US HistoryLESSON 3

Lesson 3 Standard

The student will explain the primary causes of the American Revolution. 1. Explain how the end of the Anglo-French imperial competition as

seen in the French and Indian War and the 1763 Treaty of Paris laid the groundwork for the American Revolution.

2. Explain colonial response to such British actions as the Proclamation of 1763, the Stamp Act, and the Intolerable Acts as seen in Sons and Daughters of Liberty and Committee of Correspondence.

3. Explain the importance of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense to the movement for independence.

French and Indian War

French and Indian War (1754-1763) the last of a series of wars between Britain and France to control the European and colonial trade

The war started in North America because of the British expansion into the Ohio River Valley

The French and their Indian allies teamed up to prevent colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains

The British eventually won the war The Treaty of Paris (1763) forced France to surrender Canada to

England and surrender claim to all land east of the Mississippi River except for New Orleans

French and Indian War

The end of the French and Indian War brought Britain great benefits the largest empire in the world and dominate position in Europe

However, 70 years of war left Britain in serious debt The French and Indian War doubled Britain’s national debt In order to pay down the debt, British citizens suffered heavy

taxation, high inflation, and unemployment

French and Indian War

After the French and Indian War, frontier conflicts between the colonists and Native Americans lessened

Colonists were also able to begin selling land in the Ohio River Valley

With eased tensions from the French, Spanish, and Native Americans settlers began to question the heavy presence of British garrisons

Colonists didn’t want to pay for British protection when protection wasn’t needed

French and Indian War

The British government saw the colonies as a way to pay down its huge debt

Enforcement of tariffs (prosecuting smugglers) became a focus of the British

In order to effectively prosecute smugglers, the British government create special courts led by British officers (no juries) to identify, try, and prosecute smugglers

Colonists saw the notion of trial by no jury as a violation of English civil rights

French and Indian War

Ticket Out the Door

British Control of the Colonies

After defeating the French and keeping the Native Americans at bay, the British attempted to re-establish control over the colonies

Parliament wanted to enforce British trade laws (the Navigation Acts) in order to pay down war debt.

However, since Parliament was far removed from the colonies (3 months) it didn’t understand the new colonial psychology of self-sufficiency and individualism

These new ideals caused for a series of responses and counter-responses

British Control of the Colonies

The American colonists reacted to new British laws and policies by:

A. ignoring the law B. organizing to inform and plan actions C. taking direct action against the British These incidents grew in intensity until the British army and

colonial militia exchanged musket fire at Lexington

Example 1

In 1763, the Ottawa Nation, led by Chief Pontiac, began to drive British Americans from the Ohio River Valley

Thousands of British-Americans were killed along with hundreds of British soldiers

Pontiac’s War was concluded with a British victory however it did come with a cost

In order to prevent further unrest with the Native Americans, the British passed the Proclamation of 1763 no settlers could move West of the Appalachian Mountains

The Proclamation angered the settlers and proved impossible for the British to enforce the colonists simply ignored the law and continued to move West

Example 2

After the signing of the Treaty of Paris 1763, the British announced that the colonists would be taxed for the cost of their protection

One of the first taxes was the Sugar Tax (1763) a tax on importation of sugar (rum) and the creation of a new court system to try smugglers

This new measure angered American importers the law was largely ignored

Example 2 cont…

The inability to collect on the Sugar Tax cause the British to impose more taxes

The Stamp Act of 1765 a tax on all documents and newspapers printed or used in the colonies (papers, licenses, playing cards, dice, almanacs, pamphlets)

The Stamp Act was the tax to reach into the pockets of every colonist it was met with great anger in the colonies

Example 2 cont…

Colonial reaction to the Stamp Act was swift and widespread

1. “No Taxation without Representation” became a colonial slogan

2. Massachusetts created the Committee of Correspondence a group that secretly communicated with the other colonies

3. New York created the Stamp Act Congress wrote formal petitions to protest Parliament

4. Boston (Samuel Adams) created the Sons of Liberty a secret organization that protested the new laws (sometimes with violence tar and feather tax collectors

5. New York organized a British boycott (refusal to buy British goods) that spread to other colonies

In less than a year the Stamp Act was repealled

Ticket Out the Door

1 & 2. List 2 of the 3 ways that the colonists reacted to the new British laws and policies that enforced taxes.

3. Name the British law that prohibited colonial expansion beyond the Appalachian Mountains.

4. What British law taxed all colonial paper goods including newspapers, playing cards, and licenses?

5. What became the colonial rally cry (slogan) due to the new British laws and court system?

Ticket Out the Door

1 & 2. List 2 of the 3 ways that the colonists reacted to the new British laws and policies that enforced taxes.

1. ignoring the law

2. organizing to inform and plan actions

3. taking direct action against the British

3. Name the British law that prohibited colonial expansion beyond the Appalachian Mountains.

Proclamation of 1763

4. What British law taxed all colonial paper goods including newspapers, playing cards, and licenses?

Stamp Act of 1765

5. What became the colonial rally cry (slogan) due to the new British laws and court system?

“No Taxation without Representation”

Example 3

In 1767, Parliament, under advisement of Lord Townshend, passed a series of laws increasing taxes and courts colonial protest was renewed

Daughters of Liberty spun yarn and made American clothes and used American herbs to make tea allowed for a British boycott

Protest and riots were so severe in Boston that tax collectors demanded military support

The increased presence of the British military intensified the problem

In 1770, most of the Townshend Act was repealed

Example 3 cont…

In 1773, parliament passed the Tea Act designed to strengthen the British monopoly of tea in the colonies

The colonists believed that the British were increasing tax revenue by forcing cheap tea on them many ports boycotted or refused to allow the British tea in the ports

In Boston, the tea ships were ordered to stay in port until the tea could be unloaded on December 16, 1773 the Sons of Liberty boarded 3 ships and destroyed all 18,000 pounds of tea

Example 3 cont…

The Boston Tea Party was not taken lightly in Britain

In response to the Party Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts to punish the colonies, especially Boston

Intolerable Acts

1. shut down Boston harbor

2. Quartering Act: allowed British soldiers to be housed in vacant private homes and buildings

3. Boston was placed under martial law rule imposed by military forces

Instead of breaking Massachusetts, the Intolerable Acts united the colonies against the British government

Common Sense

In January of 1776 Thomas Payne wrote a pamphlet called Common Sense

It was a clearly worded rationale as to why Americans should split from Britain

With 100,000 copies printed, it was believed that every colonist either read or heard the Common Sense message

It was largely influential in convincing the common man to join the cause of independence

Ticket Out the Door

1. What resistant group spun colonial clothes and made colonial tea in order to support the boycott on British goods?

2. Name the British law that was in place in order to strengthen the British monopoly on tea in the colonies.

3. & 4. List 2 of the 3 Intolerable Acts enforced by the British Parliament in order to punish Boston for the Boston Tea Party.

5. What was the name of the pamphlet written by Thomas Payne that helped influence colonists to revolt against the British rule?

Ticket Out the Door

1. What resistant group spun colonial clothes and made colonial tea in order to support the boycott on British goods?

Daughters of Liberty

2. Name the British law that was in place in order to strengthen the British monopoly on tea in the colonies. Tea Act

3. & 4. List 2 of the 3 Intolerable Acts enforced by the British Parliament in order to punish Boston for the Boston Tea Party.

1. closed Boston Harbor

2. Quartering Act

3. martial law in Boston

5. What was the name of the pamphlet written by Thomas Payne that helped influence colonists to revolt against the British rule?

Common Sense