Background of the
American Revolution!
1. Mercantilism !
The theory that a
state’s or nation’s
power depended
on its wealth.!
1. Mercantilism !
The British economic policy
in which the colonies exist
to make the mother
country rich.!
2. Navigation and Trade Acts
In 1651, Parliament passed a
series of laws known as the
Navigation and
Trade Acts. !
a. All colonial
goods had to be
carried on British
ships.!
1!
b. Some goods
could only be
sold to England.!
Foreign imports
had to be sent first
to England where
a tax was paid.!
d.
ACTION:!
Britain enforced the
Navigation and
Trade Acts.!
c. Some goods
could only be
manufactured by
England.!
3. The Navigation and
Trade Acts were not
enforced until after the
French and Indian War. !
REACTION:!
Colonists began
to smuggle.
!
2!
4. Writs of Assistance In 1761, Parliament passed the
Writs of Assistance which
allowed the redcoats to
search colonial homes and
businesses without a
search warrant. !
REACTION:!
Parliament passed
the Writs of
Assistance (no
warrant needed to
search).!
6. Pontiac’s Rebellion
In the spring of 1763,
Pontiac, an Ottawa chief,
put together an alliance of
Native American peoples.!
ACTION:!
Colonists began to
smuggle.!
5. In 1761,
Parliament
sent 10,000
Redcoats to
the colonies
to protect the
colonists. !
The series of raids
called Pontiac’s War
or Pontiac’s
Rebellion came to
an end when the
French signed the
Treaty of Paris.!
3!
7. Proclamation of 1763
King George issued the
Proclamation of 1763 which
closed land west of
the Appalachian
Mountains to settlers,
trappers, and traders. !
REACTION:!
King George III closed
land west of the
Appalachian Mountains
to settlers, trappers
and traders.
(Proclamation of !
1763)!
The Sugar Act lowered
the tax on molasses
imported by the
colonists. It also
eliminated trial by jury
in smuggling cases. !
ACTION:!
Native American
uprisings in the
Ohio River Valley.!
8. Sugar Act In 1764, a new Prime
Minister took power in
Britain. George Grenville
persuaded Parliament to
pass laws to tax the
colonists.!
“Taxation without
representation is
tyranny.”!
tyranny= harsh use
or abuse of power!
4!
9. Quartering Act In 1765, the Quartering Act
was passed which ordered
colonists to provide
housing and food for
the Redcoats stationed
in the colonies.!
11. Reactions to the Stamp
Act were varied:
a.Stamp Act Congress Nine colonies sent
representatives to New
York to a meeting.!
10. Stamp Act In 1765, Parliament passed
the Stamp Act. This was a
tax on
all printed
items.!
b. Since they had no
representatives in Parliament, they
believed Parliament did not have
the right to make laws or force them
to pay taxes.!
“No taxation without
representation.”
!
Sons of Liberty They were a
group of
radicals, led by
Samuel Adams,
formed to protest
against the unfair
law.!
4. forming
Committees of
Correspondence to
write letters to people in
other colonies outside
Massachusetts.!
5!
Committees of Safety!
•  Committees of Safety were
formed to discuss the concerns
and act upon events pertaining
to the public welfare.!
REACTION:!
Colonists formed
the Stamp Act
Congress as a sign
of unity.!
ACTION:!
Parliament
passed the
Stamp Act.!
ACTION:!
Colonists protested: burned
stamps, boycotted,
terrorized, and formed
Committees of
Correspondence and
Committees of Safety.!
REACTION:!
Parliament
repealed
(canceled) the
Stamp Act.!
6!
12. Declaratory Act
The Declaratory Act of
1766 stated that
13.Townshend Act
In 1767, Parliament passed
the Townshend Act. This law
Parliament had the
right to tax and
make decisions for
the British colonies.!
taxed glass, lead,
paper,and tea
imported into the
colonies for sale.!
ACTION:!
Parliament passed the
Townshend Acts.!
(tax on glass, lead,
paper, paint and tea)!
REACTION:!
Colonists boycotted
British goods.!
14. Boston Massacre
ACTION:!
The Sons of Liberty
used the incident as
propaganda to
influence opinion
against the British.!
Colonists
were killed
in the
Boston
Massacre.!
7!
15. Tea Act REACTION:!
This law gave the
British East India
Company the exclusive
right to sell tea in the
colonies without paying
the tax on tea.!
Parliament repealed
the Townshend Act,
but kept the tax on
tea.!
ACTION:!
16.Boston Tea Party
In 1773, the Sons of Liberty
dressed up as Mohawk
Indians and boarded three
ships belonging to the British
East India Company
anchored in Boston Harbor.!
Parliament passed
the Tea Act.!
17. Coercive / Intolerable Acts
To punish the colonists for the
Tea Party, Parliament passed
the Coercive Acts.
REACTION:!
The Sons of Liberty
protested in the Boston
Tea Party.!
They were nicknamed the
Intolerable Acts by the
colonists.
!
8!
a.Boston Port Act
The port of Boston
was closed until the
tea was paid for by
the colonists.
b. Administration of Justice Act
Any Redcoat who
committed a crime in
the colonies was sent
to England for trial.
!
!
c. Massachusetts Government Act
Parliament ordered the
Massachusetts
legislature closed and
sent General Gage to
rule the colony. !
ACTION:!
The colonists
protested in the
Boston Tea Party.!
d. It also amended the Quartering
Act, which required colonists to
house and quarter British troops on
demand. !
REACTION:!
Parliament passed the
Coercive Acts which the
colonists called the
Intolerable Acts.!
!
!
!
9!
REACTION:!
Closed port of Boston!
Closed Massachusetts legislature!
Sent General Gage to rule the
colony!
Any Redcoat who committed a
crime was sent to England for
trial!
Amended Quartering Act!
!
18.First Continental Congress
In response to the Intolerable
Acts, in 1774, twelve
colonies sent
representatives to a
meeting in Philadelphia.
!
!
!
ACTION:!
The colonists wanted to appear
united to convince the British
their rights were being violated.!
REACTION:!
Colonists met at the
first meeting of the
Continental
Congress.!
They decided to: !
Parliament passed the
Coercive Acts, which
the colonists called
the Intolerable Acts.!
1.Boycott British goods!
2.Organize militias!
3.Petition the king!
4.Declare their loyalty to
England !
10!
19.Lexington and Concord
In April of 1775, British
soldiers were sent to the
The shots fired at Lexington
and Concord have become
known as the “shot heard
Massachusetts towns of
Lexington and Concord to
capture guns and
ammunition the colonists
were stockpiling there.
‘round the world.”
!
!
20.Second Continental Congress
In May of 1775 a meeting of the
second Continental Congress
was called to discuss the fact
that the colonies and the British
had fired on each other.
!
c.Organize a navy
a.Create the Continental
Army.
b. Send a representative to
France.
!
d. Send one last petition to
the king again stating the
colonists were loyal
Englishmen who just wanted
their rights
!
11!
ACTION:!
REACTION:!
Shots were
fired at
Lexington
and
Concord.!
Colonists met at a
second meeting of the
Continental Congress.
They decided to:!
1. Form the
Continental Army!
2. Choose George
Washington as
Commander- inchief!
!
3.  Send a representative
to France!
4.  Form a navy!
5. Send the Olive Branch
Petition - last hope for
peace.!
!
!
!
21. Fighting had already
spread.
a. Ethan Allen and the Green
Mountain Boys
b. Bunker Hill!
12!