American History I The Revolutionary Era 1700-1776 NCFE Review

The Enlightenment The Enlightenment, a movement that focused on a search for knowledge and the use of reason, influenced the American Revolution. John Locke argued that all people have natural rights that a government is bound to protect (life, liberty, and property). Thomas Jefferson was influenced by this idea and used it in the Declaration of Independence – “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The colonists believed in Republicanism, or the belief that government should be based on the consent of the governed.

Salutary Neglect Mercantilist policy was meant to protect English industry, not establish a new country. They were supposed to only export raw materials and import British goods. The British largely left the colonies alone, a policy called Salutary Neglect, but the colonies took advantage of their freedom to work out deals with other countries to gain needed products. Led to the establishment of the Navigation Acts in an attempt to control trade in and out of the colonies.

French and Indian War France and Great Britain went to war over their claims to land in the New World. British pumped red coats, or their military, into the colonies to fight the battles. The French give up their land in North America – British now control land east of the Mississippi and parts of Canada. The war was very expensive and leads to the British imposing taxes on the colonists in order to pay for the war.

Stamp Act The Stamp Act was introduced to raise money for British troops stationed in America. The act required a tax to be paid on all paper goods (newspapers, letters, playing cards). They stamped those goods to indicate that the tax had been paid. Colonists argued that because the colonists had no representation in Parliament they had the right to “no taxation without representation.” Colonists wanted the same rights as the British. British leaders argued that the colonists did not have a right to independence.

Tea Act In an effort to control the colonists and support British industry the British required Americans to buy tea from the East India Company through the passage of the Tea Act. Colonists boycott British tea and refused to let a ship unload the tea in Boston harbor. Colonists, led by Samuel Adams, dressed as Native Americans boarded the ship and destroyed all the tea by dumping it into the Boston Harbor. The event became known as the Boston Tea Party.

Coercive/Intolerable Acts In response to the Boston Tea Party as a way to punish the colonists primarily Massachusetts, the British passed the Coercive Acts, but most of the colonists referred to them as the Intolerable Acts. The British closed the port of Boston until all of the damages caused by the Boston Tea Party were paid back.

Declaration of Independence The Declaration of Independence was inspired by enlightenment ideas of natural rights (life, liberty, and property). The Declaration of Independence was the colonists formal declaration of war against the British.

Revolutionary War Battle of Saratoga Treaty of Paris The Battle of Saratoga was important because it convinced the French government to declare war on Great Britain and aid the Americans. The French wanted to weaken the British empire. The Treaty of Paris established America’s new boundaries. The United States stretched West to the Mississippi, north to the Great Lakes, and South to Spanish Florida. America also agreed not to persecute the loyalists, or those loyal to the British.