(U.S. history) Road to revolution

Roots of the revolution

• English bill of rights from Glorious Revolution

• Locke’s theory of natural rights - Life liberty property

• Enlightenment thinkers - Rousseau and Montesquieu

French and Indian War

• Seven year war Between England/ American colonies, against the French and some of the Native Americans in the North America

• Both counties wanted to expand land territory

• Treaty of Paris ends the war, France loses Canada to Great Britain, Spain loses Florida

• High cost of war put British in debt

Proclamation of 1763

Prohibited Colonists from settling on lands gained in war (west of the Appalachians)

• Meant to ease tensions between Colonies and Natives

• Colonists were outraged, they had either purchased land west or had received land grants during the war

Sugar act

1764: It placed a tax on molasses and sugar imported by the colonies

Stamp act

1765: Placed a tax on all printed material, newspapers, marriage license, playing cards, and over 40 other documents

Quartering act

1765 - 1774: American colonist had to provide the British soldier with: food, beer & wine, bedding, firewood, etc

Townshend act

Placed taxes on glass, paint, oil, lead, paper, and tea

Patriots

Colonists who challenged British authority and will eventually seek independence

Loyalists

Colonists who remained loyal to the British monarchy

Boston massacre

• Gathered by a customs house guarded by British soldiers

• Throw snowballs at the troops, caused them to fire back

  • 5 dead; 6 wounded

• Following the Boston Massacre, Townshend Acts were repealed (ended), except for the tax on tea

Boston Tea Party

Tea act of 1773:

• Allowed East India Company to become the colonies only source of tea

• The company was not taxed to ship the tea to the colonies, but the colonies had to pay a tax to England for the tea

It is estimated that hundreds look part in the Boston Tea Party. For fear of punishment, many participants of the Boston Tea Party remained anonymous

Destroyed 340 chests of tea, in today’s money, was worth more than $1,700,000 dollars

Intolerable acts

Boston harbor closed until damages paid for

Continental congress

• The Boston Tea Party angered
  England’s King, and he
  dispatched even more troops to
  the colonies in 1774.

• The colonists met to discuss
  their future with the British

  • Boycott goods

  • creation of colonial militias

  • non-compliance with the intolerable acts

Olive Branch Petition & Common Sense

• 1775- Beginning of the second continental congress

  • Creation of the Continental Army

• Met to extend an olive branch petition to King George

  • Express loyalty, ask for help with grievances, hopes for a peaceful settlement

• King George denied

• Not all colonists agreed with the olive branch

• Thomas Paine wrote a paper called Common Sense

  • Common Sense- 47 page document calling for independence and that no peoples should be ruled by a
    king

  • Mocked British monarchy, said they only brought harm upon the colonies, proposed a representative democracy

• This and enlightenment ideals were widely influential

Declaration of independence

• 1776: Second continental congress
  continues.

• Written By Thomas Jefferson

• List of Grievances against the
  King of England, says also
  government gets power from
  governed

• Voted on it and Declared
  Independence, separated the
  13 colonies from England