Transcript The American Revolution

The American
Revolution
The Birth of a Republic
Britain and Its American Colonies
• New sense of
identity growing
among the colonies
• Britain’s
mercantilist
policies made
colonial trade
profitable.
• Strict laws angered
the colonists
Americans Win Independence
• Growing hostility leads to war
• Series of laws passed
– Navigation Acts
– Stamp Act
– Colonists were forced to pay taxes directly to
the British government (why would this
make them angry??? THINK!)
• Some colonists began encouraging
rebellion and even a revolution!
Enlightenment Ideas Influence
American Colonists
• Colonial leaders such as Patrick Henry,
John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin used
Enlightenment ideas to justify
independence.
• Colonists asked for political rights 
king refused  colonists rebelled to oust
king
– Justified because King George had broken
the social contract
Patrick Henry
Benjamin Franklin
John Adams
Thomas Jefferson
Declaration of Independence
• Document written by Thomas Jefferson
• Firmly based on the ideas of John Locke
• Reflected Enlightenment ideas by
arguing for natural rights as Locke had
• The end of the documents asserts that
the colonists had broken all ties with
Britain
– “…are absolved from all allegiance to the
British crown.”
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; that to secure these
Rights, Governments are instituted among
Men, deriving their just Powers from the
Consent of the Governed
Declaration of Independence
Americans Create a Republic
• Recognizing the need for a national
government the colonists ratified the
Articles of Confederation – government
where citizens rule through elected
representatives
• This will turn out to be a weak
government as the states hold more
power and would be later overturned
The Constitution
• Written by James Madison
• Drew on Montesquieu’s idea of separation of
powers
– Established three separate branches each with
the power to check and balance the other
• Influenced by Locke and Rousseau who
agreed that governments draw their
authority from the consent of the governed
We the People of the united States, in order to
form a more perfect Union, establish Justice,
insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the
common defense, promote the general Welfare
and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves
and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this
Constitution for the United States of America
Constitution of the United States of America
The Bill of Rights
• Fight between the Federalists and
Antifederalists to ratify the new
Constitution
• Problem?? – Antifederalists demanded a bill
of rights to protect the rights of individual
citizens
• Bill of Rights adopted and included basic
rights such as freedom of speech, press,
assembly, and religion.
– Such rights advocated by none other than
Voltaire, Rousseau and Locke!
In Conclusion…
• Enlightenment ideas influence colonists
• As a result, colonists eventually rebel
against tyrant King George based on
Enlightenment reasoning
• Colonists declare independence, defeat
Britain, and establish a republic
• Both the Constitution and the Bill of
Rights are documents that put
Enlightenment ideas into practice