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Transcript of Page 413 in your textbook. Guiding Question: Why Did Britain Rise to Global Power in the 1700s? 1....
Guiding Question: Why Did Britain Rise to Global Power in the 1700s?
1. Location: England in a position to control trade. It was surrounded by water which gave them a strategic advantage.
2) Success in War: In the 1700s, Britain was usually on the winning side in European conflicts.-England had developed a powerful navy, which could protect its growing empire and trade.
3) Favorable Business Climate: England was more open to business and commerce than its European rivals.-The 13 colonies overseas brought economic advantages to England. The union of England and Scotland was also beneficial.
United Kingdom of Great Britain
The 13 Colonies
Britain’s Colonial EmpireIn North America, Britain
controlled parts of Canada as well as the thirteen colonies
on the eastern coast of what is now the United states.
The colonies were well populated, containing more than 1 million people by 1750.
They were also very prosperous
Who was the reigning British monarch at this time?
KING GEORGE III
What kind of government does George III want to create?ABSOLUTE MONARCHY
General Causes
1) George’s policies, heavy tax burdens on the colonies
2) The colonists felt entitled to the rights of English citizens
3) Their colonial assemblies exercised much control over local affairs.
4) Increasing sense of their own identity separate from that of Britain.
In 1775, George’s policies in North America triggered the American Revolution
Causes of the American Revolution
Now we will look at some more specific causes…
In 1765, British Parliament imposed the Stamp Act on
the colonies.
The Stamp Act (1765)
The act required certain printed materials, such as legal documents and newspapers, to carry a stamp showing that a
tax had been paid to Britain.
Opposition to the stamp act was widespread and often violent. The act was repealed in 1766, ending the immediate crisis, but
the cause of the dispute was not resolved.
The Townshend Act of 1767 authorized British Parliament to
issue taxes on in-demand imports such as glass, lead, paint, paper
and tea.
The Townshend Act (1767)
Protests to the Townshend Act led to more violence. British soldiers had to be brought into Boston to
prevent an uprising.
British Propaganda, the colonists tar and feather an innocent tax collector
and force him to drink tea. This created sympathy for the British and
resentment for the American colonists.
Tension over the presence of British troops in Boston led to the Boston Massacre, the first episode which resulted
in the loss of life. Four Bostonians were killed when Redcoats fired into an angry mob in 1770.
The Boston Massacre (1770)
Angry Bostonians known as the Sons of Liberty boarded a British tea vessel dressed as Indians and dumped all of its
tea into Boston Harbor in protest of the Tea tax.
The Boston Tea Party (1773)
The Intolerable Acts were laws that were really punishments that King George III put on the colonies for dumping tea into the harbor
at the Boston Tea Party.
The Intolerable Acts (1774)
These were by far the harshest laws Parliament had ever passed, limiting the rights of the American Colonists. This was a major step on the Road to Revolution.
Write a complete paragraph describing the
major causes of the American Revolution.
Bellringer
Create a timeline for the American Revolution. Give it a title, and plot at least 5 dates on
it.
Bellringer
The Intolerable Acts (1774)
• The Boston Port Bill: Boston Harbor closed to everything but British ships.
• The Quartering Act : The King sent lots of British troops to Boston. The colonists had to house and feed the British troops. If the colonists didn't do this for the British troops, they would get shot.
• The Administration of Justice Act: British Officials could not be tried in colonial courts for crimes. They would be taken back to Britain and have a trial there. That left the British free to do whatever they wanted in the colonies and to the Colonists.
• Massachusetts Government Act :The British Governer was in charge of all the town meetings in Boston. There would be no more self-government in Boston.
To counteract British actions in the 1770’s, the colonies organized the First Continental Congress, which met in
Philadelphia in September 1774.
First Continental Congress
Members urged colonists to take up arms and organize militias
Militia: a military force of civilian, non-professional soldiers.
Fighting finally erupted between colonists and the British army in April, 1775 in two battles at Lexington and
Concord, Massachusetts.
The Revolutionary War Begins
British troops were sent to Concord to capture John Hancock and Samuel Adams, but both men had been
warned about the British attack.
The night of April 18th, Paul Revere rode through Concord warning everybody about the
British attack.
Paul Revere’s Ride
Paul Revere’s Ride (poem)Listen my children and you shall hearOf the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.
So through the night rode Paul Revere;And so through the night went his cry of alarmTo every Middlesex village and farm,---A cry of defiance, and not of fear,A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,And a word that shall echo for evermore!For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,Through all our history, to the last,In the hour of darkness and peril and need,The people will waken and listen to hearThe hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,And the midnight message of Paul Revere.
When the British came in to take and attack the Rebels, the Minutemen, Americans who were“ ready to fight in a
minute," were waiting to attack at Lexington.
Lexington and Concord (1775)
Ralph Waldo Emerson, a famous poet, called the Battle of Lexington "the shot heard 'round the world," because this
battle began the Revolutionary War.
Shot heard ‘round the world
Soon after, the Second Continental Congress met and set up an army, called the Continental Army.
George Washington
George Washington of Virginia served as commander in chief.
Advantages and Disadvantages
British Advantages British Disadvantages1)Professional Soldiers
2)Huge Fleet3)Plentiful money4)1/3 of Americans were
Loyalists
1)Fighting on unfamiliar territory
2)Fighting without a cause
3)Far away from home base
American Advantages
American Disadvantages
1)Fighting for a cause2)Home turf advantage3)Controlled the countryside4)French alliance
1)Few resources2)Low on money3)Enemies within
their territory (slaves, Loyalists, Natives)
More than a year passed before the colonies declared independence from the British Empire.
Declaration of Independence
On July 4th 1776, the Second Continental Congress approved the
Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson.
Benjamin Franklin and John Adams helped revise the document.
This document, written by political leader Thomas Jefferson, was firmly based on the ideas of John Locke and the Enlightenment.
Declaration of Independence
“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 pursuit of happiness.”
Jefferson kept the Declaration relatively short and to the point: he wanted its meaning to be direct, clear, and forceful.
Declaration of Independence
1. Expressed clearly the ideals of the American cause2. Argued against George III3. Offer arguments to give the colonies’ actions international
legitimacy4. Express the American spirit of freedom and unity.
Goals of the Declaration:
Support from foreign countries was important to the colonists. These nations were eager to gain revenge for earlier defeats to the British.
French Support
The French supplied arms and money to the rebels. French officers and soldiers also served in Washington’s army.
In February 1778, following a British defeat, the French recognized the United States as an independent nation.
British Defeat
When General Cornwallis was forced to surrender to the American forces in 1781, The British decided to end the war.
In 1783, the Treaty of Paris recognized the independence of the American colonies.
After overthrowing British rule, the former colonies feared the power of a strong central government.
The Birth of a New Nation
The states’ first constitution, the Articles of Confederation (1781) created a weak central government that lacked the power to deal with the nation’s problems.
In 1787, delegates met in Philadelphia at the Constitutional Convention to revise the articles of confederation. The delegates planned for an entirely new government.
The Birth of a New Nation
The proposed constitution created a federal system, in which the national government and the state governments shared power.
The Constitution
Based on Montesquieu’s ideas, the national (federal) government was separated into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.
1. A president served as the head of the executive branch.
Separation of Powers
2. The legislative branch consisted of elected representatives of two houses: the Senate, and the House of Representatives.
3. The Supreme Court and the other courts formed the judicial branch.
The constitution took effect after 9 of the 13 states ratified (agreed to it)
After ratification, the new Congress proposed 12 amendments (changes) to the Constitution.
The Bill of Rights (1791)
The states approved 10 of these amendments. Together, they became known as the Bill of Rights.
These amendments guaranteed freedom of religion, speech, press, petition, and assembly. They also gave Americans the right to bear arms and to be protected against unreasonable searches and arrests. They guaranteed trial by jury, due process of law, and protection of property rights.
