1. The Road to Revolution…

2. French and Indian War
Long-term rivalry between England and France led to the Seven Years War.
The portion of that war that was fought in the colonies became known as the French and Indian War, because the Native American sided with the French.
Britain is victorious in this war, and as a result, gain additional territory in the colonies.

3. Britain’s Financial Hardship
After the Seven Years War, Britain experienced financial hardship. They were faced with a question: Who should be taxed in order to help offset the costs of the Seven Years War; the British people or the colonists?

4. Proclamation of 1763
This law, passed by King George III, prohibited colonists from moving west of the Appalachian Mountains. It also required colonists who already lived there to move back east.
Britain passed this proclamation because they did not have the finical resources to defend these settlers against the Native Americans after fighting such an expensive war.

5. Who should be taxed in order to help offset the costs of the Seven Years War; the British people or the colonists?
The British People
The Colonists
Are represented by the members of Parliament, who initially started the Seven Years War and are passing the tax laws
Gained territory west of the Appalachian Mountains
Gained security, because they no longer are threatened by the French
Do not elect Parliament members, so Parliament can tax them without fear of losing reelections

6. The British Tax the Colonists
Several taxes that only affect merchants.
Stamp Act- All legal documents must contain a seal. The seal costs money. This affects everyone.
Townshend Act- Taxes on several common household items (tea, paper, lead, glass and paint).

7. The Colonists Respond
Sons and Daughters of Liberty- encourage boycotts of the taxed items
The Boston Massacre- British soldiers fire at colonists, killing 5 men, after being taunted by them.
Tea Parties- Northern colonies prevent tea shipments from entering their harbor. Middle colonies dump the tea into their harbor. Southern colonies steal the tea from the ships. (It is later sold to help pay for the American Revolution.)

8. Schoolhouse Rocks: No More Kings

9. Intolerable Acts
King George III and Parliament were furious about the boycotts, patriot protests, and the tea parties
They pass the Intolerable Acts in the Massachusetts Colony
Boston Port Act- closed Boston harbor until the tea had been paid for
Massachusetts Government Act- took away the charter and prohibited town meetings
Quartering Act- colonists had to provide British troops with housing
Impartial Administration Justice Act- trials for British officials can be moved to England

10. First Continental Congress: Colonial Response to the Intolerable Acts
12 colonies (Georgia does not attend) sent representatives to attend the meeting
The representatives determine that
They will boycott Britain until the Intolerable Acts are repealed.
Though they are not ready to fight for independence, they will prepare for war by raising a militia.

11. Mixed Feelings in Georgia
Loyalists
Patriots
Many Georgians were unhappy with British laws and taxes, particularly the Quartering Act because they need troops to fight the Native Americans, but they did not want to house them.
Younger Georgians, who did not identify themselves as British, tended to support patriot movements.
Georgia had prospered under the British royal government.
Georgians depended on the British to protect them from Native Americans.
Should Georgia join the Revolution?

12. Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride
British General Gage was ordered to keep peace in Boston, so he sent troops to arrest patriot leaders John Hancock and Samuel Adams
Revere and several others set out to warn Hancock, Adams, and the people of Lexington and Concord

13. Lexington and Concord: The First Battles of the American Revolution
British troops defeated the colonists at Lexington. Then, they marched on to Concord.
The British met colonial militia at the Old North Bridge in Concord. The British were saved from defeat by reinforcement troops.
These battles, though a loss, gave colonists hope.

14. Schoolhouse Rocks: Shot Heard ‘Round the World

15. Second Continental Congress
The colonists knew that war was inevitable. The colonies declared to boycott Britain and any colony that refused to support the Revolution. (The second part was directed at the Georgia colony.)
All 13 colonies, including Georgia, attended the Second Continental Congress
They formed the Continental Army and made George Washington the commander
They wrote the Declaration of Independence