Transcript Project ExPress Day 2

A Nation is Born -Block 1
European and British Influence on the American Colonial Independence
Movement
In this section you will review the underlying conflicts and events that lead to the United
States eventually declaring their independence in 1776. You will also see how European
philosophers like John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau influenced the colonists'
thoughts on independence and the role of government.
Standards
SSWH13 The student will examine the intellectual, political, social, and economic
factors that changed the world view of Europeans.
b Identify the major ideas of the Enlightenment from the writings of Locke and
Rousseau and their relationship to politics and society.
SSWH14 The student will analyze the Age of Revolutions and Rebellions.
b. Identify the causes and results of the revolutions in England (1689), United States
(1776), France (1789), Haiti (1791), and Latin America (1808-1825).
Essential Questions
How did European philosophers like John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau influence the colonists’ thoughts
on independence and the role of government?
What were the causes and results of the revolutions in England and the United States?
John Locke (English)
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believed that people
had natural rights to
“life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness.”
His work on
governance heavily
influenced the writers
of the Declaration of
Independence.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (French)
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argued in favor of a
social contract,
allowing government to
exist and rule only by
consent of the people
being governed.
England (1689) –
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The English monarchy was stripped of its unlimited authority, and
governmental control was placed in the hands of the Parliament, a
representative assembly, when King James II was overthrown in 1688.
Framed against the background of the religious wars between
Catholics and Protestants, James’ England was invaded by Dutch
forces under the control of William and Mary.
When William successfully overthrew James, Parliament wrote up the
English Bill of Rights in 1689 establishing England as a constitutional
monarchy instead of an absolute monarchy. From this point forward, a
monarch would never again have absolute authority in England. The
power of Parliament continued to increase, while the power of the
throne continued to diminish. The Bill of Rights formed the basis for
the American Bill of Rights and the constitutions of several other
independent nations.
The French and Indian War
The Proclamation of
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forbade English colonists from living west of
the Appalachian Mountains, and it was hoped
to prevent further conflict by easing the Native
Americans' fears.
Many colonists became upset because the
Proclamation prohibited them from moving to
the Ohio Country.
The colonists’ desire to move onto this land
claimed by both England and France was a
primary reason for the French and Indian War.
England’s action convinced many colonists
that England did not understand life in the
New World and helped lead to the American
Revolution.
The British Take control
The Treaty of Paris
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often called the Peace of Paris, or the Treaty of 1763,
was signed by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France
and Spain, with Portugal in agreement.
Together with another treaty, it ended the French and
Indian War (Seven Years' War).
For seven years England and their colonists had
battled against the French and their Native American
allies.
The treaties marked the beginning of an extensive
period of British dominance outside of Europe.
England had received control of all French possessions
as well as most of the territory east of the Mississippi
River, including the Ohio Country.
Native Americans in Ohio feared that colonists would
move onto their lands.
The Colonists Rebel
The Stamp Act
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passed in 1765, most infuriated the colonists.
In protests against the Stamp Act, secret
organizations like the Sons and Daughters of
Liberty were formed in the American colonies.
The Stamp Act was different from previous tax
measures because it was direct— a tax paid
directly to the government rather than being
included in the price of goods.
Colonial lawyers, tavern owners, merchants and
printers were most affected by the Stamp Act,
because it required that all printed materials
bear a stamp to show that tax had been paid to
Great Britain.
The Committee of Correspondence
Committee of Correspondence
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In the year following the Stamp Act crisis, a
New York committee formed to urge
common resistance among its neighbors to
the new taxes.
Another Committee of Correspondence
formed in the Province of Massachusetts Bay
and responded by urging other colonies to
send delegates to the Stamp Act Congress
that fall.
The Boston Tea Party (5:40 – 9:26)
The Intolerable Acts
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were passed by British to punish the
Massachusetts colonists for the Boston Tea
Party.
These laws closed Boston Harbor until the
cost of the tea had been paid and required
colonists to feed and house British soldiers in
their homes. It ultimately reduced the
colonists’ right of self-government.
This repressive measure convinced the
thirteen colonies to form a union of resistance
against the British.
United States (1776)
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– One of the most direct causes of the American
Revolution was the prevailing belief in mercantilism,
which argues that the colony exists for the good of
the mother country alone.
This economic idea led to a variety of taxes and
acts which were imposed upon the American
colonies to pay off debt from the French and Indian
War.
The war was fought to protect the colonies, and the
British believed that the colonies should do their
part in paying for the betterment of the Empire.