The American Revolution

Mr. McCaskill

First of all
What is a revolution?
Revolution- A change in political
organization and the overthrow of one
government or ruler and the substitution
of another.

England and the colonies

England is now a constitutional monarchy.
In essence, this meant that various laws
limited the power of the English king.
However, a number of colonists in the
Americas accused England of
oppression.

Colonies and trade

Throughout the 1600s and 1700s, British
colonists had formed a large and thriving
settlement along the eastern shore of North
America.
The colonies thrived on trade with the nations
of Europe.
In addition to that, the population grew
significantly each year.

British Americans
By the mid-1700s, colonists had been living in
America for nearly 150 years.
Each of the colonies had its own government, and
were independent.
Colonists saw themselves less as British and more as
Virginians or Pennsylvanians.
However, they were still British and were expected to
obey British laws.

French and Indian War

In 1754, war erupted on the North American continent
between the English and the French.
The French had also colonized parts of North
America throughout the 1600s and 1700s.
The conflict was known as the French and Indian
War. Sound familiar?
Britain emerged victorious!

Great Britain Winskinda

The victory, however, only led to growing
tensions between Britain and its colonists.
In order to fight the war, Great Britain had run
up a huge debt.
To pay for this, Britain began to set laws that
stopped the colonist from trading with other
countries.

No TWR!
Britain wanted the colonists to pay the costs of the
war.
In 1765, Parliament passed the Stamp Act.
The colonists were outraged.
They had never paid taxes directly to the British
government before.
The colonist accused the British of taxation without
representation.

No Taxes
In Britain the citizens consented to taxes
because they had representation in Parliament.
However the colonist had no representation in
Parliament.
Thus, they argued they could not be taxed.

Independence
Over the next decade, hostilities between the
two sides increased.
Some colonial leaders wanted independence
from Britain.
In 1773, to protest a tax on tea, a group of
colonists dumped a load of British tea into
Boston Harbor.
This would be known as the Boston Tea Party.

Shots Heard Round the

World
In April 1775 British soldiers and American militiamen
exchanged gunfire in Massachusetts.
Under George Washingtons command, The
American Revolution had begun!

Revolution and the

Enlightenment
Colonists used Enlightenment ideas to
justify independence.
The colonists felt justified to rebel since
the king broke the social contract.

Declaration of Independence
In July 1776, a group of colonist wrote the
Declaration of Independence.
This document, written by Thomas
Jefferson, was based on the ideas of
John Locke.

THE PREAMBLE
We hold these truths to be selfevident, that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain
unalienable rights, that among
these are life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness.

John Locke and America

Locke had stated that people had the right to
rebel against an unjust ruler.
The DOI ended by declaring the colonies
separation from Britain.
The British were not about to let their colonies
leave without a fight.
Shortly after the DOI, the two sides went to
war.

WHY WE WON
Several reasons explain the colonists success.
First, the Americans motivation for fighting was much
stronger.

Second, the overconfident British generals made several

mistakes.
Next, time was on the side of the Americans.

Fighting a war 3,000 miles away was very expensive.

Last, France entered the war in 1778 changed the face of
the war.

Importance of the
Declaration
The United States was now a government in which
citizens rule through elected representatives.
The Declaration of Independence marked a turning
point in peoples ideas about government.
It put Enlightenment ideas into practice.

They expressed a view that reason and reform could

prevail and that progress was inevitable.