1. Written by: Greg Clevenger

2. The Story Thus Far
European nations were competing with each other for:
World resources
Military strength
Political superiority
Britain (with colonial help) won the French/Indian War thereby removing the French and pushing Spain West.
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. “Long Train of Abuses”
With the defeat of the French in the Seven Years War, Great Britain was in debt and needs money to administer its immense empire in North America. Parliament passed a number of restrictive and tax laws on the American colonies.
Britain turned a more watchful eye to America.
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. Proclamation of 1763 Why would King George do this?
What was the American colonial response?

5. Major Causes The Sugar Act Quartering Act 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.

6. The Sugar Act - 1764 Duty on sugar and molasses.
Smuggling cases tried in Admiralty Court
Making colonists purchase British-made goods instead of products from the French West Indies was Great Britain’s first plan to regain lost monies. Great Britain passed the Sugar Act, which included a tax on all non-British imports, to strongly encourage colonists to “buy British.” This act was also an attempt to regulate American smuggling. The Act called for a tax of threepence on every gallon of molasses, taxed wine and other goods, and provided for strict enforcement.

7. Quartering Act - 1765 Colonists must provide food and lodging to
British troops.

8. The Stamp Act—1765
Official government stamp required on all paper products (nearly 50 paper products – wills, magazines, birth certificates, land titles, degrees, marriage certificates, financial transactions, even playing cards)
Who did this tax most impact?
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.

9. Stamp Act Congress (NYC) Boycotts Sons of Liberty/
Colonial Response to Stamp Act
Stamp Act Congress (NYC)
Boycotts
Sons of Liberty/
Daughters of Liberty
Committees of
Correspondence –
Sam Adams.

10. More Major Causes
The Townshend Acts – Tax on paper, paint, glass, lead, and tea.
Boston Massacre – Paul Revere propaganda - 5 dead.
Boston Tea Party – 242 chests of tea destroyed in protest to Tea Act.
The Intolerable Acts – Britain’s revenge on Boston for the destruction of tea.
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.

11. The Townshend Acts—1767
Import duties on paper, paint, glass, lead, and tea.
Money used to pay royal governors.
Writs of Assistance – search warrant but allowed king’s officers to search for any illegal products anywhere, at any time.
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.
Townshend

12. Colonial response to Townshend Acts Boycotts. John Dickenson
Letters From a Farmer
In Pennsylvania.
“No taxation without….

13. Boston Massacre—1770 Crowd of colonists threaten British soldiers.
British open fire killing five Americans.
Parliament canceled the Townshend duties.
Paul Revere’s propaganda spread by the Committees of Correspondence.
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.

14. Boston Diary
“Dined with three hundred and fifty Sons of Liberty, at Robinson’s, the Sign of Liberty Tree in Dorchester…. To the Honour of the Sons, I did not see one Person intoxicated, or near it.”
—John Adams (1769)
This diary excerpt shows the seriousness of the colonists. Listen.
Single click the speaker icon to hear the clip >>>>

15. Tea Act - 1773 Made British East India Company tea cheaper than other
smuggled tea …
even with the tax.

16. Boston Tea Party—1773
British sold tea even more cheaply than smuggled tea
Sons of Liberty 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.

17. Tea Party Diary “Last Night 3 Cargoes of Bohea Tea were emptied
into the sea. This Morning, a Man of War sails.
This is the most magnificent Movement of all.”
—John Adams (1773)
This piece from Adams’ diary shows how excited the colonists were to strike out against the British.

18. The Intolerable Acts—1774 Parliament’s harsh punishment of Boston.
1. Closed the Port of Boston.
2. American town meetings
banned.
3. British officials in trouble sent
to Great Britain for trial.
4. Expanded quartering act.
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.

19. First Continental Congress
56 Delegates
Included George Washington, Patrick Henry and Sam Adams
Organize the boycotts of British goods to America.
Met in Philadelphia – 1774
Fifty-six colonial leaders, including George Washington, Patrick Henry, and Sam Adams, decided to figure out what course of action to take after the Intolerable Acts were passed. They met in Philadelphia in 1774 and became known as the First Continental Congress.

20. Colonists Agreed To: Boycott British goods.
Arm themselves and form militias.
Appeal to the king for changes in policy.
The First Continental Congress agreed to the following measures to let Great Britain know they meant business: boycott British goods, arm themselves, and form trained militias, and appeal directly to King George III.

21. King George III Refused To:
Allow American colonist representation in Parliament.
No responce 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

22. They began to stockpile weapons and train a citizen militia.
“The Shot Heard Round the World”
In response to the Intolerable Acts, the citizens of Suffolk county, MA passed the Suffolk Resolves –
They began to stockpile weapons and train a citizen militia.
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 Regulars are coming!”

23. The Armed Militia Known as “Minutemen” 70 Minutemen on the Village
Green.
Known as the Battle of
Lexington and Concord.
Uncertain which side fired
first shot.
50 Americans killed and 45 wounded or missing
65 British killed and 208 wounded or missing
This was truly a mismatched battle from the start, but the outcome was monumental. Farmers and shopkeepers responded to Paul Revere’s call to arms by being ready to fight at “a minute’s notice,” earning them the nickname “Minutemen.” Seventy Minutemen were waiting for the British soldiers at the Village Green, on April 19, Historians are still uncertain about which side fired the first shot. Approximately 50 American colonists were killed and 45 were wounded or missing; the British, on the other hand, lost approximately 65 soldiers and 208 were wounded or missing. The battle was a humiliating defeat for the British, who had more organized, highly trained militias. However, they didn’t use guerilla warfare as the Minutemen chose to do and thus the British were unprepared for ambushes and easily slaughtered.

24. Lexington and Concord

25. Lexington Diary
“At 10 of the clock last night, the King’s troops marched out from the bottom of the common, crossed over to Phips Farm, marched on ’till they came to Lexington.”
—Timothy Newell (1775)
This is an excerpt from Timothy Newell’s diary. “At 10 of the clock last night, the King’s troops marched out from the bottom of the common, crossed over to Phips Farm, marched on ’till they came to Lexington.” –Timothy Newell (1775)
“The Shot heard round the world.”

26. Lexington Famous Quote
“Stand your ground, don’t fire unless fired upon.
But if they mean to have a war, let it begin here!”
- Captain Parker – Lexington,
April 19, 1775.
Blood has been spilled.
Many British soldiers felt bad about shooting their countrymen. Listen to Captain Parker’s words.
Single click the speaker icon to hear the clip >>>>