1. The Causes of the American Revolutionary War
The French and Indian War
through
the First Continental Congress

2. The French and Indian War – 1754
Began in 1754 with George Washington’s defeat and surrender of Ft. Necessity to the French in the Ohio Valley.

3. Fort Duquesne
The French fort located at the key location of the Forks of the Ohio River (where present day Pittsburgh is now located.)

4. George Washington. . .
Went on to serve under General Edward Braddock (who died in battle) and eventually gained valuable military experience despite being looked down upon by British leadership and passed up for advancements he felt he had rightfully earned.

5. The English win the War!
The English turn the tide and start winning the war
in North America.
Couldn’t afford to lose
because they might have
lost the13 colonies (and the
money they made from them)
as a result.
The French lost both
Ft. Duquesne and
Quebec – the capital
of New France.
Which leads to the French
being forced to sign the
the Treaty of Paris in 1763.
English capture of Quebec

6. Results of the French and Indian War. . .
The Treaty of Paris forces the French to give up all their territory in the North American continent. . .
Before After

7. . . . And the English have a huge debt because of the cost of both the 7 years war (in Europe and India) and the French and Indian War (in North America.)
This leads to an increase in . . .
For the colonies to help pay for the cost of the war.

8. The Sugar Act – 1764
Taxes on Sugar and molasses as a way to raise money from the colonies to pay for the cost of the war.
Colonists protested
the act and called
for a boycott on
items with duties
(any taxes placed on
imported goods.)

9. The Stamp Act - 1765 Required colonists to purchase a
stamp for newspapers, pamphlets,
legal documents and other items.
Colonists formed the Sons of Liberty, boycotted goods and used violence to frighten tax collectors.
The British Parliament repealed the Stamp Act in 1766 – then issued the Declaratory Act which stated that the British government the right to impose laws on the colonies.

10. The Townshend Acts
Placed taxes on imported glass, lead, paint, paper and tea.
Made it easier for tax collectors to get writs of assistance (special forms that allowed tax collectors to search for smuggled goods.)
The colonists used boycotts, letter-writing campaigns and violence against tax-collectors to protest the increased taxation under the Townshend Acts.
The English sent troops to Boston in 1768 to help maintain order.
Tension between colonists and British Troops led to the Boston Massacre in 1770.

11. Boston Massacre – March 5, 1770
Fight between British soldiers and angry colonists escalates until the soldiers fire into an unarmed crowd – killing several colonists.
Samuel Adams and Paul Revere used propaganda about the event to fuel anti-British sentiment in the colonies.
Most of the soldiers are found innocent (having acted in self-defense) and the two soldiers who are found guilty are branded on the hands and sent back to England.
Led to a repeal of (almost all) of the Townshend Acts to reduce tensions .

12. The Tea Act
Kept taxes on imported tea (from the Townshend Acts) in place and allowed the British East India Company to ship directly to the colonies (driving down the cost of tea from the colonies.)
Colonists used boycotts, propaganda and held the Boston Tea Party to protest the Tea Act.

13. The Boston Tea Party – December 16, 1773
Colonists disguised as Indians dumped hundreds of crates of British tea over the side of a merchant ship into Boston Harbor.
As a result, the British Parliament passed the Coercive Acts to punish Massachusetts.

14. The Intolerable Acts - 1774 1. Closed Boston Harbor.
2. Cancelled the Massachusetts charter.
3. Moved trials of colonial officials to
England (where they would face a
more friendly judge and jury.)
4. Required quartering (the housing and
supplying) of British troops in all of the
colonies.
5. Gave Canada control of the Ohio
region.

15. The Colonial responses to the Intolerable Acts
Called for large-scale boycotts of British goods.
Published propaganda.
Convened the First Continental Congress.

16. The 1st Continental Congress – September of 1774
Convened because of the Intolerable Acts.
Assembled a list of ten resolutions to present to King George III.
These include the
right to “life, liberty
and property.”
King George III
rejects all of the
suggestions made by
the First Continental
Congress.
They decided to meet again if the king did not agree to their requests.

17. The next step is. . .
. . . for the English Colonies and Great Britain to go to war with each other.
The stand-off between the Rebels and the Redcoats at Lexington leads to “the shot heard ‘round the world” and the beginning of the American Revolutionary War.
Despite the British soldiers’ superior numbers, weapons and training. . .
the battle at Concord proves that the colonists won’t be easily defeated.