2. The Road to Revolution

3. Overview of The American Revolution!
Throughout this Powerpoint presentation, you will be expected to take notes and understand all elements that are in red.
Overview of The American Revolution!

4. Definitions *writ of assistance – allowed British customs officials to search ships for smuggled items with no warrant or cause *boycott – to stop purchasing a good or using a service as a response to a perceived wrong.

5. *committees of correspondence - were formed throughout the colonies as a means of coordinating action against Great Britain, usually involving letter writing and other forms of communication *repeal – the removal or reversal of law.

6. *minuteman - a small hand-picked elite force which were required to be highly mobile and able to assemble quickly. They were selected from militia muster rolls by their commanding officers. Typically 25 years of age or younger, they were chosen for their enthusiasm, reliability, and physical strength. The Minutemen were the first armed militia to arrive or await a battle. *militia - were men in arms formed to protect their towns from foreign invasion and ravages of war.

7. You will define these from the following slides~
More Definitions
Stamp Act
Boston Massacre
Townshend Acts
Quartering Act
Boston Tea Party
Intolerable Acts
You will define these from the following slides~

8. The French and Indian War
France and England competed for land in America.
France tried to protect its land by building forts in the Ohio River Valley and by befriending the Indians.
The English settlers angered the Indians by clearing forests to build farms.

9. A result of the French and Indian War was that France lost its lands in both America and Canada
The Indians were not pleased with the British victory and some decided to fight.
The Proclamation of 1763 stated that settlers could not move west of the Appalachian Mountains. This was to avoid conflicts with the Native Americans.

10. Road to Rebellion!
Britain then decided to tax the colonists to help pay for the French and Indian War. Colonists were not as upset by the taxes as they were upset that they had no voice in the government that was forcing them to pay!
“No Taxation without Representation” became their motto.

11. Sugar Act and Stamp Act
Sugar Act - British taxed sugar and molasses. Shop owners had to pay it.
Stamp Act - British imposed taxes upon all paper products and stamped the item once the tax had been paid. This was a direct tax on citizens.

12. The Sons and Daughters of Liberty were organized to protest British policies, both peacefully and violently.
The Quartering Act made colonists pay for the housing and feeding of British soldiers but was, in actuality, another form of tax because it saved Britain money.

13. Various protests: Patrick Henry’s speech
Boston Massacre
The Sons and Daughters of Liberty were organized to protest, both peacefully and violently

14. The Boston Massacre

15. Samuel Adams was an agitator and an organizer who helped start a revolution. John Adams was a farmer and a lawyer, who helped lead that revolution.

16. Because of the “Quartering Act”, English soldiers, who were called “redcoats” because of the color of their uniforms, were to be quartered in American towns.

17. Americans didn’t want British redcoats quartered in their towns, or even in their country.
In 1768 the British fleet sailed into Boston harbor and unloaded regiment after regiment of redcoats.

18. So when the soldiers arrived in 1768, the colonists weren’t very kind to them. Sometimes they threw snowballs or rocks.
At first, the people of Boston wouldn’t provide quarters for the redcoats. So the soldiers set up tents on the big grassy Boston Common.

19. Most of the English soldiers didn’t want to be in America anyway
Most of the English soldiers didn’t want to be in America anyway. They were poorly paid, and many were homesick.
On a freezing March day in 1770, one of the king’s soldiers was looking for work to earn some extra money. Someone started making fun of him and told him to get a job cleaning toilets.

20. One thing led to another, and there was a fight
One thing led to another, and there was a fight. Soon a noisy, jeering group of troublemakers gathered in front of the Boston Custom House.

21. They began pushing and shoving and throwing stones at the British sentry. He got knocked down and he called for help.

22. Capt. Thomas Preston came to the rescue with eight British soldiers
Capt. Thomas Preston came to the rescue with eight British soldiers. There is some confusion about what happened next.
The mob is said to have taunted the redcoats, yelling “Fire! Fire!” Captain Preston is said to have yelled, ‘Hold your fire!” Then a British soldier was hit with a big stick.

23. Five Americans die, seven were wounded.
He claimed he heard the word “fire,” so he fired his gun into the crowd. The street gang moved forward; the redcoats panicked and fired at unarmed people.
Five Americans die, seven were wounded.

24. Samuel Adams made the most of it
Samuel Adams made the most of it. He called it the Boston Massacre and had Paul Revere engrave a picture of the scene.
The picture that Paul Revere chose to etch into a piece of copper, so it could be printed over and over again, showed British soldiers firing at peaceful Boston citizens.

25. That wasn’t the way it had happened – Adams and Revere knew that – but the drawing made good propaganda. It made people furious at the British.
That drawing was soon seen all over the colonies. It helped start a war.

26. There is one hero in the story of the Boston Massacre, John Adams
There is one hero in the story of the Boston Massacre, John Adams. John didn’t want British soldiers in Boston either. But, he was fair and he always did what he thought was right.
He believed the redcoats should have a fair trial. He knew they needed a good lawyer, and he was one of the best in the colonies.

27. Adams argued that the soldiers had defended themselves against an angry mob. A Boston jury found six of the soldiers not guilty. Two soldiers were found guilty of manslaughter, they were branded on their thumbs.

28. From Bad to Worse:
The Boston Tea Party!

29. The chief goal of the Tea Act was to raise money for the British East India Company which was in financial trouble
The Boston Tea Party was a bold and daring move in which the colonists dumped thousands of pounds of tea into the harbor in protest of the Tea Act

30. Without Representation!”
“No Taxation
Without Representation!”
Colonists react

31. Boston Tea Party Lower price on British tea Colonists still pay taxes
Boycotted British tea
Sons of Liberty dressed in disguise and dumped British tea overboard

32. They limited town meetings to once a year shut down the port of Boston
In response to the Boston Tea Party, Parliament created the Coercive Acts. Colonists called them the Intolerable Acts.
They limited town meetings to once a year
shut down the port of Boston
established a new Quartering Act
said that British officers who commit a crime would stand trial in Great Britain!

33. The Shot Heard ‘Round the World
The Intolerable Acts angered Americans who formed the First Continental Congress. Delegates decided to unite against Britain. They agreed to boycott British goods, stop exporting American goods to England, and form militias.

34. First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia

35. The majority of the colonists were neutral or Loyalist
The majority of the colonists were neutral or Loyalist. They did not want to leave the “Mother Country” and were happy with the protection of the greatest military force in the world.
For this reason, the “Olive Branch Petition” was sent to King George, reaffirming our loyalty and asking that England meet us halfway.
It was too late though. War was inevitable.

36. Minutemen were busy training throughout Massachusetts.
The British discovered that a large store of arms was being hidden in Concord and sent out troops to seize them by surprise.
The Sons of Liberty saw them leave, and Paul Revere alerted the countryside.

37. Conflict at Lexington and Concord
British General Gage learns of hidden weapons in Concord
Paul Revere and William Dawes make midnight ride to warn Minutemen of approaching British soldiers
Two lanterns hung in church tower to warn the British coming by “sea” (Charles River)

38. 70 armed minutemen were waiting for the British in the town of Lexington outside of Concord.
The British ordered the minutemen to go home. The colonists refused to obey.
A shot rang out and the troops fired. Eight minutemen were killed.

39. When the British troops reached Concord, they found that the store of arms had already been removed. They headed back to Boston. Now the minutemen were waiting for them.
All along the road from Concord to Boston, farmers, blacksmiths, saddle makers, and clerks hid behind trees, rocks, and fences.
By the time the redcoats reached Boston, more than 200 were wounded and 73 were dead.

40. Why do people call the first gunshot at Lexington “the Shot Heard ‘Round the World”?

41. Second Continental Congress
Representatives brought money to help establish…
the Continental Army
(i.e. pay soldiers, buy guns, bullets, food, and uniforms

42. the freedom to govern on one’s own.
declaration : (n)
an official statement
independence : (n)
the freedom to govern on one’s own.

43. Who was involved? Benjamin Franklin John Adams Robert R. Livingston
Roger Sherman
Thomas Jefferson was the primary author

44. Parts of the Declaration

45. What happened to the men who risked their lives to sign?
See Word document The Price they paid and Declaration of Independence

46. What happened after it was signed and where is it now?
Review and Intro to next unit.