the american revolution 1763 to 1783 u.s. history mr. gonzalez
TRANSCRIPT
The American Revolution1763 to 1783
U.S. HistoryMr. Gonzalez
Democracy in Colonial America
• England had democratic traditions going back to the Magna Carta and English Bill of Rights
• American colonist felt that as Englishmen, they were entitled to basic rights
• Representative democracy throughout American colonies existed
• Enlightenment influences colonial elite
Causes of the American Revolution
• French-Indian War – Proclamation Line of 1763 prohibits westward
expansion– Britain passed new taxes to help pay for the war– Colonists are not happy: “no taxation without
representation”
The “Intolerable Acts”
• Passed in response to Boston Tea Party (1773)-Boston’s Port is closed-Quebec Act gives Catholics right to settle west-Quartering Act: colonist had to let British soldiers stay in their homes
The War of Independence
• Battle of Lexington and Concord, 1775• Declaration of Independence, July 1776• Battle of Saratoga, 1777– Turning point, France decides to help U.S.
• Southern Campaign ends in stalemate• Siege at Yorktown, Virginia 1781– British troops surrender to General George
Washington
Why the Americans won
• French help• Guerilla war tactics made war seem never-
ending for British troops• Good American leadership– George Washington
A New Country
• America had 3 million inhabitants in its birth, compared to 300 million today
• America consisted of the lands between the Atlantic and Mississippi River
• Would you have predicted that America would become the country that it is today?