1. Britain’s Tightening Control On the Colonies: Prelude to the Revolution 1763-1775

2. Series of Acts (Laws) Passed by the British Parliament  Why were these laws passed?  To protect the lands gotten in the French and Indian War (Area between Appalachians and Mississippi, Also, Canada)  Pay war debts from the French and Indian War  Enforce trade laws that benefited the British Empire  Bring colonies under more control by the King and Parliament British Parliament Building “Big Ben”, London

3. Proclamation of 1763  No settlement could be done in the lands that had been won in the French and Indian War.  The reason for this act was to keep peace with the Native Americans and the costs of protecting the settlers would be too costly.

4. Proclamation of 1763 Angers American Colonists

5. Stamp Act of 1765 The Stamp Act required a tax be paid on the following items:  Legal documents  Pamphlets  Newspapers  Playing Cards This was a “sales tax”, not a direct tax. Eventually, due to protests in the colonies, the Stamp Act was repealed( done away with) Protest Against the Stamp Act in Boston

6. Declaratory Act of 1766  Proclaimed that Parliament had the authority to tax the colonies on anything at anytime.

7. Stamp Act

8. Boston Massacre March 5 th, 1770  Boston youth and dockworkers begin to exchange insults in front of the Custom House (where taxes were charged on imports and exports).  Snowballs were thrown.  Crispus Attucks, an African American and four others were killed..  The British soldiers were placed on trial and defended by Sam Adams cousin, John Adams (future 2 nd President of the US).  The soldiers were found innocent, but the incident became a symbol of British tyranny  ( non representative government)

10. Intolerable Acts, 1774  Boston Harbor is closed for punishment as the result of the Boston Tea Party.  Americans must quarter ( house) British soldiers stationed in the colonies. Sam Adams, Leader of the Sons of Liberty Sons of Liberty Dressed as Indians Dumping British Tea Into the Boston Harbor on December 16,1774

11. The Boston Tea Party and the Intolerable Acts

12. Townshend Acts of 1767  Placed a tax on wine, tea, paper, glass, and lead

13. Townshend Acts

14. North Carolina’s Road to Revolution  Patriots (Whigs)-Americans who wanted complete independence from England. Most North Carolina Patriot support was in the backcountry among Scots- Irish, German, and English settlers.  Loyalists (Tories)- Americans who wanted to remain loyal to England. Most Loyalist support was in the Coastal Plain among settlers of English descent and the Highland Scots along the Cape Fear River. (Remember! The Highland Scots had signed an oath stating they would always be loyal to the English.)

15. North Carolina in 1773

16. North Carolina’s First Provincial Congress North Carolina’s First Provincial ( provincial means local) congress met in New Bern in August of 1774. The delegates agreed that North Carolina would support patriot causes throughout the colonies. They also elected delegates to attend the First Continental Congress that met in Philadelphia in September, 1774. Tryon Palace, New Bern Aerial View of New Bern

17. Edenton Tea Party  Penelope Barker led 55 women of Edenton on the Albemarle Sound in a boycott of imported British tea. Penelope Barker London Newspaper Cartoon Attacking the Ladies of Edenton, North Carolina

18. Mecklenburg Resolves May 20,1775  Mostly Scots-Irish settlers in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County declared themselves free and independent of British authority. Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg King George III Charlotte The Queen City

19. Battles of Lexington and Concord Massachusetts April 19, 1775  The committees of correspondence (communication network between the colonies) informs North Carolina that the British have fired upon local militias at the towns of Lexington and Concord west of Boston.  Paul Revere, Samuel Prescott, and William Dawes had warned the communities that the British were advancing to stop Patriot support and destroy arsenals storing weapons. Old North Church Boston Paul Revere

21. First Shots of the Revolution

22. The Continental Army is Formed On May 25, 1775 following the Battles of Lexington and Concord the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia. Delegates included:  John Adams-Massachusetts  Samuel Adams-Massachusetts  John Hancock-Massachusetts  Benjamin Franklin-Pennsylvania  George Washington-Virginia (Chosen as Commander of the Continental Army)  Patrick Henry-Virginia  Richard Caswell-North Carolina  John Penn- North Carolina  William Hooper-North Carolina  Joseph Hewes- North Carolina Hewes Hooper Penn Caswell Sam Adams Hancock John Adams Franklin Washington Henry

23. Formation of the Continental Army

24. Battle of Bunker Hill June, 1775  Militiamen seized Bunker Hill and Breeds Hill behind Charlestown near Boston, Massachusetts.  British General William Howe crossed the bay with 2,200 British soldiers.  Patriot leader Colonel William Prescott gave the order “Don’t fire to you see the whites of their eyes!”  The British claimed the hill, but lost 1000 men compared to 400 Americans Howe Prescott

25. Battle of Bunker Hill, Boston Massachusetts

26. Halifax Resolves April 12, 1776  North Carolina delegates meet at Halifax on April 12, 1776 and voted to instruct delegates to the Continental Congress to vote for total separation England.  North Carolina was the first colony to do this.  The Halifax Resolves and the Mecklenburg Resolves make “North Carolina: First in Freedom”.  The dates of the Halifax and Mecklenburg Resolves are on the North Carolina flag.

27. Common Sense is Published  Thomas Paine wrote this pamphlet in early 1776 urging Americans to fight for independence. Paine ridiculed the idea that kings ruled by the will of God. Calling King George III “the Royal Brute,” Paine argued that all monarchies( kings/Queens) were corrupt.

28. Thomas Paine Calls for Complete Separation from England

29. Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge February, 1776 “Slip and Slide Battle ”  North Carolina’s Royal Governor Josiah Martin organizes a militia (small local army) made up of loyalists Highland Scots at Cross Creek (today’s Fayetteville) to end patriot support along the Cape Fear River and southeastern North Carolina.  Patriot forces led by Richard Caswell remove planks and grease girders on Moore’s Creek Bridge near Wilmington. As the loyalists march across the bridge the patriot troops open fire on them  The Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge causes the British to see that their loyalist support is limited in the Southern Colonies. The entire war effort is moved to the northern colonies.

30. MOORE’S CREEK MOORE’S CREEK BRIDGE WILMINGTON CROSS CREEK “FAYETTEVILLE”

31. Highland Scot Loyalist Crossing the Moore’s Creek Bridge, February, 1776

32. North Carolina’s First Constitution  In the fall of 1776, North Carolina drafted its first state constitution in this house in Halifax and appointed Richard Caswell as the first governor of the State of North Carolina Constitution House, Halifax Richard Caswell 1 st Governor State of North Carolina 1776

33. The Declaration of Independence July 4, 1776  Thomas Jefferson of Virginia was chosen to draft the Declaration of Independence.  The document is approved on July 4, 1776 in the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia (now Independence Hall).  North Carolina’s Signers:  William Hooper  Joseph Hewes  John Penn

34. Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) Monticello, Charlottesville, Virginia Jefferson Memorial Washington, D.C. University of Virginia, Charlottesville Jefferson’s Grave

35. INDEPENDENCE HALL PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

36. Powerful Words