2-3: The American Revolution

The American Revolution
Step 1:
• England sends people (COLONISTS) to the colonies to get raw materials (goods, supplies)
Step 2:
• The French and English fight over the colonies. This is the French & Indian War,
• The English win and get Florida and Canada
Step 3: The Stamp Act
• The French and English fight over the colonies. This is the French & Indian War,
• The English win and get Florida and Canada
Step 4:
• – After the people in the colonies got mad, Parliament took the Stamp Act away (repealed).
Step 5: Tariffs
to make money and make sure that the colonists were buying British goods, heavy taxes were put on all goods.
Step 6:
• – To make colonists happy, the king agrees to take away all taxed accept the Tea Tax
• The tea tax made it so that English tea was cheaper than American tea
Step 7: Boston Tea Party
• Mad because they were not being treated fairly, some colonists dressed up as Indians and threw tea in the harbor.
Step 8: Intolerable Acts
• King George is angry. He took away all of the rights of the people.
Step 9:
• 1st Continental Congress
• The colonists meet and write a letter to the King. They also form small local armies (militias)
Step 10:
• – King George sends troops to make sure that the people don’t fight back. This leads to…
Step 11: Battle at Lexington
• British troops are sent to take away all of the militia’s guns. They fight the colonists, and by the time they got to where the weapons are stored, the colonists have moved them.
Patriots: wanted independence\
• Thomas Paine: “Common sense” compared England to tyrants
Loyalists: wanted to remain loyal British citizens
•
Step 12: 2nd Continental Congress
• People from each colony meet, construct plans for their next move, and create the Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence
• Written by Jefferson
• Said that the colonies were independent
• Restated natural rights
• Also a declaration of war

A mismatched War
• British army: fit, well trained, lots of supplies
• Continental army: no real military training, small, brand new army
• Why did We win?
– Home team advantage
– Support from other countries
After the War
• A new gov’t was needed.
• Articles of confederation: 1st constitution (1781)
– Didn’t meet the needs of the country
– No strong central gov’t
The Constitution
• Federal system: shared power between national & state gov’t
• 3 branches of gov’t
• Outlined the powers of the federal & state
Bill of Rights
• 1st ten amendments
• Gave freedom of religion, speech, press, and assembly, among other things
• Embodied the ideals of the enlightenment
Long Term Effects
• Served as the inspiration for later revolutions in Latin America, the French revolution, and as a model for governments in Asia and Africa