© HarperCollins Publishers 2010 Significance What was the most important cause of the American War of Independence?

© HarperCollins Publishers 2010 Significance Objectives In this activity you will: Learn the reasons for the American Revolution. Discuss the significance of different causes.

© HarperCollins Publishers 2010 Significance What was the most important cause of the American Revolution? Historians, when exploring the causes of different events, often discuss what they consider to be the most important cause of an event. The American Revolution began in 1775, when fighting broke out between British troops and American rebels in Lexington.

© HarperCollins Publishers 2010 Significance What was the most important cause of the American Revolution? To identify the most important cause, we need to firstly identify some of the different causes of the revolution. Why? 1763: Restricting Westward Expansion 1763: British victory in The French and Indian War 1774: Quebec Act 1770: Boston Massacre 1774: Coercive Acts 1773: Boston Tea Party/Tea Act

© HarperCollins Publishers 2010 Significance What was the most important cause of the American Revolution? On the following four slides are brief explanations of each cause. You may wish to use the internet or your textbook for additional information.

© HarperCollins Publishers 2010 Significance Restricting Westward Expansion 1763 Britain’s victory against the French resulted in Britain requiring more territory, which was expensive to control. Therefore, the Government had to raise taxes. The British Government also prevented Westward Expansion into Indian territory, which many colonists resented.

© HarperCollins Publishers 2010 Significance Boston Massacre 1770 American colonists were protesting against British Taxes known as the ‘Townshend Duties’. British troops open fired on the protesters, resulting in five colonists being killed.

© HarperCollins Publishers 2010 Significance Boston Tea Party/Tea Act 1773 The Tea Act decreased taxes on imported British tea, which meant British merchants could sell tea more cheaply than their American competitors. This act resulted in the famous ‘Boston Tea Party’. John Adams led a group of colonists disguised as Indians and boarded British tea ships, and threw their cargo of tea into the sea.

© HarperCollins Publishers 2010 Significance Coercive Acts 1774 The Coercive Acts protected British officials from being prosecuted within American Colonial courts. Americans referred to this law as the ‘Intolerable Acts’. The Quebec Act recognised the privileged position of the Roman Catholic Church in Quebec. The boundaries of this province was extended into Ohio and the Mississippi River Valleys. Most of the Colonists within the Thirteen Colonies were Protestant and opposed the Quebec Act.

© HarperCollins Publishers 2010 Significance What was the most important cause of the American Revolution? Once you have identified and understood some of the most important causes of the American Revolution, try to explain what you consider to be the most important cause. Use the following statement as a possible starting point: ‘No taxation without representation’

© HarperCollins Publishers 2010 Significance What was the most important cause of the American Revolution? Here is an example explanation: ‘The most important cause of the American Revolution was the continued British attempts to increase taxes within the Thirteen Colonies. This resulted in many American colonists opposing the British Government and the unfair taxes placed on them. The British ignored their demands for more political power within the Thirteen Colonies. This eventually resulted in armed clashes between the colonial rebels and British forces starting in Lexington in Many rebels supported the argument of “no taxation without representation”.’ Now write your own explanation of the most important cause of the American Revolution.