Revolution to Constitution

1
Revolution to Constitution

• Conflicts and Change

2
Wars of Empires

• Frances colonial claims in Canada and America
  are based on the efforts of several explorers.
• Rivalries smolder between the French and English
  colonies.
• The French focus less on settlement and more on
  economic exploitation.

3

• While Britain may have had the 13 colonies,
  France controlled a vast territory that extended
  from the St. Lawrence River to the Gulf of
  Mexico.
• Between 1689 and 1748, France and Britain fought
  a series of wars.
• Much of the fighting took place in Europe, but
  the bloodshed managed to spill its way into the
  Americas.
• Each time a war ended, a treaty was made which
  resolved nothing.

4

• Caught in the middle of the battles that were
  about to take place in America were the Indians.
• The Indians benefited greatly from their middle
  position between the competing empires.
• Both sides gave generous gifts to the Indians.
• The balance of power shifted greatly in Britains
  favor when the population of colonists
  outnumbered the French.
• The British settlers often mistreated the Indians
  and claimed more lands for themselves.

5
Competition of European Nations

• One huge point of conflict was land in the
  fertile Ohio Valley, which was unsettled up until
  this point.
• To keep the British from moving to this area, the
  French built Fort Duquesne.
• Angered by the fort, the British sent troops to
  evict the French from their fort.
• The troops were under the command of George
  Washington.
• At first he was victorious, but later he
  surrendered in a counterattack.

6

• Washingtons defeat would result in a war that
  would engulf the world.
• Battles took place from America to Europe, Asia,
  Africa, and the West Indies.
• In Europe, the battles were called the Seven
  Years War.
• In America, they would become known as the French
  and Indian War.

7
The French and Indian War

• The French and Indian War is a British-French war
  for control of America.
• Early British losses in the war lessen colonial
  respect for the British army.
• Britain gains control of Canada and most of North
  America east of the Mississippi.

8
(No Transcript)
9
The Beginning of the End

• The Proclamation of 1763, forbidding settlers
  west of the Appalachians, stirs colonial
  resentment.
• To ensure control of newly acquired territories,
  Britain stations an army at the frontier, which
  some colonists perceive as a threat.
• To help pay for the army and the huge war debt,
  prime minister George Greenville imposes more
  tariffs and tries to crack down on smuggling.
• Some colonists believe that the new regulations
  violate their rights as British citizens.
• Read Pontiacs Rebellion on pg. 88 of your
  textbook silently. Remembering back to Bacons
  Rebellion on pg. 48. In groups of 2, no more
  than 3, compare and contrast the two rebellions.
  Think about time frame each rebellion took place
  and their causes.

10
Pontiacs Rebellion, 1763

• Pontiac led a powerful coalition of Indian
  nations against the British in the Great Lakes.
• In London, Parliament decided it did not want any
  more expensive wars between
• the settlers and Indians.
• As a result, Parliament decided to keep the two
  groups separate.

11
Proclamation Line of 1763

• Parliament prohibited American settlers from
  moving west of the Appalachian Mountains.
• The British wanted to
• 1. reduce the cost of protecting American
  settlers
• 2. control the colonists
• 3. reap the profits from the fur trade and land
  speculation

12
A power struggle

• In 1763, Parliament began passing laws that
  denied American colonists their traditional
  rights.
• What was Parliament?
• That building in London with Big Ben.
• The government of England - and all the colonies
  of the British Empire

13
Military occupation

• The British stationed 5,000 troops in the new
  western lands.
• This was the beginning of the British occupation
  of America.

14
The end of salutary neglect

• Parliament suddenly became quite interested in
  American affairs.

15
Settlers on the frontier!

• Later, during the Revolutionary War, folks
  wondered why the British were defeated at Kings
  Mountain on the border of the Carolinas.
• Because folks on the frontier in the Carolinas
  hated the Proclamation of 1763.
• Like most folks on the frontier, they had long
  memories.

16
Ignored the law

• The American colonists ignored the law and moved
  onto the frontier.
• This shocked Virginians like George Washington,
  who had fought for that territory.

17
Define the following

1. Treaty of Paris
2. Pontiac
3. George Washington
4. French and Indian War
5. Proclamation of 1763