•  British have huge war debt to pay off

•  Sugar Act, Currency Act, Stamp Act

•  Challenge colonial tradition of self-taxation

(don’t like virtual representation)

•  Stamp Act Congress, Committees of Correspondence

•  Tea Tax, Townshend Acts

•  Sons of Liberty, Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party

•  Intolerable Acts

•  First Continental Congress

•  Battles of Lexington and Concord

• Second Continental Congress

• Olive Branch Petition

• Declaration of Independence

• Based upon the ideas of the Enlightenment

• John Locke:  social contract

• Revolutionary War

• British have more men, materials, Hessians

•  Colonists struggle with numbers, but have General Washington

• Battle of Saratoga brings French help

• British quit the fight after Yorktown in 1781

• Treaty of Paris 1783

• Continental Congress writes the Articles of Confederation in 1781

• Very limited in power – no taxes, no trade regulation, no military, etc.

• Can’t keep peace at home and not respected by foreign powers

• Shay’s Rebellion

• Can’t be changed without unanimous vote

• Northwest Ordinance was a positive

• abolished slavery in NW territories

• set up provisions to become new states

• Call for a change to the Government at Annapolis Convention 1786

• Delegates of 12 states met in Philadelphia in 1787

• leaders were Washington, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton

• Secretly threw our Confederation and worked on Constitution

• Successful because of compromises

• Great Compromise, 3/5 Compromise, etc.

• Set up a powerful government restricted by checks & balances

• Sent to the states for ratification (needed 9 of 13)

•Opponents think it takes too much power from people & states

• Hamilton and Madison write the Federalist Papers to gain support

• Finally went into effect in 1789 after a Bill of Rights is promised

• First 10 amendments passed in 1791