The American Revolutionary Era (1754-1789)

1. The American Revolutionary Era (1754-1789) Vincent Mui, Isaac Santillanes, Nate Baldwin Hayden Hansen and Jacqueline Kane

2. The French and Indian War • Austria, England, France, Great Britain, Prussian and Sweden were involved in this war, also known as the Seven Years’ War • The Indians and colonist had a dispute over land • Britain won in the battle of Quebec and gained France’s territory East of the Mississippi • Even though Britain ended up winning the war, the losses that they suffered showed that they weren’t as powerful as they thought they were • Since it was fought in North America it gave colonials military experience which proved to be beneficial in the American revolutionary war.

3. The Imperial Crisis and Resistance to Britain • Taxation Without Representation was the belief of the colonists that the lack of direct representation in the distant British Parliament was an illegal denial of their rights as Englishmen, and therefore laws taxing the colonists and other laws applying only to the colonies, were unconstitutional. • Boston Tea Party was a direct action by colonists in Boston, a town in the in Massachusetts, against the British government and the monopolistic East India Company that controlled all the tea imported into the colonies. • Stamp Act was a direct tax imposed by the British Parliament specifically on the colonies of British America. The act required that many printed materials in the colonies be produced on stamped paper produced in London, carrying an embossed revenue stamp. • There were many other acts and taxes imposed on the colonies that led to the Revolution, due to Taxation without representation. • Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution.

4. The War for Independence • Began as a war Great Britain The 13 Colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers. • War was a result of the Political American Revolution. • The French, Spanish and Dutch all secretly provided supplies, ammunition and weapons to the revolutionaries starting early in 1776. • French involvement proved decisive yet expensive as it ruined France's economy. A French naval victory in Chesapeake led to a siege by combined French and Continental armies that forced a second British army to surrender at the Yorktown, Virginia in 1781. • In 1783, the Treaty of Paris ended the war and recognized the sovereignty of the United States over the territory bounded roughly by what is now Canada to the north, Florida to the south, and the Mississippi River to the west.

5. State Constitutions and Articles of Confederation • The Articles of Confederation was the Continental Congress’s first attempt to declare the law of the land and united all thirteen states. • It provided loose guidelines for the central government, giving strong power to the individual states. • Each state had only one vote, amendments required a unanimous vote. • After Shays’ Rebellion the Articles crumbled and no longer sufficed • First step to building a democratic government world wide.

6. The Federal Constitution • It is the framework for the organization of the United States Government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States. • Written by George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and James Madison. • The Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787, by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. • The main principles were all men are born equal (except slaves). The right to bear arms. Freedom of religion. And the pursuit of happiness. • It is the Supreme Law of the United States of America.