Assignment

Document 4.6
*Identify
*Analyze

Paul Revere Engraving

*1.
*2.
Birth of a Nation
 Boycotting British goods
Colonists began to boycott British
goods due to British taxation and
unfair policies and they did not feel
represented in the British government

The boycott started in Boston and

soon spread to the southern colonies

Reliance on American rather than

British goods, on homespun clothing
rather than imported finery, became a
symbol of American resistance

Women who spun and wove at home

so as not to purchase British goods
were hailed as Daughters of Liberty
Boycotting British goods (cont.)
The idea of using homemade rather than
imported goods especially appealed to
Chesapeake planters, who found themselves
owing increasing amounts of money to
British merchants

George Washington said that nonimportation

reflected Virginia planters concern about
their growing burden of debt, and gave the
extravagant man an opportunity to
retrench his expenses by reducing the
purchase of British luxuries, without having
to advertise to his neighbors that he might
be in financial distress
 Boston Massacre
Royal troops had been stationed in Boston in
1768

The soldiers were quite unpopular, and on

March 5, 1770, a fight between a snowball-
throwing crowd of Bostonians and British
troops escalated into an armed confrontation
that left five Bostonians dead (Boston
Massacre)one of those who died was Crispus
Attucks, a sailor of mixed Native-African-white
ancestry

John Adams, a lawyer at the time,

represented some of the British soldiers
involved in the conflict seven were found not
guilty, two were convicted of manslaughter
 Boston Massacre (cont.)
However, Paul Revere, a
member of the Sons of
Liberty, helped to stir up
indignation against the British
army by producing a widely
circulated (and quite
inaccurate) print of the
Boston Massacre
Words for the Wise
Daughters of Liberty
Boston Massacre
Crispus Attucks
John Adams
Paul Revere

Quip of the day- Change is good, but ones are better.

Assignment
Document 4.7
*Identify
*Analyze
*Evaluate

Textbook Questions (write Q&A)

1. Summarize the purpose of the Tea Act.
2. What group of men tried to make sure the tea did not
land?
3. What were the custom commissioners afraid of?
4. How was the Boston Tea Party an effective protest?
5. How did the British respond to this incident?
Boycotts Abandoned (Temporarily)
By 1770, as merchants profits shriveled and many
members of the colonial elite found they could not do
without British goods, the nonimportation movement was
collapsing

British merchants had pushed for the repeal of the

Townshend Acts, and the only major tax remaining was a
tax on tea

The next crisis was on the way however, in the form of the
Tea Act
Tea Act
The Tea Act of 1773 granted the East India Company a
monopoly on the importation and sale of tea in the
colonies this caused American merchants to fear that
they would be put out of business

A tax on tea was not new, but this new act revived feelings
of being taxed without being represented

The acts main purpose was not to raise money from the
colonies but to bail out the floundering East India
Company, a key actor in the British economy
Boston Tea Party
Many colonists began to
boycott tea

On December 16, 1773,

Samuel Adams and the
Sons of Liberty boarded
three ships in the Boston
harbor dressed as
natives and threw 342
chests of tea overboard
(a loss of equivalent to
$4 million today for the
East India Company)
British Respond to the Party
Upset by the Boston Tea Party and other blatant acts of
destruction of British property by American colonists, the
British Parliament enacted the Coercive Acts (aka the
Intolerable Acts), to the outrage of American patriots

These acts closed the port of Boston, drastically reduced

colonial self-government, and added a new Quartering Act

They expected the rest of the colonies to abandon

Bostonians to British lawInstead, other colonies rushed to
the citys defense, sending supplies and mobilize resistance
to the crown

In September 1774, the First Continental Congress met in

Philadelphia and began orchestrating a united resistance to
British rule in America
Words for the Wise
Tea Act
East India Company
Samuel Adams
Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts)
First Continental Congress

Quip of the day- Never ask a starfish for directions.

Assignment
Document 5.4- Thomas Paine
*Identify
*Analyze
*Evaluate
Continental Congress
Colonists were quite upset
with the Intolerable Acts, and
to coordinate resistance to
them, many prominent
colonial leaders met in
Philadelphia in 1774 for the
First Continental Congress
(an assembly of
representatives from all of
the colonies, except Georgia)

These leaders included John

Adams, Samuel Adams,
George Washington, and
Patrick Henry among others
Continental Congress (cont.)
The congress made some major decisions, among them
the following:
*they demanded a repeal of all the oppressive
legislation passed since 1763

*they recommended that colonists make military

preparations for defense against possible attack by the
British troops in Boston

*they agreed to nonimportation and nonexportation

(stopping trade with Britain)

*they planned to meet again the next spring if colonial

demands had not been met
Patrick Henry
Henry, a great speaker,
said, The distinctions
between Virginians,
Pennsylvanians, New
Yorkers, and New
Englanders are no more. I
am not a Virginian, but an
American.

The next year in March of

1775, Henry urged a
Virginia convention to begin
military preparations
ending a speech, Give me
liberty, or give me death!
Outbreak of War
By the time the Second Continental Congress met in May 1775, war
had already broken out in April between British soldiers and armed
citizens of Massachusetts

Britishsoldiers had marched from Boston toward the town of Concord

seeking to seize arms being stockpiled there

Riders from Boston, among them Paul Revere, warned local leaders of
the troops approach

Skirmishes took place in the towns of Lexington and Concord, resulting

in the deaths of Americans and British soldiers

These skirmishes would be deemed the shot heard round the world
and they began the Revolutionary War (War for Independence)
Common Sense!
Although
fighting had started, not all Americans were on board with
independence from Britain

Loyalists- colonists who were loyal to Britain

Thomas Paine in 1776 published Common Sense, a pamphlet that was

very popular and influentialthis pamphlet called for American
independence, saying that membership in the British empire was a
burden, not a benefit Paine also criticized the king
Words for the Wise
First Continental Congress
Patrick Henry
Paul Revere
Lexington and Concord
shot heard round the world
Revolutionary War (War for Independence)
Loyalists
Thomas Paine
Common Sense

Quip of the day- Im sorry and My bad mean the same

thingunless youre at a funeral
Assignment
Document 5.5- Abigail Adams
It begins with I long
*Identify
*Evaluate

Document 5.6- Thomas Jefferson

*Identify
*Analyze
Declaration of Independence
Although not all colonists were on board with a final separation
from Great Britain, support for the idea grew rapidly in the first
months of 1776

On July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress formally declared the

United States an independent nation

Two days later, they approved the Declaration of Independence,

written by Thomas Jefferson but revised by the Congress before
approval
Declaration of Independence (cont.)
Most of the Declaration consists of a lengthy list of
grievances directed against King George III, ranging from
quartering troops in colonial homes to imposing taxes
without colonial consent

One clause in Jeffersons draft condemned the inhumanity

of the slave trade, but this cause was deleted at the
insistence of Georgia and South Carolina

The Declarations enduring impact came not from the

complaints against George III, but from Jeffersons
preamble, especially the second paragraph which begins,
We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are
created equal
Lockes influence
Jeffersons argument- natural rights, the right to resist an
unjust government- drew on the writing of John Locke

Jefferson changed Lockes rights of life, liberty, and

property to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
Individual self-fulfillment, unimpeded by government,
would become a central element of American freedom
Key Battles of the War
Battle of Bunker Hill (June 1775)
*Although the Americans lost, there were heavy British casualties
*Led to an increased morale and belief in military capabilities

Battle of Saratoga (October 1777)

*Americans defeat the British, this was a turning point in the war
*the success at Saratoga gave France the confidence in the
American cause to enter the war as an American ally...later
American successes owed a great deal to French aid in the form
of financial and military assistance

Battle of Yorktown (October 1781)

*British General Cornwallis surrenders to General Washington
*Last major battle of the war
Words for the Wise
Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson
King George III
Preamble
Battle of Saratoga
Battle of Yorktown

Quip of the day- The only time I set the bar low is during a
game of limbo.
Assignments
Document 5.9- Articles of Confederation
*Identify
*Analyze
*Evaluate

The War and Slavery

1. Why did Great Britain allow many slaves to leave America?
2. What happened to Thomas Jeremiah, a free African, in
1775?
3. How did Southerners work to justify slavery?
4. What does the textbook author say would not be obvious
to white American southerners at this time?
End of the War
The British and Americans reached a final settlement- the
Treaty of Paris (1783)

The American delegates- John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and

John Jay- achieved one of the greatest diplomatic triumphs in
the countrys history

They not only won recognition of American independence but

also gained control of the entire region between Canada and
Florida east of the Mississippi River and the right of
Americans to fish in Atlantic waters off of Canada

Americans agreed that loyalists would not suffer persecution

 The War and Slavery
At the beginning of the war, George
Washington refused to accept African
American recruits

Washington changed his mind,

however, after Virginias royal governor,
Lord Dunmore, issued a proclamation
offering freedom to slaves who fought
for the King (Lord Dunmores 1775
proclamation)

In fact, 17 of George Washingtons

slaves fled to the British, some of
whom fought against the colonists

On the other hand, some slaves

acquired their freedom by fighting with
colonists in the war
Women and the War
Thedeparture of so many men to fight in the Patriot armies left wives,
mothers, sisters, and daughters in charge of farms and businesses

Many cities and towns had a large number of impoverished women due to
the war

Many women flocked to the camps of the Continental Army to join their
male relatives

Some women even became involved in combat

In 1776, Abigail Adams wrote to her husband, John, about expanding

womens rights However, the war only resulted in a small progression in
the rights of women
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation, which the Continental Congress had
adopted in 1777, provided for a national government much like the
one already in place

Under the Articles, Congress remained the central, and only,

institution of national authority

The Continental Congress had power to conduct wars and foreign

relations and to issue moneybut it did not have power to regulate
trade, draft troops, or levy taxes directly on the people

For troops and taxes, it had to make formal requests to state

legislatures, which could refuse them

An official President did not yet exist

The Articles went into effect in 1781 and existed until 1789
Words for the Wise
Treaty of Paris (1783)
Lord Dunmores 1775 Proclamation
Abigail Adams
Articles of Confederation

Quip of the day- I wonder if the ocean is salty because land

doesnt wave back.
Creation of a New Government
The Declaration of Independence had declared, That these united
Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States,
that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and
that all political connection between them and the State of Great
Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved

SUMMARY: The Declaration of Independence declared that the

colonies were no longer British colonies but were now free and
independent states (Rechenbach 1).

The colonies had become states, and creating state governments

and outlining the powers of the federal government was crucial to
the success of the new country

Articles
of Confederation (last class)- outlined powers of the federal
government and the state governments
Articles of Confederation Replaced
TheArticles existed from 1781 until 1789, when it
was replaced by the Constitution

TheArticles of Confederation lacked adequate powers

to deal with interstate issues or to enforce its will on
the states, and the world did not greatly respect it
STUDY FOR CUMULATIVE TEST!
Test Wednesday!!! Review all UNITS!