The American Revolution Enlightenment ideas help spur the American colonies to shed British rule and create a new nation.

The American Revolution

Enlightenment ideas help spur the American colonies to shed British rule

and create a new nation.

Britain and Its American Colonies

The American Colonies Grow• American colonies grow large and

populous during the 1600s and 1700s• Colonies thrive economically through

trade with Europe• Britain’s Navigation Act restricts that trade

(1651)• Other trade laws add restrictions and taxes

• Colonists identify less and less as British subjects

Americans Win Independence

British-Colonial Tensions Arise• Britain and American colonies win the

French and Indian War in 1763• Britain taxes colonists to help pay the

war debts• Colonists argue that British cannot tax

them without their consent

Proclamation of 1763

• In 1763, Parliament issued the Proclamation of 1763, which ordered colonists not to settle west of the Appalachian Mountains.

• The British government believed this would keep peace with the Native Americans.

• The colonists thought the British government should not interfere.

Causes of the American Revolution

The Stamp Act• In 1765, Parliament passed the Stamp Act.• It forced colonists to pay a tax on almost

everything printed on paper—newspapers, legal documents—even playing cards.

• The colonists reacted so strongly against the tax that Parliament revoked it a year later.

The Townshend Acts

• In 1767, Parliament passed the Townshend Acts, which taxed lead, glass, paper, paint, and tea imported to the colonies.

• Colonists resisted by refusing to buy these items.

• The tax was lifted on everything except tea.

Boston MassacreMarch 5, 1770

• In 1768, 4,000 British soldiers moved into Boston, Massachusetts.

• Colonists were forced to keep them in their homes, so Boston became an occupied city.

• This occupation triggered the Boston Massacre.• On March 5, 1770, a number of colonists got in an

argument with the redcoats and began throwing snowballs and chunks of ice at them.

• Soldiers fired shots into the crowd and 5 Americans were killed.

• The soldiers were brought into court and John Adams defended the soldiers. Two were found guilty and the others were declared innocent.

Boston Tea Party

• In 1773, British East India company ships full of tea were docked in Boston Harbor.

• On December 16, colonists dressed as Mohawks boarded the ship and dumped the tea in the water.

• The event became known as the Boston Tea Party.

The Intolerable Acts

• To punish the colonists for dumping the tea, the British passed even stricter laws.

• The colonists called these laws the Intolerable Acts because the colonists decided they would not tolerate (accept) them.

• The First Continental Congress met to protest the Intolerable Acts.

• Every colony except Georgia sent delegates, or representatives.

• In Sept. 1774, the congress demanded that the Intolerable Acts be taken back and that the colonist be given more power in making decisions.

Americans Win Independence

Growing Hostility Leads to War• Colonists protest tea tax with “Boston

Tea Party” in 1773• Colonists meet in Philadelphia to

address British policies (1774)• British and Americans exchange fire at

Lexington and Concord in 1775

The War Great Britain expected to win

• Americans had several advantages:• Space.• Distance.• Important International Allies.

• Holland, France, and Spain.• Expected to profit from Britain’s troubles.• France would help change the path of history

(Yorktown).

• All Americans had to make a choice.

War Begins

• The war began when fighting broke out in Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts.

• Minutemen were members of groups of armed men who were ready at a minute’s notice to take to the field against the British.

• The British were called “redcoats” due to the bright red color of their uniforms.

• There were 25,300 casualties of Americans.• There were 10,000 casualties of British

soldiers.

Soldiers

Minutemen Redcoats

The Second Continental Congress

• The Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in May 1775, a month after the American Revolution had begun.

• The colonists realized that they must fight together against the British if they were to defeat the British.

• George Washington was nominated to be the Commander in Chief of the Continental Army—everyone voted for him.

Americans Win Independence

Success for the Colonists• Despite British military might, colonists

have advantages:• Motivating cause of freedom• French assistance• War’s expense for Britain

• British surrender at Yorktown in 1781; colonists win the war

1. Britain recognizes the United States as an independent nation

2. Borders from Atlantic Ocean to Mississippi River

3. Florida returned to Spain

Treaty of Paris 1783

Results of the American Revolution

• The 13 colonies became an independent nation called the United States of America, which was recognized by Britain.

• Britain gave the United States the land east of the Mississippi river, north to Canada, and south to the border of Florida.

• All British control of American trade was lifted.• A new government with elected representatives

was formed under the Articles of Confederation.• The successful revolution encouraged other

people, especially the French, to overthrow their governments.

• Britain was 3,000 miles away, overextended

• Americans knew local geography, best routes, and best places to fight

• French military aid, including warships and soldiers

• Spanish help• Determined patriotic spirit• The leadership of George Washington

Reasons for Americans’ Victory

Americans Win Independence

The Influence of the Enlightenment• Colonial leaders push for independence,

rely on Enlightenment ideas• Declaration of Independence—document

justifying colonial rebellion• Leader Thomas Jefferson writes

Declaration, uses ideas of John Locke

Enlightenment Ideas and the Constitution

Americans Create a Republic

A Weak National Government• Articles of Confederation set

government plan for new republic• Articles create legislature only, no

executive or judicial branches• Result is weak national government that

fails to provide unity and order

Americans Create a Republic

A New Constitution• Leaders call Constitutional Convention in

1787 to revise articles• Group instead creates a new

government under U.S. Constitution• Constitution contains many political

ideas of the Enlightenment

Americans Create a Republic

• The Federal System• Constitution creates three branches of

government• Provides checks and balances—ensures branches

share power equally• Promotes federal system—power divided

between nation and states

• The Bill of Rights• Some fear too much national power, few

protections of rights• Leaders win support for Constitution by adding a

Bill of Rights (Ten amendments to Constitution that protect freedoms)