French-Indian War (7 Year War) + Aftermath

Colonies in the 1750s

- Great Awakening (1720s-1730s)
- Mercantilism and Triangular Trade fueling a wealthy Merchant class
- Glorious Revolution in England
- Navigation Acts

Glorious Revolution

- the overthrow of King James II of England
- shifts England into a constitutional monarchy where parliament has more political say (taxes imposed bc that was a good idea)

Fort Duquense

- built in Virginia
- Virginian colonists protest against it, George Washington leading (first time)

Native Americans during this time

Tribes were picking a side (either American or French) and fighting for them

Albany Plan

plan proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1754 that aimed to unite the 13 colonies for trade, military, and other purposes; the plan was turned down by the colonies and the Crown

Braddock's Defeat

- British Commander Edward Braddock marches his men in a line to take back Fort Duquense
- British are massacred by the Native's guerilla warfare tactics

William Pitt

- takes command of the British army after Braddock's blunder
- wins the war by throwing money out of Britain by paying colonists to fight and Prussia to distract
- leaves Britain bankrupt

Treaty of Paris

- signed in Paris, France
- Spain and France give all of their territories in the US to Britain
- Leaves Britain with land they cannot use since no direct access to colonies

Pontiac's Rebellion (1763)

- After French-Indian war
- 9 Native tribes unite, led by Pontiac
- opposed British expansion into the western Ohio Valley burnt British forts in the area
- rebellion ends when Pontiac is killed

Salutary Neglect

An English policy of not strictly enforcing laws in its colonies

Proclamation Line of 1763

prohibited colonists from settling west of the Appalachian mountains

Stamp Act (1765)

required colonists to pay for an official stamp when buying paper items (paper = taxed)

"No taxation without representation"

reflected the colonists' belief that they should not be taxed because they had no direct representatives in Parliament

Stamp Act Congress

- meeting of delegates from 9 colonies
- agree to embargo British goods, leads to the stamp act getting repealed
- causes Declaratory Act

Declaratory Act

- passed in 1766 after the repeal of the stamp act
- stated that Parliament had authority over all the colonies and could do whatever they want

Sons of Liberty

- secret society formed to oppose British policies
- harassed tax collectors

Townshend Acts (1767)

- tax on glass, lead, paper, and tea
- colonists try to smuggle
- anti-smuggling procedures
- when repealed, the tax on tea stays

Boston Massacre (1770)

- Bostonians heckle British soldiers; goes to snowballs then rocks
- Ends in 5 Bostonians killed
- Paul Revere's propaganda
- John Adams defends the British soldiers afterwards in the name of justice and fairness

Boston Tea Party (1773)

- 5000 people lead by Samuel Adams & John Hancock (Bostonian Sons of Liberty) disguised as Mohawk Natives
- dump 1 million pounds worth of British Tea into the harbor
- causes the Coercive/Intolerable Acts

Coercive/Intolerable Acts (1774)

- closed Boston Harbor
- General Thomas Gage became new governor of Boston
- Massachusetts Legislature suspended
- Quartering Act and Quebec Act passed

First Continental Congress (1774)

- meeting in Philadelphia with delegates from all colonies except Georgia
- Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, John Adams, George Washington, John Dickison, John Jay, Joseph Galloway (names not too important)
- decided to embargo British imports AND exports
- create Committee of Correspondence

Committee of Correspondence

- organization that spread political ideas and information through the colonies
- created militia in each colony who were ready at a minute's notice (minutemen)

Pre-Lexington and Concord

- Riders on horseback trying to warn the militia about incoming British soldiers (Paul Revere)