American Revolution Causes Still 3 Pages…
Feb 23, 2016
American RevolutionCauses
Still 3 Pages…
Causesof the
AmericanRevolution
King George III1760-1801•Feared that the loss of
one group of colonies would lead to the loss of another.
•Maintained an aggressive policy against colonial resistance.
•Struggled to enforce royal authority throughout his reign.
Mercantilism•Carefully controlling trade•Britain made it where the colonies could
only trade with Britain and no one else. •Colonies were expected to be a source of
raw materials for the “mother country” •Colonies were also expected to be the
purchasers of manufactured goods from Britain
Proclamation of 1763(8.4A)
•British Parliament Law•Colonists were
forbidden to settle west of the Appalachian mountains
•Britain wanted a buffer zone between colonists and Native Americans
•Colonists wanted to settle in the fertile Ohio River Valley
Stamp Act - 1765
•Required that all legal documents have an official stamp showing a tax had been paid.
•British used this to make money after the French and Indian war.
Civil disobedience•This is considered going against the
government or rulers of the time.
•The colonists decided to boycott British goods.
•Boycott means refuse to buy.
Samuel Adams•Organized opposition to
the Stamp Act.•Protest wages by the
Sons of Liberty•Leader of Boston town
meetings. •Circulated a letter
calling for colonial cooperation
Lack of Representation in Parliament•Since the colonies were formed, little
systems of representative government had began.
•Colonists were unhappy with Britain’s insistence of Parliament’s supremacy (taxation).
•Colonists did not have direct representation in Parliament.
•The slogan – “No Taxation without Representation” became popular throughout the colonies.
Patrick Henry•A member of the
Virginia House of Burgesses
•Spoke out against the Stamp Act
•Famous quote, “Give me Liberty or give me death!” spread throughout the colonies during the war.
Townshend Acts - 1767•Taxed imported glass, lead, paint, paper,
and tea.•The money for these duties (taxes) paid
for military costs and the salaries of colonial governors.
•To enforce this, British officials used writs of assistance.
•This allowed tax collectors to search for smuggled goods without a warrant.
Boston Massacre - 1770•Tensions exploded between colonists and
British troops sent to keep order. •A crowd gathered around a group of soldiers. •Colonists were shouting insults, throwing
snowballs. •The mob grew louder and angrier.•Suddenly, soldiers fired into the crowd killing
several colonist.•Crispus Attucks (8.4B) – An African
American man who became the first casualty of the American Revolution
Propaganda•What makes
this an example of propaganda?
•One-sided (bias)
•Made the British look like they had been ordered.
•Colonists are fleeing
Tea Act - 1773•To reduce tension in the colonies,
Parliament repealed most of the Townshend Acts.
• It kept a tax on British East India Tea.•The colonists were smuggling tea.•Britain made a deal with the British East
India Company.•This made the smuggled tea more
expensive than the British tea.
Boston Tea Party - 1773
•A political protest•Sons of Liberty•Men dressed as Native Americans
dumped 342 chests of tea in the Boston Harbor.
•Soon the streets echoed with shouts of “Boston Harbor is a teapot tonight!”
•This was considered an act of civil disobedience.
Coercive/Intolerable Acts - 1774
•These acts were passed in response to the Boston Tea Party.
•Boston Harbor was closed•Massachusetts charter was cancelled•Royal officials accused of crimes were
sent to Britain for trial•Quartering Act – forced colonists to
quarter troops•General Thomas Gage became the new
governor of Massachusetts.
Mercy Otis Warren
•Wife of a Massachusetts Patriot.
•She anonymously wrote several propaganda pieces supporting the Patriot cause.
•Wrote a play called The Blockheads