The Road to Revolution

Vocabulary delegate- quarter- proclamation- petition- Parliament- independence- treason- resolution- representation- declaration- repeal- preamble- boycott- grievance- blockade-

Important People Thomas Jefferson George Washington Paul Revere Samuel Adams

Important People John Hancock Patrick Henry Mercy Otis Warren King George Thomas Paine

The French and Indian War In the 1750s, France and Britain were fighting in Europe. The war was now spreading to North America. British Colonists wanted to take over French land in North America. The British wanted to take over the fur trade in the French held territory.

British soldiers fought against French soldiers and Native Americans. Native Americans joined in the battle against the British because they were afraid the British would take over their land.

In the Peace Treaty of 1763 the British got most of the French land in North America. Also as a result of the war, the British began taxing the colonists to pay for the war.

The Proclamation of 1763

Proclamation of 1763 The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued October 7, 1763, by King George III after the end of the French and Indian War. It forbade settlers from settling past a line drawn along the Appalachian Mountains. The purpose of the proclamation was to organize Great Britain's new North American empire and to stabilize relations with Native Americans through regulation of trade, settlement, and land purchases on the western frontier.

Sugar Act 1764 Tax placed on sugar and molasses because colonists are British subjects Colonist protest and smuggle sugar and molasses

Quartering Act 1765 Required colonies to provide British troops with quarters and supplies Colonial assemblies vote to refuse to supply British soldiers

Stamp Act 1765 Any item that was made of paper required a stamped tax payment to be made Colonists argue “taxation without representation” Stamp Act is repealed

Townshend Acts 1767 Tax on glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea Colonist smuggle goods, boycott British goods, and fight with British troops

The Boston Massacre The Boston Massacre is considered by many historians to be the first battle of the Revolutionary War. The fatal incident happened on March 5 of 1770 including Crispus Attucks. The massacre resulted in the death of five colonists. British troops in the Massachusetts Bay Colony were there to stop demonstrations against the Townshend Acts and keep order, but instead they provoked outrage. The British soldiers and citizens brawled in streets.

Committee of Correspondence In 1772 the Sons of Liberty in Boston formed a Committee of Correspondence to publicize complaints against the British, This encouraged a feeling of unity amongst the colonists.

Tea Act 1773 Tax on tea is a plan to bail out East India Tea company through tax on tea Sam Adams and the Sons of Liberty sent a message to the governor of Massachusetts, demanding that British ships carrying tea leave the harbor Resulted in the Boston Tea Party

Boston Tea Party December 16, 1773 Colonists were required to buy their tea from the East India Tea Company Company ships docked in Boston Harbor Sons of Liberty dressed up like Mohawk Indians and threw 300 chests of tea into Boston Harbor

Intolerable Acts (Coercive Acts) 1774 Response to Tea Party Colonial assembly and town meetings dissolved port of Boston closed British tried in England Soldiers quartered in colonist’s homes Colonist sent representatives to the 1st Continental Congress

1st Continental Congress The First Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from all thirteen colonies except for Georgia met on September 5, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was called in response to the passage Intolerable Acts by the British Parliament. The Intolerable Acts had punished Boston for the Boston Tea Party.

The Congress was attended by 56 members appointed by the legislatures of twelve of the colonies, the exception being Georgia. The Congress met briefly to consider options, including an economic boycott of British trade; rights and grievances; and petitioned King George III for redress of those grievances.

Battles of Lexington and Concord The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The battles were fought on April 19, 1775.

Second Continental Congress The Congress met on May 10, 1775, in the State House in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is now called Independence Hall. Some of those new and returning delegates included Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and the new president of the Continental Congress, John Hancock. The Second Continental Congress decided many important things. At the Congress, they decided to completely break away from Great Britain. On May 15, 1776, they decided to officially put the colonies in a state of defense.

It decided some of the most important ideas that the colonists fought for in the Revolutionary War, because, at that meeting, members of the Second Continental Congress wrote and signed The Declaration of Independence. At the signing of the Declaration of Independence, John Hancock wrote his name first and biggest on the Declaration of Independence. He said, "The British ministry can read that name without spectacles; let them double their reward." He was talking about the reward offered by King George III that was to be given to anyone who could capture one of the Sons of Liberty, especially Samuel Adams and John Hancock.

The Declaration of Independence The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies, then at war with Great Britain, regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire.

Monarchy vs. Representative Government In a monarchy the governing power lies with a king and those that he appoints to office Parliament was the lawmaking body in England Citizens elect their own representatives who will represent them in government People create their government and have the right to make changes when they see fit (laws, elections)