Presentation Transcript

1. Unit 4

   Road to Revolution
2. The French and Indian War The Colonists and the French began arguing over land west of the Appalachian Mountains called the Ohio River Valley. This land was rich with resources and fertile land. Both the French and Great Britain claimed the land. The outcome would be settled by war. The French and Indian war lasted 9 years. Native Americans fought on both sides, but mostly sided with the French. Great Britain would win the war with the help of a soldier named George Washington.
3. Proclamation of 1763 As a result of the war, Native Americans were upset with the British colonists and would fight fiercely to keep their land. King George III sent the settlers a proclamation or official announcement warning them not to go west of the Appalachian Mountains for fear of Native American attacks on the settlers. The colonists did not like that the King was trying to control their actions in the colonies.
4. The Quartering Acts King George III wanted to protect his colonies and also keep a close watch over what was going on there, so he sent soldiers. He passed the Quartering Acts which ordered colonists to provide a place to stay to the soldiers, give them food, fuel, and transportation. This angered the colonists tremendously since they did not believe they needed protecting.
5. The Stamp Act Britain thought that by taxing the colonists, they would get money to help pay for the French and Indian War. King George III sent soldiers to protect the colonists, so he thought it was only fair to have the colonists pay for the soldiers being there. The Stamp Act was placed on printed materials, such as legal documents, newspapers, and even playing cards.
6. Anger over taxes Many colonists reacted with anger over the Stamp Act. The colonists had been governing themselves for a long time by now. The colonists also felt it was unfair that they had no representation in the Parliament back in England. They began protesting using the phrase, “No taxation without representation!”
7. Colonists Protest A colonists named Patrick Henry began speaking out publically against the taxation of the colonists. Patrick Henry sent a strong message to King George III that he had no right to tax the people living in the colonies. The members of the Stamp Act Congress met to tell the Parliament to repeal or take back the Stamp Act.
8. Samuel Adams Samuel Adams was from Massachusetts and became a famous leader of the protests of British taxes. A friend once said of Adams that “he eats little, drinks little, sleeps little, thinks much.” Adams would soon organize a group of men called the Sons of Liberty.
9. Sons of Liberty The members of the Sons of Liberty burned stamps and threatened stamp agents. In some towns stamp agents were attacked or had their homes destroyed. Once Adams and other members created a life-sized puppet of the local stamp agent and hung it from a tree. They pinned a sign on the puppet: “What greater joy did New England see, than a stamp man hanging on a tree.” The goal was to scare the stamp agents into not collecting the tax.
10. The Townshend Acts King George III was surprised by the colonists’ reaction to the new taxes. He decided to repeal or take back the Stamp Act. King George III still felt he had the right to tax his people in America and wanted to remind them he was still in charge. The Townshend Acts were taxes on imported goods, such as wool, paper, tea, glass, paint, lead, and other goods the colonists imported from Britain.
11. Boston Massacre The colonists began boycotting or refusing to buy British goods and began making the products in the colonies. The tension between the British soldiers and the colonists was rising. Colonists in Boston showed their anger by making fun of their red coats calling them “lobsterback.” Soon fist fights were common to see in the streets.
12. One night as a soldier was standing guard a crowd began to gather calling the soldier names and throwing stones and snowballs. It is not clear what happened next, but a British soldier fired into the crowd of people claiming he heard the command “Fire!”. The soldiers panicked and began firing leaving 5 people dead and 6 others wounded. The colonists began spreading the word to other colonies about what happened in Boston.
13. The State House where the Boston Massacre occurred
14. The Committees of Correspondence Samuel Adams formed a permanent Committee of Correspondence in Massachusetts. The Committee of Correspondence helped spread the word of the British mistreatment of the colonists in America. All of the taxes EXCEPT the tax on tea were repealed or taken back. In order to get the word out faster, they began using “express riders” on fast horses to deliver letters to other colonies. One famous rider was named Paul Revere who could make the trip from Boston to New York in about a week.
15. The Boston Tea Party Parliament passed the Tea Act in 1773. This said the colonists could only buy their tea from one company, the British East India Company. The colonists boycotted British tea. One night, members of the Sons of Liberty dressed as Mohawk Native Americans and boarded three ships carrying British tea into the Boston Harbor. They opened 342 chests of tea with axes and dumped the tea into the harbor. They yelled “Boston Harbor a teapot tonight!”. Colonists began singing a song: “Rally Mohawks! Bring out your axes and tell King George, we’ll pay no taxes!”.
16. Punishment for colonists King George III was furious with the colonists for what they did at Boston Harbor and wanted the colonists to pay. He passed the Coercive Acts. Coercive means to force. The colonists referred to these laws as the Intolerable Acts. One law called the Boston Port Act, closed Boston Harbor. Ships could not enter or leave the harbor until the tea was paid for. Other colonies began sending food, money and supplies to Boston since Boston relied on trade ships and they could not use the ports.
17. The First Continental Congress Representatives from every colony except Georgia met in Philadelphia to decide what to do about the King controlling the colonies. The men voted to stop all trade with Britain and begin training militias or volunteer armies. They decided to meet back in one year if things had not gotten any better between the colonies and Great Britain. George Washington was one of the men at this meeting.
18. Patrick Henry Outspoken Patriot that gave these bold words in a speech…”I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”
19. Paul Revere A Patriot that got word that the British soldiers were planning on secretly marching to Concord to find and destroy the military supplies the militias had been storing. Revere set out to warn the militias in Lexington and Concord. Revere reached Lexington and warned Samuel Adams and John Hancock that the British soldiers were coming to arrest them. Revere alarming every house he came to until he got to Lexington.
20. The Shot Heard Round the World About 70 minutemen gathered in Lexington to fight against the British soldiers that were marching into Lexington. British soldiers opened fire on the minutemen, killing eight and wounding nine more. Only one British soldier was wounded in the short Battle of Lexington. By the time British soldiers reached Concord, there were no weapons to be found. The women had hidden the supplies in fields and barns. As word spread about Lexington, many minutemen began pouring into Concord. Thousands of Patriots began firing upon the British as they marched back to Boston. This was considered a victory for the Patriots. These two battles were considered the start to the American Revolution
21. Battle of Bunker Hill Colonel William Prescott gave his men this advice: “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes.” Upon British fire, the Patriots began firing their weapons. Although the British won this battle, the Patriots were proud of the way they had fought. At the end, 1000 British soldiers were killed or wounded compared to just 400 Patriots.
22. Second Continental Congress Met in Philadelphia in May 1775. The first decision they had to make was to pick a good leader for the Continental Army. John Adams suggested George Washington was the right person for the job. John Hancock was the president of the Congress. Congress made one last attempt to avoid war with Britain by sending a letter called the Olive Branch Petition asking the King to give the colonists some freedom. The King would not even read the letter. He instead began sending more and more troops into the colonies.
23. The Declaration of Independence Congress decided to take a bold step and put their wishes for independence into a document. John Adams again suggested Thomas Jefferson would be the right man for the job based on his writing skills. Jefferson spent two weeks writing the words to the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson explained the reasons why the colonists should declare independence. Next, he explained how the King had violated their rights. Finally, he vowed the colonists would defend their nation with their lives. The punishment for the crime of treason was death.
24. Fort Ticonderoga Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys capture Fort Ticonderoga. They take control of British cannons. Washington wants the cannons brought to Boston, so they put them on sleds and used horses and oxen to drag the cannons 250 miles to Boston. Washington puts the cannons on a hill above Boston and the British decide to leave the city.
25. Nathan Hale Washington decided one way to win this war would be to send spies into the enemy camps. A 21 year old teacher named Nathan Hale volunteered to go behind enemy lines to spy on the British. Hale was captured and sentenced to death. His last words were: “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”
26. Attack on Trenton King George had hired German mercenaries to fight on the British side. Washington planned a surprise attack on some German mercenaries located at Trenton, New Jersey. He planned to attack on Christmas Day at night. He and his men crossed the icy Delaware River. They captured nearly 1000 German soldiers.
27. Battle of Saratoga British General John Burgoyne had a plan to split the United States in two by marching into Albany, New York. The Patriot numbers were increasing everyday. The two sides met at Saratoga and battled. Burgoyne’s army had suffered great losses and were running out of food and supplies quickly. Burgoyne decided to surrender to the Americans. This was considered a turning point in the American Revolution.
28. Valley Forge Washington’s army marched to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania to set up camp for the winter. His men were suffering from hunger, cold and disease. Many of the soldiers did not have shoes, and their clothing was minimal. Washington hires a German officer named Friedrich von Steuben to help train his men for battle. Marquis de Lafayette from France became one of Washington’s favorite officers. Spain also helped the Continental Army.
29. Victory at Yorktown Patriot General Nathanael Greene’s strategy was to use the open spaces in the South to wear down the British army. This strategy worked and British General Charles Cornwallis decided to retreat to Yorktown, Virginia. Washington had a plan to surround the British on land and with the help of the French Navy by sea. The plan worked and Cornwallis surrendered and this ended the American Revolution.