Review: Colonial Era to the
Revolutionary War:
America from 1600s to 1783
World Map:
1507
Chapters 1-4
Exploration and colonization
n 
Europeans began
exploring the New World
by the late 1400s
q  Two motivations:
n  Find a sea route to
Asia
n  Spread Christianity
n 
Columbus 1492 voyage
initiated a flood of
exploration and
established the first
European colony in the
New World (Hispaniola)
Empires
n 
Reasons for empires: 1) Colonies brought wealth, power to nation; 2) new
source of raw materials; 3) new markets for goods
q  Spain had the oldest/largest empire by 1700’s; England needed more
land due to overpopulation; New World represented dumping ground for
criminals, religious misfits
n 
Why colonists left: 1) Economic opportunity; 2) America represented
abundance; 3) Religious persecution; 4) Forced to go (slaves)
Pilgrims come
to America
(1620):
Mayflower lands
at Plymouth
Rock
It is estimated that 35
million Americans are
descendents of the
Mayflower: 10% of
U.S. population
Mayflower Compact (1620)
In the Name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal
subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God, of
Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith. Having
undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith,
and the Honor of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the first colony in
the Northern Parts of Virginia; Do by these Presents, solemnly and mutually
in the Presence of God and one another, covenant and combine
ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering
and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid; And by Virtue
hereof; unto which we promise all due Submission do enact, constitute,
and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions,
and Offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and
convenient for the general Good of the Colony and Obedience. In
WITNESS whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape Cod
the eleventh of November, in the Reign of our Sovereign Lord King James
of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth and of Scotland, the fiftyfourth, Anno Domino, 1620.
8
13 Colonies
English Colonies: Regional economics
n 
New England Colonies: soil, climate allowed only for subsitence
farming; rich in timber and fishing; center of shipbuilding and
commerce; religious (Massachusetts., Rhode Island, N. Hampshire,
Connecticut)
q  Pilgrims settled in 1620; Mayflower Compact became framework
for self-government
n 
Middle Colonies: Rich soil (‘Bread Basket’), mild climate, good
timber, diverse people (N. York, N. Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware);
Promoted religious tolerance
n 
Southern Colonies: plantation farming; rich soil, hot climate; good
coastal ports; (Maryland, Virginia, N. Carolina, S. Carolina, Georgia)
q  Jamestown: first colony established in 1607 (John Smith)
q  Dependent on slave labor
Slavery
n 
Portugal first to explore West
Africa in the 1400s
q  Slave trade brought great
wealth but depopulated
interior Africa
q  Brought cheap labor to
Europe
n 
Family, farming, religion were the
center of African village life
n 
Middle Passage: name of slave
trade route
q  Many died on voyage; 20
million slave were forcibly
settled in America
q  Traditions and culture of
slaves (music and dancing)
survived well into the 1800s
Slave Trade
French and
Indian War
n 
n 
French and Indian War (1754-1763): part of a larger war
between France and Britain that broke out in the Ohio River
Valley, spreading to Europe; French lost
q 
Franklin proposed Albany Plan of Union to unite colonies, it
failed but war taught colonists they could unite
Treaty of Paris (1763): Britain gained Canada, land east of
Mississippi; French removed from America
America’s First Political Cartoon (B. Franklin)
Sideways- represents the
Atlantic Coast
- Delaware excluded
- Georgia excluded (relatively new
and full of prisoners)
- New England (four colonies)
added into one large segment
British victory: Aftermath
n 
England emerged as world’s sole great power but deeply in debt
n 
Indians clashed with colonists in Ohio:
q  Pontiac’s Rebellion (1763): Ottawa chief led tribes in killing
2000 people and destroying British forts
q 
q 
n 
Proclamation of 1763: prohibited colonial settlement west of
the Appalachian Mts.; law angered colonists
England sent a 10,000 man standing army to enforce law and
protect colonists, angering the locals; problem: financing army
King George III (anointed in 1760) wanted to raise colonial taxes
to pay war debt and fund colonial protection
q  Stage set for conflict between England and America
Causes of the American
Revolution
Economic reasons
n 
n 
Britain increased taxes to fund
debt
q  “No taxation without
representation”: colonists did
not directly elect MPs
q  “Virtual Representation”: by
virtue of being a British citizen,
colonists WERE represented
Samuel Adams
Trade: enforcement of Navigation
Acts restricted colonial trade
q  Limited/prohibited trade with
other nations
q  Seen as beneficial to England,
harmful to America
Sons of Liberty
Political reasons
n 
Britain dissolved some colonial
assemblies, enforced laws;
colonies claimed right to selfgovernment (“statutory neglect”)
n 
Quartering Act (1765):
colonists must house British
troops (“redcoats”)
n 
Boston Massacre (1770): first
violent encounter between
Britain & colonists
n 
Boston Tea Party (1773):
Protestors dumped tea to
protest the Tea Act
Colonial outrage
George III
n 
After Intolerable Acts (1774) are
passed, First Continental
Congress (1774) is formed to unite
against British rule
q  Appeal of compromise sent to
King, who rejects offer
n 
Lexington & Concord (April
1775): 1st shot fired, war begins
n 
Second Continental Congress
forms in 1775, debates
independence, forms an army with
Washington appointed as leader
24
Declaration of Independence
Thomas
Jefferson
n 
Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson and
inspired colonists; some remained loyal to England and the war’s
outcome was uncertain
q  Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense, strengthening the
argument for independence
A New Government:
Articles of
Confederation
n 
Based on his Albany Plan, Ben Franklin proposes the Articles
of Confederation (America’s first government):
q  Confederal System: 13 sovereign states with a weakened
central government; as “sovereign” states did not have to
answer to the central government (Congress)
q  Collective security: Congress could make war, raise taxes,
regulate trade, enter foreign alliances, and enact laws
“necessary to the general welfare”
“The World Turned
Upside Down”
Battle of Yorktown
n 
n 
n 
Battle of Saratoga (1778): American victory that secures
alliance with France, brought French troops and loans
Battle of Yorktown (1781): battle that ends the war
Treaty of Paris (1783):
q  America is free but would pay back war debts owed to British
q  America receives all land east of the Miss. River, south of
Great Lakes to Florida; British to leave forts
America in 1783
n 
n 
n 
Britain controlled Canada and was allied with Spain, who held Florida
and Louisiana
America weakly held land beyond the Appalachians; population was
only 3.5 million, located primarily on the East Coast
A new struggle emerges over America’s destiny and form of
government
American Revolution: 1775-1783
Origins of U.S. Grand
Strategy
Osama bin Washington?
n 
Britain labeled America’s military leader a
terrorist leading an insurgency against the
British Empire
q  Rebel leader was “elected” in 1789 with
2% voting and replaced in 1796 with
another revolutionary
n 
Thomas Jefferson ushers in an extended
period of one-party rule (1800-1828)
n 
Andrew Jackson became first “outsider” to
win presidency (1828)
q  Women: 144 years to gain voting rights
q  Slavery: ends after 89 years of
existence
q  Blacks: 189 years to gain full voting
rights
American Colonies: Overview
The Road to Revolution: 1763-1774