Road to Revolution

SS8H3a – Revolution in Georgia

Causes of /Events leading to the American Revolution

• French & Indian War• Proclamation of 1763• Act (Taxes)

– Sugar Act – Stamp Act– Townshend Act– Tea Act– Intolerable Acts

• Boston Massacre

• Boston Tea Party• First Continental

Congress Meets

Colonists – “Don’t tax me unless I have a say in the British Parliament (government).”

French and Indian War

French & Indian War

• War lasted from 1754-1763.• The British versus the French & Indians• Also known as the Seven Year’s War, but it really

lasted 9 years.• The war was a result of disputes between Great

Britain and France for almost 65 years.• It was conflict between France and England for

control of the rich fur area of the Ohio river valley.

• The British won.

North America, 1754

Ohio River Valley

OhioIndiana

Pennsylvania

West Virginia

VirginiaKentucky

Tennessee North Carolina

Illinois

GeorgiaAlabamaMississippi

New York

Maryland

South Carolina

Ohio River Valley

French and Indian War

French & Indian War

• The war was fought far from Georgia’s borders and had a small impact on Georgia in the beginning.

• The war took place mainly in the colonies north of Georgia.

• Though not directly involved, Georgia’s borders expanded to the St. Mary’s River to the South, the Mississippi River to the West, and land around Augusta to the North.

The French and Indian War

• The Treaty of Paris (1763) ended the war.

Results of the War• Treaty of Paris set Georgia’s western boundary at

the Mississippi River.• Proclamation of 1763 (King George III): ALL

colonists could not settle west of the Appalachian Mountains.

• Cherokee and Creek tribes gave up land claims north of Augusta and in the coastal region.

• Spain gave up control of Florida.

Proclamation of 1763

• ALL colonists could not settle west of the Appalachian Mountains.

• Expanded Georgia’s boundaries.• The new land provided the colonists with

water access for shipping, good farmland, and dense forests.

Stamp Act• King George and the British Parliament taxed the

colonists to pay for the French and Indian War.• In 1765, the British Parliament passed the Stamp

Act. • Newspapers, legal documents, and licenses in the

colonies were taxed.• Being directly taxed for the first time, without

colonial “representation” in the British Parliament, led to protests throughout the colonies.

• “No Taxation Without Representation!”

Stamp Act• The colonists protested violently against the

tax.• The tax collectors were sometimes “tarred and

feathered.”• In the beginning Georgians were not affected

by the Stamp Act.• Eventually, the Sons of Liberty, a protect group

in Georgia was formed to protest the Stamp Act.

Intolerable Acts• The 1773, the Boston Tea Party took place in

Massachusetts as a protest of the Tea Act, another tax created to raise revenue (money) for the British government.

• In response to the destruction of the tea, the British issued what the colonist called the Intolerable Acts which included four punitive acts designed to punish the Massachusetts colonist for the Boston Tea Party.

• The British refused to repeal these acts until the tea was paid for.

Intolerable Acts

• Under the Intolerable Acts:1) The British closed the port of Boston2) The Massachusetts colonists could not hold town

meetings unless authorized by the Royal Governor

3) Any British official that committed a capital crime was sent back to England to stand trial

4) The Quartering Act forced the citizens of Massachusetts to house and feed British soldiers at the citizens’ expense.

Intolerable Acts

• The colonists, again, protested violently.• The First Continental Congress, delegates

(representatives) from the colonies joined together.

• Except for Georgia. It was the “baby” colony and still very dependent on the British government.

Declaration of Independence

independence: (n)

The freedom to govern on one’s self.

declaration: (n)an official

statement

Declaration of Independence• Dated July 4, 1776. • The D.O.I. was a letter written by leaders of the colonies explaining why they were fighting to become their own country.• The letter also “declared” that America was a free, independent country, no longer under British rule (control).• Primarily written by Thomas Jefferson.• John Hancock was the first to sign the D.O.I.• Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall and George Walton represented Georgia and signed the D.O.I.

Button Gwinnett, George Walton, and Lyman Hall

Famous Quotes from the Declaration of Independence

• When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

Famous Quotes from the Declaration of Independence

• We hold these truths to be self-evident, 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.

Road to Revolution, Part

2SS8H3b – Revolution in Georgia

How did Georgians feel about the Revolutionary War?

Against (No War!)

Georgia was a young colony and depended on the Great Britain.

Loyalists or Tories: Colonists that supported Great Britain.

For (Yes War!)

Enough with the taxes and unfair treatment. We want to grow and prosper.

Whigs or Tories: Colonists that were for freedom from Great Britain.

Differences about the war sometimes divided families.

Georgia Joins the War!

1775 • July 1775 – A “Provincial Congress” of

delegates of Georgia’s 8 parishes meet in Savannah. Voted to join the war. Also voted to boycott trade with Great Britain, and set up the “Council of Safety” to enforce the boycott and work with the other colonies.

Georgia Joins the War!

1775• Whigs (patriots) take over the Georgia militia

(army).• Whigs take over Georgia’s government –

royal colony Georgia is over.• Royal Governor Wright escapes being

arrested (He’ll be back!)

Georgia Joins the War!

1776• July 4th, 1776 – The Declaration of

Independence is adopted by the Continental Congress.

• Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall and George Walton sign the D.O.I on August 2, 1776.

• The Declaration meant the colonists were one nation; Georgians prepared for war.

Georgia Joins the War!

1777• May 1777 – Georgia’s first state constitution goes into effect.

• John Treutlen named the first Governor of Georgia.– The governor’s power was limited.– Executive Council (12 legislators) held greatest power.– Council could overrule the governor’s decisions.

• Eight counties formed: Burke, Camden, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, Richmond, Wilkes, and Liberty.

• Button Gwinnett dies of wound from a duel after 3 days.

The Articles of Confederation• First Constitution of the United States of

America.• Ratified (approved) on July 4, 1776.• Went into effect in January 1781, when

ratified by Maryland and Virginia.

Revolutionary War Fighting in Georgia

• Savannah captured and looted by British troops in December 1778; lootings, murders, and burnings occurred.

• Sunbury port captured in early 1779; Augusta was also attacked.

• Georgia militia not effective against well-trained British troops.

• Governor Wright eventually returned from Great Britain to govern Georgia.

Battle of Kettle Creek (1779)

• Colonel Elijah Clarke led Georgia militia, defeated 800 British troops near Washington, Georgia.

• Great victory for morale of the militia and Georgians seeking independence.

• Won badly-needed weapons and horses from the British.

Siege of Savannah (1779)

• 15,000 Americans and 4,000 French laid siege to Savannah.

• Attack on October 9 resulted in 1,000 American and French deaths in less than an hour; only 40 British troops died

• Polish Count Casimir Pulaski killed.• Savannah remained under British control for

nearly four more years.• Guerrilla warfare continued in the Georgia

backcountry.

Georgia Wartime Heroes

• Nancy Hart single-handedly captured a group of British loyalists who bragged of murdering an American colonel; Hart County is the only county named for a woman.

• Austin Dabney fought with distinction and was wounded at Kettle Creek; he also saved Elijah Clarke’s life during that battle.

Slaves fight in the War!

• Some slaves fought with the patriots.• More fought with the British because they were

promised freedom.• Slaves did not think they were being disloyal to

the Americans, rather it was an opportunity for them to earn their freedom. Freedom was slavery was more important than freedom from Great Britain.

• Many left the state after the war.

The War Ends• Elijah Clarke, the Georgia militia, and the

Continental Army regain Augusta from British in June 1781; 11 battles or skirmishes fought in Georgia during the war.

• General George Washington, with French help, force British surrender at Yorktown, Virginia in October 1781.

• British leave Savannah in the spring of 1782.• Treaty of Paris (September 1783) ends war;

treaty is signed by United States, Great Britain, and France.