The American Revolution

Mr. McCaskill

First of all…

What is a revolution?

Revolution- A change in political organization and the overthrow of one government or ruler and the substitution of another.

Colonies and trade

Throughout the 1600s and 1700s, British colonists had formed a large and thriving settlement along the eastern shore of North America.

The colonies thrived on trade with the nations of Europe.

In addition to that, the population grew significantly each year.

British Americans

By the mid-1700s, colonists had been living in America for nearly 150 years.

Each of the colonies had its own government, and were independent.

Colonists saw themselves less as British and more as Virginians or Pennsylvanians.

However, they were still British and were expected to obey British laws.

French and Indian War

In 1754, war erupted on the North American continent between the English and the French.

The French had also colonized parts of North America throughout the 1600s and 1700s.

The conflict was known as the French and Indian War…. Sound familiar?

Britain emerged victorious!

Great Britain Wins…kinda The victory, however, only led to growing

tensions between Britain and its colonists.

In order to fight the war, Great Britain had run up a huge debt.

To pay for this, Britain began to set laws that stopped the colonist from trading with other countries.

No TWR!

Britain wanted the colonists to pay the costs of the war.

In 1765, Parliament passed the Stamp Act.

The colonists were outraged.

They had never paid taxes directly to the British government before.

The colonist accused the British of taxation without representation.

No Taxes In Britain the citizens consented to taxes

because they had representation in Parliament.

However the colonist had no representation in Parliament.

Thus, they argued they could not be taxed.

Independence

Over the next decade, hostilities between the two sides increased.

Some colonial leaders wanted independence from Britain.

In 1773, to protest a tax on tea, a group of colonists dumped a load of British tea into Boston Harbor.

This would be known as the Boston Tea Party.

Shots Heard Round the World

In April 1775 British soldiers and American militiamen exchanged gunfire in Massachusetts.

Under George Washington’s command, The American Revolution had begun!

Revolution and the Enlightenment

Colonists used Enlightenment ideas to justify independence.

The colonists felt justified to rebel since the king broke the social contract.

Declaration of Independence

In July 1776, a group of colonist wrote the Declaration of Independence.

This document, written by Thomas Jefferson, was based on the ideas of John Locke.

THE PREAMBLE

“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.”

John Locke and America

Locke had stated that people had the right to rebel against an unjust ruler.

The DOI ended by declaring the colonies’ separation from Britain.

The British were not about to let their colonies leave without a fight.

Shortly after the DOI, the two sides went to war.

WHY WE WON… Several reasons explain the colonists’ success.

First, the Americans’ motivation for fighting was much stronger.

Second, the overconfident British generals made several mistakes.

Next, time was on the side of the Americans.

Fighting a war 3,000 miles away was very expensive.

Last, France entered the war in 1778 changed the face of the war.

Importance of the Declaration

The United States was now a government in which citizens rule through elected representatives.

The Declaration of Independence marked a turning point in people’s ideas about government.

It put Enlightenment ideas into practice.

They expressed a view that reason and reform could prevail and that progress was inevitable.