America at War: The Revolutionary Period (VUS.4)

The Road to Revolution

• Rivalry between England and France led to the French and Indian War (1754-1763).
• England's subsequent actions angered American colonies, leading to the American Revolution.

Anglo-Franco Rivalry

• The "French and Indian War" was part of the "Seven Years War" (1754-1763).
• Conflict arose from clashes over colonial territory and wealth between the French and English.

Albany Plan of Union

• English officials proposed a union of colonial governments.
• Colonial leaders met in Albany, New York, in June 1754.
• Benjamin Franklin drafted a plan of union.
• The plan was rejected by the Crown and colonial legislatures.

British Military Advances

• British expeditions into the Ohio Country led to French retreat.
• Braddock’s Expedition (1755).
• Forbes’ Expedition (1758).
• French forces destroyed Fort Duquesne in 1758; British forces built Fort Pitt.

French and Indian War Ends

• Treaty of Paris of 1763: France made vast concessions.
• All of New France (Canada) went to England.
• Louisiana went to Spain.
• Britain gained naval supremacy and control of North America.
• Colonies developed a new relationship with the British.

Proclamation of 1763

• Prohibited settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains.
• The region was costly for the British to protect.

English Debts Mount

• New taxes were imposed on legal documents (the “Stamp Act”), tea, and sugar.
• These taxes were to pay for the French and Indian War and British troops.

Events Leading to War

• Sugar Act (1764): Tax on sugar and molasses.
• Quartering Act (1765): Colonists had to provide housing for English troops.
• Stamp Act (1765): Tax on stamps, cards, legal documents, and newspapers.
• Townshend Acts (1767): Tax on colonial imports; troops stationed at ports.
• Boston Massacre (March 5, 1770): British troops killed colonists.
• Tea Act (1773): East India Company sold directly to colonists.
• Coercive “Intolerable” Acts (1774): Shut down Boston Harbor, martial law.
• First Continental Congress (1774): Defended colonists’ rights.

Justification for Revolution

• New ideas about the relationship between people and government justified the Declaration of Independence.
• The American Revolution was inspired by ideas concerning natural rights and political authority.

The Enlightenment

• “Age of Reason” (17th-18th centuries).
• Development of new ideas about rights and rulers.
• John Locke influenced the American belief in self-government.

John Locke’s Ideas

• All people are free, equal, and have “natural rights” of life, liberty, and property.
• Original power resides in the people who consent to form a government via a “social contract.”
• People promise to obey laws in return.
• Governments have limited powers.
• People have the right to alter or overthrow a government that threatens their natural rights.

Towards Revolution

• Enlightenment ideas and unfair British policies provoked debate and resistance.

Resistance Mounted

• Boston Massacre (March 5, 1770): British troops killed demonstrators.
• Boston Tea Party (December 16, 1773): Sons of Liberty dumped tea into Boston Harbor.
• First Continental Congress: Representatives from twelve of thirteen colonies.

Colonial Camps

• Patriots: Believed in independence from England.
• Loyalists: Remained loyal to Britain.
• Neutrals: Remained uninvolved.

The Shot Heard 'Round The World

• The war began with skirmishes at Lexington and Concord.

Lexington and Concord

• April 19, 1775.
• British troops dispatched to seize supplies.
• Paul Revere spread the word.
• Minutemen confronted British troops.
• British casualties totaled 273; Patriot Losses ~95.

Thomas Paine & Common Sense

• Thomas Paine challenged British rule in the pamphlet Common Sense.
• It contributed to the sentiment for independence.

The Declaration of Independence

• Authored by Thomas Jefferson.
• Reflected Locke’s and Paine’s ideas.
• All men are created equal with unalienable rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
• Governments derive power from the consent of the governed.
• People have the right to alter or abolish destructive government.
• Details grievances against King George III.

Major Battles and Events

• Washington appointed Commander in Chief (June 1775).
• Boston liberated (March 1776).
• Washington attempted to capture New York City.

Battle of Trenton

• December 26, 1776.
• Washington attacked a British Camp in New Jersey.
• Significant victory.

Battles of Saratoga

• September and October 1777.
• British General John Burgoyne against American General Horatio Gates.
• American success led to French support.
• Turning Point of the War.

Valley Forge

• Winter 1777-1778.
• Washington and his troops camped along the Delaware River.
• Harsh conditions and low morale.

Southern Theater of War (1778 –1781)

• British move into “Southern Colonies.”
• Lord Charles Cornwallis commanded major forces.

Victory at Yorktown

• October 1781.
• Lord Cornwallis trapped at Yorktown.
• French helped on land and sea.

Reasons for Victory

• British government tired of the struggle.
• Foreign intervention by the French.
• Benjamin Franklin negotiated a Treaty of Alliance with France.
• George Washington’s leadership.

Results

• Treaty of Paris of 1783.
• American Independence.
• Land from the East Coast to the Mississippi.
• Need for a new government.
• The Articles of Confederation.
• State Constitutions.