Transcript The English Colonies Rebel: The American Revolution

The English
Colonies Rebel:
The American
Revolution
Melissa Williamson
9th grade World History
• Divine Right: idea that monarchs have the right to rule
from God
• Petition of Right: Parliament alone could impose taxes
• No one could question King Charles I or James I in England
The English Colonies Rebel
• James I and Charles I both believed that the Church of
England was still too much like the Catholic Church.
• Puritan House of Commons opposed the kings
• Puritans vs. Protestants
• Oliver Cromwell led the Roundheads against Charles I
and his Cavaliers
• Charles I surrendered and was tried, convicted, and
beheaded as a traitor in 1649
The English Civil War
• Cromwell seized control of the government and declared
England a commonwealth, or republic
• 1653: Cromwell turned England into a military
dictatorship
• Military dictatorship: rule by one person, backed by the
armed forces
• The people wanted a constitutional monarchy, or
limiting the power of the monarch by law.
The English Civil War
• Restoration: period between 1660 and 1688 because the
monarchy was brought back (brought back to its original
form)
• William and Mary asked to rule England, but had to sign
English Bill of Rights
• No bloodshed during this peaceful transition of power, so
it is known as the Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution
• British aided the colonists and natives against the French
trying to take over territory in the new world
• The war and its new possessions put an economic strain
on the British Empire
• The need for money became a major problem between
Great Britain and the 13 colonies
French and Indian War
• Mercantilism: a nation’s prosperity depended upon a
vast supply of silver and gold from its colonies
• British did this through the regulation of trade
• Stamp Tax: tax paid for all paper products in the colonies
• Revenue tax: to raise money, not regulate trade
• “No taxation without representation”
• Repealed in 1766
Causes of the American Revolution
• Declaration of Independence signed on July 4, 1776
• Britain had the largest, strongest army and navy in the
world
• The American army consisted of untrained recruits who
served short periods of time and only had a handful of
ships
• American advantage: strong leadership such as George
Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and
John Adams
The War
• The French, Dutch, and Spanish all sent ships, money,
soldiers, and supplies to aid the Americans fight their
British enemy
• Cornwallis surrendered in October of 1781
The War
• First written plan of government for the new nation
• Stated deliberately adopted a plan that did not create a
strong central government
Articles of Confederation
• Inspired by the ideas of the French philosopher Montesquieu
• Set up a federal system
• Federal system: power is shared among national, state, and local
governments
• System of checks and balances
• Executive, legislative, judicial branches
• National government granted powers of army, regulate trade,
impose taxes, and create a national system of money
• Nine states had to ratify the Constitution before it could be
nationally imposed
Constitution
• First 10 amendments to the Constitution
• Guarantee freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly
and petition; the right to bear arms; freedom from
housing soldiers; freedom from unlawful search and
seizure; the right to a fair and speedy trial; and freedom
from excessive bail, fines, and punishment
• To many people in the 1700s, the American Revolution
was the fulfillment of Enlightenment ideals
Bill of Rights