American Revolution

1
American Revolution
2
Boston Massacre

• Crowds constantly heckled and harassed the
  troops.
• March 5, 1770, a crowd of colonists began
  taunting and throwing snowballs at a British
  soldier guarding a customs house.
• Afterwards, 3 people lay dead, 2 died later, and
  6 were wounded.

3
More frustrations

• Boston Tea Party (1773) in response to the Tea
  Act
• Coercive Act (1774) closed Boston harbor,
  imposed British control over town govt,
  imposed a new Quartering Act
• Quebec Act (1774) govt would be appointed by
  king, gave more territory seemed to imply that
  the British were trying to seize control of the
  colonial governments.
• Coercive Act Quebec Act together make up the
  Intolerable Acts.
• Committees of Correspondence - colonial leaders
  from all but one colony (Pennsylvania),
  communicated ways to protest British policies.

4
Loyalists versus Patriots

• Americans who backed Britain were known as
  Loyalists, or Tories.
• People who believed Britain had become tyrants
  were known as Patriots, or Whigs.

5
First Continental Congress

• 1774, delegates from 12 colonies met together
  Georgia did not participate ? agreed to halt
  trade with Britain.
• Expanded the militia of citizen soldiers
  (minutemen) throughout the colonies, in
  anticipation of armed conflict with Britain.

6
Thomas Paine Common Sense

• Author - Thomas Paine
• Common Sense Published in 1776
• challenged the authority of the British
  government the royal monarchy.
• The plain language that Paine used spoke to the
  common people of America and was the first work
  to openly ask for independence from Great
  Britain.

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Escalating Conflict

• 1775, Britain thought the colonies, especially
  Massachusetts, needed to be controlled thus,
  Parliament sent troops over to America.
• General Thomas Gage
• April 18th, 700 troops set out for Concord
  passed the town of Lexington

8
Paul Revere

• Patriot leader, who along with William Dawes,
  heard about the plan of the British decided to
  spread the alarm.
• The British are coming!

9
Battles of Lexington Concord

• Shots fired at Lexington left 8 minutemen dead.
• British moved on to Concord, where they destroyed
  a small amount of gunpowder.
• Minutemen, lining the forest road, killed 73
  British soldiers wounded 200, concluding the
  two battles.

10
Second Continental Congress

• After skirmishes at Lexington Concord, colonial
  leaders like Ben Franklin, John Hancock, and Sam
  Adams met here.
• Appointed George Washington as the head of
  Continental Army

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Declaration of Independence

• July 4, 1776 severing all ties with Great
  Britain.
• Declared themselves the United States of America
• Discussed everything King George III had done
  wrong that if the govt became harmful to the
  people, they had the right to change it.
• Written by Thomas Jefferson

12
John Locke

• Declaration influenced by Enlightenment thinkers
• Held life, liberty, and property as natural
  rights
• We hold these truths to be self-evident, that
  all men are created equal, that they are endowed
  by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights,
  that among these are Life, Liberty, and the
  pursuit of Happiness.

13
Charles Montesquieu

• French philosopher
• Wrote The Spirit of the Laws, that power in
  government should be divided among an executive
  and a legislative body.
• Helped influence Declaration Articles of
  Confederation.

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Crossing the Delaware River

• Washington his men were suffering from losses
  to British, loss of thousands of troops
• Christmas night (1776) Washington led 2,400 men
  in small boats across an icy Delaware River, then
  marched to Trenton (NJ) and gave a surprise
  attack on a group of Hessians
• This victory gave new hope to the Americans

15
Battle of Saratoga

• (1777) included the surrender of almost 5,000
  British soldiers, proved Americas ability to
  fight, bolstered American resolve while
  attracting European support.
• TURNING POINT OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR!
• Improved American morale and also convinced
  France to commit troops to the American cause.

16
French Support

• Baron von Steuben helped turned undisciplined
  troops into professional soldiers.
• Ben Franklin helped ensure a French alliance that
  provided military financial aid.
• Marquis de Lafayette, French soldier who
  volunteered to serve in the Continental Army at
  his own expense.

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Conditions at Valley Forge

• Valley Forge (outside Philadelphia), served as
  the site of the Continental Armys camp during
  the winter of 1777-78.
• British occupied Philadelphia took quarters
  inside while the underclothed underfed Patriots
  were in makeshift huts in the freezing, snowy
  woods.
• low point for General Washington his troops

18
Battle of Yorktown/Treaty of Paris

• (1781) Continental Army defeated General
  Cornwallis , trapping 8,000 British soldiers
  effectively ended the war.
• Peace came with the signing of the Treaty of
  Paris in 1783.

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Pre-Revolutionary War, 1763
Post-Revolutionary War, 1783
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Practice Questions

• Of what importance were men such as Marquis de
  Lafayette and Baron von Steuben to the American
  cause?
• A) they served as spies
• B) they provided expertise
• C) they assisted the British
• D) they served in Congress

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Practice Questions

• How did the Treaty of Paris 1783 change the
  political map of North America?
• A) Great Britain gained land.
• B) The United States claimed land that had been
  under British control.
• C) France ceded Florida to Spain.
• D) The United States gained Florida from Spain.