The Road to the American Revolution

Chapters 4.1 – 4.2: Power-Point Notes

The Colonies Organize to Resist Britain

The huge debt the British faced from the French and Indian War caused them to enact many new policies in the Colonies

The Stamp Act The Townshend Acts The Tea Act The Intolerable Acts

The Stamp Act

March 1765, the Stamp Act is passed Samuel Adams helped found the Sons of

Liberty October 1765, Delegates from 9 colonies

met and created a Declaration of Rights and Grievances

Colonial Merchants boycotted goods being imported from Britain

March 1766, Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, but issued the Declaratory Act

The Townshend Acts 1767, Parliament passed the Townshend

Acts The colonists reacted with rage and well

organized resistance: Protested “Taxation without Representation” Samuel Adams called for another Boycott on

British goods American women in every rank organized in

protest

June 1768, British seized The Liberty

The Boston Massacre

Colonists and British soldiers often battled over jobs

March 5, 1770 – one of these fights erupts, killing 5 colonists

Samuel Adams labeled the event, The Boston Massacre

The Committees of Correspondence were set up to communicate with each other about threats to colonial liberties

The Boston “Massacre”

The Boston Tea Party

1773, the Tea Act is passed This cut colonial merchants entirely

out of the tea trade December 16, 1773 – The Boston

Tea Party Dumped 1800, pounds of the East

India Company’s tea into the Boston Harbor

The Intolerable Acts King George III was infuriated by the

Boston Tea Party 1774, Parliament passed the Intolerable

Acts: Shut down Boston Harbor Quartering Act Placed Boston under martial law

1774, the Committees of Correspondence quickly set up the First Continental Congress

Fighting Erupts at Lexington and Concord

After the First Continental Congress, many colonists declared themselves minutemen

General Gage gave orders to march along the Lexington Road to Concord

April 18, 1775: “Paul Revere’s Ride” Battle of Lexington lasts only 15 minutes Battle at Concord becomes a bloodbath

The Colonies Hover between Peace & War

Delegates had heated debates at the Second Continental Congress

Congress agreed to recognize the minutemen as the Continental Army and authorized the printing of paper money

June 17, 1775 – Battle of Bunker Hill July 8, 1775 – Olive Branch Petition is

sent to the king King George rejected the petition

The Patriots Declare Independence Common Sense by Thomas Paine became

very influential in promoting a revolutionary spirit

By summer 1776, Congress urged each colony to form its own government

Thomas Jefferson was chosen to write a formal declaration

Declaration of Independence adopted on July 4, 1776

Americans Choose Sides Colonists divided over the idea of

independence Patriots drew their numbers from people

who saw economic opportunity in an independent America

Patriots made up about half of the population

Many colonists remained loyalists Colonies were plunged into two wars