1. American Revolution 1763-1783 Coach C
Unit II
American Revolution
Coach C

2. Slideshow Key *IT IS YOUR JOB TO CONNECT THESE FIVE ITEMS
Vocab Term = RED
Important Event = BLUE
Important Location = GREEN
Important Person = ORANGE
Major Causes and Motivations = PURPLE
*IT IS YOUR JOB TO CONNECT THESE FIVE ITEMS

3. Pre Unit: Comparing Governments
Great Britain
Colonies
King
Bicameral legislature
Inherited titles + Elected men
Less than ¼ of men qualify to vote
Governor
(appointed by King; paid by colonies)
Bicameral Legislature
Inherited + Elected men
Used Great Britain as gov’t model

4. Build-up to Revolution

5. Build-up Events
Prior to 1776 several events spurred colonial resentment towards the British empire
Taxation without Representation (Sugar, Quartering, Stamp Acts)
Colonial Protests
Boston Massacre
Boston Tea Party
The Intolerable Acts
Townshend Acts

6. Build-Up: French + Indian War Recap
Also called “7 Years War”
Doubled England’s national debt
Seen as unfair by many English citizens as war was fought to protect colonies, resulted in taxes imposed on colonies by Parliament

7. Build-Up: Taxation w/o Representation
Sugar Act 1764-
assigned customs officers/ courts to collect taxes on imported sugar
Quartering Act 1765-
Required colonists to house and supply British troops stationed nearby
Stamp Act 1765-
First direct tax within colonies
Taxed almost all printed materials: Newspapers, books, court documents, etc.

8. Build Up: Colonists Outraged by Taxes
Colonists felt Parliament had no right to tax them while the colonies were un-represented in British gov’t.
Argument puzzled Parliament as all paid taxes, but the right to vote remained very exclusive in Britain

9. Build Up: 3 Types of Protest
Intellectual Protest
Sermons, Pamphlets, Published Articles
Economic Boycotts
Failure to pay taxes or boycott of certain goods
Violent Intimidation
Tarring and feathering, burning down homes and offices

10. Build Up: Enlightenment Ideas Lead to Protest
Enlightenment Thinkers
People have divine Natural Rights
Life, Lib., Land (Happiness)
Government exists for the good of the ppl.
Gov’t exists for good of ppl (Locke)
Ppl have right to protest gov’t
John Locke (England)
Social Contract
Baron de Montesquieu
Patrick Henry
Wrote the “Virginia Resolves” (pg. 101)

11. Build Up: Virginia Resolves
Written by Patrick Henry, 6 point document argued that only colonial assemblies had right to tax colonists.
4 of 6 adopted by Virginia H.O.B.
2 of 6 (including rejecting imperial taxation) were rejected, and seen as “too extreme”
8 other colonies adopted similar resolves

12. Build Up: Sons of Liberty
Group formed to oppose Stamp Act
Formed across colonies but prevalent in Boston led by Sam Adams
Violently assaulted and burned homes of Stamp tax collectors.
By end of 1765 every stamp collector in colonies had resigned

13. Build Up: Boycott of British Goods
Non-Importation Agreements
In New York in 1765; 9 colonies resolved to boycott importation of British goods, severely hurting British merchants
“Daughters of Liberty” : Women who supported boycott by making “homespun” cloth to replace boycotted British cloth
Resulted in the repeal of Stamp Act in 1766

14. Build Up: Townshend Acts
After repeal of Stamp Act, British gov’t decided to indirectly tax commerce with Townshend Acts
Levied new import tax on everyday items such as: glass, lead, paint, paper tea, etc.
Intended to pay salary of colonial governors and judges (previously paid by colonial legislature)

15. Boston Massacre
Violent protest again erupts in Boston due to passing of Townshend Acts
As a result Crown sends 4,000 troops to occupy Boston, a city of 16,000 people
In March 1770 colonists assaulted British soldiers stationed at Customs House
Red Coats responded by shooting and killing 5 protesters
The incident was branded the “Boston Massacre” by Sam Adams and his group of Patriots

16. Build Up: Committees of Correspondence
After Boston Massacre Sam Adams helped form network of local Committees of Correspondence
Committees were formed across the country which helped build colonial unity
Helped coordinate cooperation between protest groups
Eventually led to British repealing majority of Townshend Acts and withdrawal of troops in Boston
*BRITISH DID NOT REPEAL TAX ON TEA, THUS COLONIAL BOYCOTT ON TEA REMAINED IN EFFECT

17. Build Up: Boston Tea Party
Colonial boycott of Tea specifically hurt British East India Trading Co.
To help company British gov’t allowed BEI to sell directly, thus making it cheaper than substitute Dutch tea
To prove the point, on December 16, 1773, Boston patriots snuck aboard B.E.I. ships dressed as Indians and dumped tea into Boston Harbor. Later came to be known as the Boston Tea Party

18. Build Up: The Intolerable Acts
Coercive “Intolerable” Acts
Colonial Response
Passed in retaliation for Boston Tea Party
Closed Boston port to trade until tea and tax was repaid
Increased power of Governor at expense of elected assembly
Enforced Act by placing British warships in Boston
Colonists outraged that Britain would attempt to shut down trade and alter colonial government at will
Sparked Tarring + Feathering of crown supporters
Seen as grave threat to freedom of the colonies

19. Build Up: First Continental Congress
To coordinate response to Intolerable Acts the First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia in fall of 1774
Only state not to attend was Georgia
Announced renewed boycott of all British imports
Set up local provincial congresses to enforce boycotts (governing bodies independent of Parliament)
Patrick Henry famously says: “Give me liberty, or give me death”

20. Declaring Independence