Main Idea What were the English, French & Spanish doing in their American colonies?
The Spanish At first, the Spanish were mostly interested in the Caribbean Islands, by 1510 they had entered the American mainland, however they mostly moved westward into what would become Mexico and the American southwest. California would (for a while) be their biggest prize.
The English English settlement of the New World was in large part due to religious and commercial reasons.
The English In New England, English settlers were largely interested in practicing religion in the manner they chose without interference.
The English In the Chesapeake region of Virginia, they were much more interested in growing crops to generate profit.
The French French exploration of the New World began in the 1500s. Mostly looking for the fabled Northwest passage, the French focused their attention in what would become Canada and the American Midwest.
The Dream
The Dream
The Reality
The French The cold, hard facts of the Artic finally convinced the French that there was no water route to Asia and they largely gave up interest in the New World in the mid 1500s.
The English The English government was not overly interested in the New World either. Private investors however, were another matter…
The English Because there was great money to be made in the vast natural resources of the New World.
By the 1600s, the English had shown the French about the great profits that could be made in the New World.
The English English settlements in the rich agriculture region of the Chesapeake had generated great profits from the sale of TOBACCO
The French Soon the French were back in Canada! For these little guys…
The French To help them trap the beavers the French were interested in, they made several treaties with the local Native American tribes.
The French
The French
The French
The French
That meant everyone wanted to stay in the New World That meant everyone wanted to stay in the New World. Since the French & English never really liked each other to begin with, they certainly weren’t going to back down as each tried to claim more and more of the American wilderness and the economic opportunities it presented.
Previous Wars This common interest in American land led to several wars between England & France. King Philip’s War (1675-1676) King William’s War (1689-1697) Queen Anne’s War (1702-1713) King George’s War (1744-1748)
Draw a line for the summary you will write in your entry task tomorrow!
Main Idea How did the French & Indian War start?
The problem was, the massive amounts of money that could be made in America and the difficulties in keeping track of whether you were in a French or English controlled place in the vast wilderness of America.
The French & Indian War And that was always going to lead to trouble…
The French & Indian War The problem was that English colonists were coming to America for one reason, they wanted land.
The French & Indian War Eventually, they had pretty much filled up the land along the coast, so they looked westward where there was much, much more land.
The French English settlers moving into French areas was a real problem. The French were traders, not settlers. They did business with the Native Americans, and then left. Everyone was happy.
The French English settlers moving in to take land threatened that. It was bad for business.
The French & Indian War To contain English settlers, the French then decided to fortify their territory, especially in what would become known as the Ohio Valley.
The French & Indian War With their Native American allies they made an intimidating threat to the English in the New World.
The French & Indian War The English saw this French military build-up as an aggressive act, and moved to end what they saw as a threat in their backyard.
The French & Indian War England ordered their colonists defend the western lands for the King.
The French & Indian War The English sent a major from the Virginia Militia to western Pennsylvania to ask the French to leave.
The French & Indian War Surprising no one, the French said “No”.
The Major returned and shot the place up, starting the French & Indian War.
Draw a line for the summary you will write in your entry task tomorrow!
Main Idea How is the French & Indian War connected to the American Revolution?
After seven years, the war ended and the French were forced to abandon their holdings and Native American allies.
Immediately following the war, morale in the Colonies was high Immediately following the war, morale in the Colonies was high. In all the previous wars: King William’s, Queen Anne’s & King George’s (among others) England had told the colonists to fight on their own. They provided weapons, but it had always been up to the colonists to fight for England.
Since the Colonists saw themselves as English anyway, this had always been OK.
In the French & Indian War, England sent soldiers over for the first time to fight alongside the colonists. Colonial optimism and opinion of the King was very high.
The Aftermath But there was a problem. A big problem…
The Aftermath Now that the war was over, the English had to figure out how to pay for it.
The Aftermath Because wars are really, really expensive. http://costofwar.com/
The Aftermath But they had an idea, and the English thought it was a pretty good one!
The Aftermath The taxes didn’t go over so well with the Colonists, neither did England’s other big idea…
The Aftermath The French had made a lot of money trading with the Native Americans for beaver pelts. Since there was still a huge demand in Europe for the pelts, Native Americans were looking for a new business partner.
The Aftermath Besides, if the Native Americans were doing business with England, they would be less likely to attack and cause another war.
Proclamation of 1763 To appease the tribes so they would continue to trade for fur, England drew a boundary right down the Alleghany Mountains. No colonists were allowed to move west of that line!
The Middle Ground Many tribes moves beyond the Proclamation line into a region that became known as The Middle Ground.
The Middle Ground Tribes that settled into this area joined together to give themselves a stronger bargaining position when trading with the English & French.
The Aftermath Since the one thing all colonists had in common was a desire for land, the Proclamation of 1763 was really, really unpopular.
When you combined the Proclamation and the taxes together, the optimism and high opinion of England quickly faded. In about a decade, the American Revolution would be under way!
Draw a line for the summary you will write in your entry task tomorrow!