1. Road to Revolution
  2. French and Indian War 1756-1763
  3. Conflict began in 1600s Europe
  4. France and England had been bitter rivals
  5. Both fought over trading and land rights in Ohio Valley
  6. France won early victories
  7. Many Native American tribes sided with France because of favorable trading policies
  8. Colonists were pressed into service
  9. Ben Franklin encouraged colonies to form their own government (Albany Plan)
  10. Colonies rejected the proposal
  11. England turned the tide in 1759
  12. Blockades
  13. Battle of Quebec (British victory)
  14. Spain helps France in 1761
  15. France and Spain lose the war
  16. Treaty of Paris 1763
  17. Ended French and Indian War (Seven Years War)
  18. England gained Florida from Spain
  19. England gained French holdings in Canada
  20. Discontent in the Colonies
  21. Colonists feuded with English Army during war
  22. England had tremendous war debt
  23. Levied taxes on colonies
  24. Proclamation Act-Prevented colonists from moving west of the Appalachians
  25. Introduced customs reforms to prevent merchants from smuggling goods past English tax collectors
  26. Sugar Act-Imposed taxes on foreign sugar imports, silks, wine, coffee and indigo
  27. Currency Act-Banned paper money in the colonies
  28. Stamp Act-Placed stamps on most printed materials
  29. Colonists had to pay a tax on the stamps
  30. Quartering Act-Colonists had to provide for the barracks of soldiers
  31. More Acts!!!!
  32. Declaratory Act-Parliament was granted lawmaking abilities for the colonies (why is this significant?)
  33. Townshend Acts-placed taxes on building materials and imported goods like tea
  34. Writs of Assistance-allowed revenue agents to search any location to find smuggled goods (sound familiar?)
  35. The Colonial Response
  36. Rich white guys lead the way! (why them?)
  37. Colonists began boycotting British goods
  1. James Otis
  2. Pamphleteer
  3. Argued that Britain could not tax colonies without representation (what does this mean?)
  4. Virginia and Massachusetts had their assemblies dissolved
  1. Boston Massacre?
  2. England stationed 1,000 British troops in Boston
  3. Troops were to maintain order and protect customs agents
  4. March 5, 1770
  5. Colonists were harassing British troops
  6. Troops fired on colonists
  7. 5 colonists died, 6 wounded
  8. Colonial papers rallied colonists against England
  9. England responded by repealing Townshend Acts…except
  10. Tea
  1. Revolution
  2. Boston Tea Party (Yay…party!!! Oh, wait…not that kind of party!)
  3. 1773-Lord North bails out bankrupt East India Company
  4. Declares Tea Act—lowered tea prices on British imported tea, while making smuggled Dutch tea more expensive
  5. Act also allowed British merchants to bypass colonial sellers
  6. Dec. 1773, Sons of Liberty dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor while dressed as Indians
  7. Lasting Impact? Indian costumes later inspired Village People (It’s fun to stay at the Y…M…C…A!)
  8. Coercive Acts
  9. Banned free elections in Massachusetts
  10. Closed Boston ports until tea debt was repaid
  11. Intolerable Acts (because there weren’t enough acts!)
  12. Colonists response to Coercive Acts and Quebec Act
  13. Formed First Continental Congress in 1774
  14. Issued Declaration of Rights and Grievances to King George
  15. Pledged loyalty to king
  16. Opposed Coercive Acts
  17. Announced official colonial boycott of British goods

  1. Revolution Continued
  2. Massachusetts led the way
  3. John Hancock raised minutemen militia
  4. Organized provisional government
  5. Colonies divided into two key groups
  6. Loyalists-Tories loyal to the Crown
  7. Many Loyalists resided in the south (why?)
  8. Patriots-Whigs supporting revolution
  9. Many Patriots resided in New England (why?)
  10. Both Tories and Whigs were led by middle class-rich white guys!
  11. Early battles
  12. 1775-Colonial militias and British troops clash at Lexington and Concord
  13. Battle of Bunker Hill
  14. Colonists lost the battle but fought “heroically”
  15. Should have been called Battle of Breed’s Hill…but who wants to get it right anyway?
  16. Declaration of Independence
  17. Common Sense
  18. Bestselling Pamphlet written by Thomas Paine to convince colonists to overthrow King George III
  19. Bestselling Hip-hop artist—told audiences I Used to Love H.E.R.
  20. Declaration of Independence (Yay….fireworks!)
  21. Issued by Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776
  22. Thomas Jefferson
  23. Key author of Declaration
  24. Wanted to criticize King for supporting slavery
  25. The remembered that he, himself had slaves (Doh!)
  26. Said that people had unalienable rights (except black people)
  27. Listed grievances against England
  28. War! (What is it good for?)
  29. Americans lose early battles
  30. British capture Philadelphia
  31. New York falls
  32. Savannah is captured
  33. Many colonists desert
  34. Tide turns when France sides with Americans
  35. Americans score victories
  36. Saratoga (1777)
  37. King’s Mountain (1780)
  38. Yorktown (1781)
  39. Treaty of Paris
  40. Britain recognized United States as a nation
  41. France received colonies in Africa and Caribbean
  42. Spain received Florida
  1. Recovery
  2. New ideas
  3. Formed a republic—a form of government where power resides with voting citizens
  4. Established individual state constitutions
  5. Voting rights expanded
  6. Virginia
  7. Governor Thomas Jefferson (or “TJ” as we like to call him!) created a freedom of religion law
  8. Other People (a reminder that women and minorities still live in the colonies)
  9. Molly Pitcher
  10. Woman who brought water to wounded soldiers during the war
  11. Is the only women mentioned in EVERY history textbook!
  12. Not famous enough to have a Hallmark movie made about her life
  13. Women
  14. Struggled for greater equality
  15. Did not have the right to vote
  16. Established strong family bonds entitling them to power
  17. African Americans
  18. Many really hoped the British would win!
  19. Northern states moved to ban slavery
  20. Free blacks were lucky enough to be segregated, mostly poor and subject to racism…ahhh freedom!
  21. Southern slavery
  22. Was bad…and going to get worse!
  23. Art
  24. American art to form
  25. John Trumbull painted patriotic scenes
  26. He was so patriotic he even painted scenes he never saw!
  27. The U.S. Government (Blame them!)
  28. Towards the end of Revolution the 2nd Continental Congress created a new government
  29. Called Articles of Confederation (1777)
  30. Confederation created a weak central government (why?)
  31. Confederation Congress was the government
  32. No executive or legislative branches
  33. Congress could not impose taxes or regulate trade
  34. Created Northwest Ordinance
  35. Territory which is now Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana and Michigan
  36. Problems with Articles
  37. Trade duties were inconsistent among states
  38. Weak diplomatic agreements
  39. Country went into recession—country could not regulate paper money
  40. Shays’ Rebellion
  41. 1786
  42. Mass. Raised taxes to pay off war debts
  43. Farmers were hit the worst
  44. Farmers rebelled—led by Daniel Shay
  45. Shays raised an army of 1,200
  46. Shays’ army attacked a Massachusetts arsenal and was repulsed
  47. The rebellion was broken
  48. Rich white guys got nervous!
  49. A constitution would be born!