1. Ms. Susan M. Pojer Horace Greeley HS Chappaqua, NY
The
American
Revolution:
Ms. Susan M. Pojer Horace Greeley HS Chappaqua, NY

2. The Story Thus Far
European nations were competing with each other for:
World resources
Military strength
Political superiority
Some nations were upsetting the balance of power
European nations were squabbling to see who could be the “Big Kahuna” or the “Top Dog.” They were especially competing with each other for world resources, military strength, and political superiority. Some nations were upsetting the balance of power.

3. Overview Also called War for Independence
Started in 1775 in Lexington and Concord Massachusetts
Caused America to separate from Great Britain
Ended in 1783
Meanwhile in America, colonists had some ideas of their own. They were ready to leave their parent country and start fresh. The American Revolution, also called the War of Independence, started in The first shots were fired in Massachusetts in Concord and Lexington. It caused America to separate from Great Britain and thus helped create a new nation. The War was fought for eight years and ended in 1783.

4. Major Causes The French and Indian War The Stamp Act
The Revolution wasn’t an impulsive act that just happened overnight. There are multiple historical events leading up to the fighting of the Revolution. The major causes in chronological order are the French and Indian War, the Sugar Act, and the Stamp Act.

5. The French and Indian War 1754
Rivalry between the French and British
Who will control North America?
British, colonists, and Native American allies fought French and Native American allies
Two European nations, France and Great Britain, were fighting over who got custody and control of North America. The colonists and some Native Americans from the Iroquois Confederacy were allied with the British against the French and other Native Americans from the Algonquin and Huron tribes.
Great Britain’s national debt nearly doubled during the war
British expected Americans to help pay for protection

6. Official government stamp required
The Stamp Act—1765
Official government stamp required
First internal tax paying for British protection
The colonists hated the Stamp Act. It deeply impacted and infuriated American lawyers who dealt with legal documents. Many of these lawyers, including Sam and John Adams, were vital contributors to the Revolutionary Movement.

7. Major Causes Continued:
The Townshend Acts
Boston Massacre
Boston Tea Party
The Intolerable Acts
Great Britain didn’t stop there. The British continued to pass a series of laws to restrict the colonies and hold them partly responsible, once again, for British protection from possible attacks by the French or native Americans. The Townshend Acts eventually led to the Boston Massacre and Boston Tea Party, but the Intolerable Acts, as the colonists nicknamed them, prompted the large-scale revolt by outraged colonists against Great Britain’s King George III.

8. The Townshend Acts—1767
Import duties on tea, lead, glass, and paint colors
Money used to pay royal governors
“No taxation without representation”
The Townshend Acts, or duties, were the last straw. They were an attempt to get Americans to pay extra taxes on a variety of items most often used in the Colonies, such as tea, red and white lead (paint pigments), glass and paint tints. The money raised by taxation was used to pay royal governors in Great Britain and the colonists had no official representation within the government. “No taxation without representation” became a rallying cry for American revolutionaries.

9. Boston Massacre—1770 Crowd of colonists threaten British soldiers
British open fire killing five Americans
Parliament canceled the Townshend duties
It’s hard to believe, but a snowball fight led to the very first casualties of the War. It took place, in the center of Boston, five years before the first actual battle. Americans were throwing snowballs at British sentries. One British soldier fell on ice, causing his rifle to discharge. This accidental firing led to the historical Boston Massacre in which five colonists were killed. Crispus Attucks was the person of color casualty of the Revolutionary War. Parliament canceled the Townshend duties, all except for the tea tax, shortly after.

10. Boston Tea Party—1773
British sold tea even more cheaply than smuggled tea
Colonists dressed up as Mohawks
Colonists boarded tea ships
Tea was dumped overboard
Tea, along with beer, was the favorite drink in the Colonies. When the British undersold smuggled tea, thus threatening American trade, the Sons of Liberty, an organization of colonists ready for revolution against Great Britain’s king, had a “tea party” at Boston Harbor. The group disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians, crept onto the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver, and dumped 342 crates of tea into the Boston Harbor water. Mixed reaction met the event, and some colonists, including Ben Franklin, thought the tea should be paid for. Many colonists promised to change their drinking habits to something other than British tea, but that movement was short-lived.

11. The Intolerable Acts—1774 First Continental Congress
Closed the Port of Boston
American town meetings banned
British officials in trouble sent to Great Britain for trial
First Continental Congress
56 Delegates--Included George Washington, Patrick Henry and Sam Adams
Direct response to Intolerable Acts:
Boycott British goods
Arm themselves and form militias
Appeal to the king
The British had to retaliate to save face. They couldn’t let this act go unpunished. They responded to the Tea Party by toughening their stand against the Colonies, passing a series of “Intolerable Acts,” which restricted the Colonies in numerous ways, including closing the Port of Boston (essential to the colonists for importing and exporting goods), banning colonists from holding town meetings, and having British officials who had committed crimes sent from the colonies to Great Britain for trial, where they were rarely prosecuted.

12. Allow American colonist representation in Parliament
King George III :
Allow American colonist representation in Parliament
No response to colonists’ complaints and official grievances
The king seemed to be too dignified and important to be bothered with trivial demands by the menial colonists. King George III, the leader of Great Britain, continued to be bothered by the rebels in the 13 colonies. He refused to allow for colonist representation in Parliament. He did nothing to pacify the American colonists and continued to disregard their requests.
King George III

13. “The Shot Heard Round the World”
American colonists stockpiled weapons in Concord, Massachusetts
800 British troops marched through Lexington on the way to Concord
Paul Revere: “The British are coming!”
First shots fired were at Lexington and Concord
Enough was enough, American colonists stockpiled weapons in Concord, Massachusetts, outside Boston. Then fighting began. The first battles occurred outside Boston, in Lexington and Concord. It is often called “The Shot Heard Around the World” as 13 colonies decided to challenge the mighty British Empire. Paul Revere, one of the Sons of Liberty, warned colonists, “The British are coming!”

14. Second Continental Congress
Decided to officially separate from Britain
Committee selected to draft the reasons for separation
Thomas Jefferson selected to write document
Met in Philadelphia
It was time to make the split from Great Britain official. After the initial battles of the war, the Second Continental Congress convened in May 1775 in Philadelphia to call for an official separation from Britain. A committee including Thomas Jefferson was selected to write a draft of all the reasons the colonists wanted complete separation from Britain. Jefferson was chosen by congressional vote to draft the document.

15. The Declaration of Independence
Written by Thomas Jefferson
It is the “Birth Certificate of the United States”
Document listed rights and grievances against King George III
4 parts
Preamble
Declaration of rights
List of Grievances
Resolution
A new country was about to be born. Thomas Jefferson was the unanimous choice to draft the document that would become the “Birth Certificate of the United States,” the Declaration of Independence. Benjamin Franklin and John Adams aided Jefferson with Declaration revisions. The document clearly listed colonists’ rights and their grievances against King George III.

16. Key Quotes in the Declaration
“We hold these truths to be self evident: that all men are created equal”
“That they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights”
“That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”
Many of the phrases that Jefferson included in the Declaration of Independence came from the works of the British political philosopher John Locke. Several of the Declaration’s quotes are well-known by most Americans even today. Some edited to match today’s punctuation rules include: We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights and that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Locke

17. The legacy of the Declaration of Independence
“All men are created equal” has been a rallying cry for those denied their rights throughout history
Its world wide impact:
The French ‘Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was modeled after it
Revolutions in Latin America in the 1800s cried for the tight of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”
Many citizens to this day justify overthrowing corrupt governments because of it

18. Washington Crossing the Delaware Painted by Emanuel Leutze, 1851

19. The Treaty of Paris 1783 Officially ended the American Revolution
Set many geographic borders, including U.S. and Canada
Florida was returned to Spain
British merchants must be paid for lost items
Loyalists must be paid for lost property
The official end to the war came two years after Yorktown at the Treaty of Paris. The British commander, Cornwallis, was so humiliated by the defeat that he refused to meet with Washington for the formal surrender and sent an aide instead. The treaty set many geographic borders including that of the United States and Canada. Canada went to the British, but later the French won part of the country. Florida was returned to Spain.

20. North America After the Treaty of Paris, 1783

21. Constitution
1789-present

23. Painting depicting the Constitutional Convention
The U.S. Constitution
Separation of powers
Checks and balances
The framers of the Constitution essentially took Montesquieu’s concept of separation of powers and put it into practice, creating a tripartite government that split authority between executive, legislative, and judicial branches. They also instituted measures designed to ensure that no one branch would become too powerful. Popularly known as “checks and balances,” these measures included things like the president’s veto power, the fact that only Congress can declare war, and the provision that federal and Supreme Court judges hold their terms for life.
Painting depicting the Constitutional Convention

24. The Constitution Need for a strong central governement
Principles of Locke, Rousseau and Montesquieu
The Federalist System
Separate branches = checks and balances
Federalist vs. Anti federalist
Bill of Rights