Objectives
covered:
WSH.26A
WSH.1D
WSH.8A
WSH.8B
WHS.25C
The American Revolution:
The American Revolution – Cause and Effect
Britain had just ended what was known as the seven years war.
British leaders wanted to raise money to pay for the war and to
try to maintain an army and defend the colonies. The British
Parliament approved:
1. Stamp Act = 1765 required that
that certain printed materials such
as legal documents and
newspapers, carry a stamp
showing that a tax had been paid
to Britain.
Opposition was widespread
and often violent, and the
act was repealed in 1766.
The American Revolution – Cause and Effect
2. Boston Tea Party = Samuel
Adams and other colonist
dressed up as indians and
dumped british tea into Boston
Harbor to protest the tax on
Tea by the British Government.
Colonist were outraged over tax
on tea and crisis began to
follow other crisis. Colonist felt
that british people were making
decisions about taxes without
their input or consent.
The American Revolution – Cause and Effect
3. Tariffs on American
Goods were imposed by
the British Parliament.
Outraged colonist and
continued to strain
relations between England
and the Colonies.
The colonist were upset with what became known
as “Taxation without representation”. This means
that they were subject to taxes without any voice in
the British Parliament. They were just supposed to
take it and eventually this led to war.
War begins: The American Revolution
Fighting begins in April 1775 in Lexington and
Concord, Massachusetts. The Continental
Congress met and formed a militia and named
George Washington as Commander in Chief.
More than a year passed after the first battles
when on July 4, 1776, the Second Continental
Congress approved a declaration of
independence. The Declaration of
Independence was written by Thomas
Jefferson.
It declared the British colonies free and
independent states absolved from allegiance
to the British Crown.”
The American Revolution: America wins the war
with the help of France.
France helped the American colonist with money and arms
(weapons) since the start of the war. French soldiers and Officers
also served in Washington’s Army. In 1778, the French granted
diplomatic recognition to the American state (nation). Spain and the
Dutch Republic as entered the war against Great Britain.
The American Revolution: America wins the war
with the help of France.
Britain’s General Cornwallis was forced to surrender to Washington at
Yorktown in 1781. The French Navy bottled up the coast line and
George Washington’s army surrounded the British forces and the
British decided to end the war.
The American Revolution: America wins the war
with the help of France.
A treaty in France’s capital called “The Treaty of Paris in 1783
recognized the independence of the American colonies and granted
American control of the western territory from the Appalachians to the
Mississippi River.
Things that impacted our form of government
in the United States.
1. Magna Carta = “The
Great Charter 1215”
document that forced
King John of England to
recognize the rights of
nobles which was an act
that kept the English
Monarch from ever
becoming an absolute
power. (no one is above
the law)
Things that impacted our form of government
in the United States.
2. English Bill of Rights = document signed in 1689
that guaranteed English citizens:
a. no taxation without consent of Parliament
b. no cruel or unjust punishment,
c. free speech in Parliament,
d. no imprisonment without a trail,
e. the right to petition,
f. the right to bear arms and;
g. the right to a trial by jury.
These provided the
foundation for the American
version of our Bill of Rights.
The first 10 rights guaranteed
by the US Constitution.
Things that impacted our form of government
in the United States.
3. Parliament = The governing body of Britain which is
part of the Constitutional Monarchy. It is made up of a bicameral house. It consist of the House of Commons and
the House of Lords and has a Prime Minister. The queen
or king is the monarch. The Parliament takes care of
governmental business while the king or queen serves as a
ceremonial figure head.
Parliament
Queen/King
House of Commons
Prime Minister
House of Lords
Things that impacted our form of government
in the United States.
Our legislative branch of government was modeled after
Parliament. You have the House of Representatives and the
Senate. This makes it a bi-cameral representation of American
citizenry.
Things that impacted our form of government
in the United States.
5. Articles of Confederation = document that is considered
nation’s first constitution before the formal U.S. Constitution. It was
written in and approved in 1781. in 1787 they were revised in what
became known as the Constitutional Convention which led to the U.S.
Constitution.
We are a federal system in which power is shared by the national
and state government. The federal system was divided into three
branches: the legislative, judicial, and executive.
We are a federal system in which power is shared by the national
and state government. The federal system was divided into three
branches: the legislative, judicial, and executive.
Things that impacted our form of government
in the United States.
6. U.S. Constitution = document written in 1787, ratified in 1789 by 9
of the 13 states. It is the same document that we use today however
it has been amended as part of our written plan of government today.
Preamble: “We the people of the United States of America, in
order to form a more perfect union. Establish justice and ensure
domestic tranquility. Provide for the common defense and
promote the general welfare, secure the blessings of liberty for
ourselves to our posterity do ordain, and establish this
constitution for the United States of America”.
Things that impacted our form of government
in the United States.
7. Federalist Papers = were written to support the ideas of a
strong central government and were intended to get states to
support ratification of the newly written U.S. Constitution. (Articles
of Confederation were seen as weak and did not provide a strong
central government).
Things that impacted our form of government
in the United States.
8. Unalienable Rights = rights given to us by our creator which
can not be taken away by any human form of government. Such
rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Things that impacted our form of government
in the United States.
9. Consent of the Governed = is a political theory stating that a
government's legitimacy and moral right to use state power are, or
ought to be, derived from the people or society over which that
power is exercised
Things that impacted our form of government
in the United States.
10. Democracy = a government that is created of the people, for
the people, and by the people.
Limited Government – people give rights to the government to do
what it needs to do but they are limited. They limit government power
and authority and protecting the rights of the citizens is one of the most
important duties.
Republicanism – government controlled by the people through
elected representatives.
Checks and Balances – a system that allows each branch of
government to limit the powers of the other branches.
Federalism – a system in which power is divided and shared
between national, state, and local governments
Separation of powers = the division of governmental power
into the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.
Popular Sovereignty= idea that political power rests with the
people who create and/or abolish governments. The “voice of the
people” is heard through voting and participating in government.
Individual rights – those unalienable natural rights
guaranteed to all people and specified in the Bill of Rights.