Transcript Revolutionary War

The American Revolution and
Independence
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Beginning in 1607 The English
colonized North America.
Between 1607 and 1753 the American
colonies grew and prospered.
They provided the raw materials that
made the expansion of the British
empire possible.
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Americans took great pride in being
English and a part of a great empire.
England was content to let the
colonies run their own affairs with little
interference.
This lead to Americans developing a
strong sense of independence and self
confidence.
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The French also had established large
and prosperous colonies in North
America.
They and the British both claimed the
fertile Ohio River Valley.
In late 1753 George Washington was
sent to ask the French to leave.
They refused and war soon followed.
The French and Indian War
Roots of Dissent
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The British urged the colonists to work
together and ally with the Iroquois Indians.
The Albany conference was called to do this.
At the Conference Ben Franklin proposed
the Albany Plan for Union.
It was not adopted and the Iroquois chose
not to ally with anyone.
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The war lasted from 1757 until 1763.
It spread to Europe where it was called the
Seven Years War.
The turning point in the colonies came when
British General James Wolfe captured the
French capital at Quebec.
The Treaty of Paris 1763 ended the war.
France lost all of its colonies in North
America
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As a result of the war, England gained vast
new territory and incurred an enormous
debt.
In order to better administer the expanded
empire and pay down this debt Parliament
decided to start cracking down on the
colonists and take more direct control of
affairs in the colonies.
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The first of these measures was the Proclamation of
1763. It limited the colonists ability to expand in to
new territories.
Prime Minister George Grenville pushed forward the
American Revenue act (also known as the sugar
act) in 1764.
Colonists resented this act. They believed that
parliament had no right to levy taxes for the
purpose of raising revenue with out their consent.
The Sugar act was followed by the Currency Act,
also in1764.
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In 1765, Grenville introduced the Stamp act in
order to raise more money for the empire. He also
introduced the Quartering Act in order to support
the troops he sent to America.
As anger grew among the colonists, leaders like
Samuel Adams and Isaac Sears formed the Sons of
Liberty to protest the actions of parliament.
In October of 1765, the colonies sent
representatives to the Stamp Act Congress to
decide how to react to Parliament’s actions.
They decided to boycott British goods. Wearing
Homespun became a sign of patriotism.
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In 1766, Parliament succumbed and removed the
hated Stamp Act. It did however pass the
Declaratory Act giving Parliament the right to tax
the colonists however it saw fit.
In 1767, Charles Townshend, the new Chancellor of
the Exchequer, drafted a new set of taxes called the
Townshend Acts
One of these taxes, the revenue act of 1767, placed
an import tax on common items such as glass,
paint and tea. It also legalized Writs of Assistance.
They allowed customs officers to search any place
they liked for smuggled goods.
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As tension grew in the colonies, Parliament sent
1,000 soldiers to Boston in order to keep the peace.
On March 5, 1770 violence erupted between
soldiers and a mob. Five colonists were killed and
the incident earned the name “Boston Massacre”.
Later that year the Townshend Acts were repealed
and peace temporarily returned to the colonies. The
Parliament left only a small tax on tea in place to
remind the colonies that they could tax them
however they chose.
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Conflict again arose during the Gaspee
affair. Colonist burned a grounded naval
vessel in protest of new British policies.
In order to better communications between
the colonies Thomas Jefferson suggested
forming committees of Correspondence.
In 1774, the British tried to force the
colonists to only by tea from the East India
Company. The colonists responded with the
Boston Tea Party.
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The Boston Tea party infuriated the
Parliament and they passed the Coercive
Acts to punish Boston for its actions.
The Coercive Acts closed Boston harbor and
tried to force hardship on Boston. It
suspended the Massachusetts Assembly.
Their civilian governor was replaced by a
military one: General Thomas Gage.
Gage was sent to pacify Boston. He failed to
do so.
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The other colonies called the first
continental Congress in response to these
acts. They hoped to find a way to help
Boston.
In 1774 they professed loyalty to the king
but condemned the coercive acts.
They reinstituted the boycott against British
goods.
They agreed to call a second congress in
May of 1775 if the crisis had not abated.
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Things did not get better. Militias started to
drill and prepare for a coming war.
A rival government was set up in
Massachusetts.
Minute men units were formed. They were
groups of farmers who could at a minutes
notice arm themselves to defend their towns
and cities.
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Things finally came to a head on April 18, 1775.
General Gage sent seven hundred soldiers to seize
the arsenals at Lexington and Concord.
On the nineteenth these troops encountered
resistance in Lexington and ran into a stiff running
fight at Concord.
The soldiers returned to Boston successful but
badly bruised.
Colonial Militia soon surrounded Boston and the
Second Continental Congress was called to decide
the fate of the colonies.