1. Unit 4 The Struggle for North America
Lessons
Review
Maps
Maps
Graphic Organizer
Graphic Organizer
Why do people take risks?
Teacher Notes
The Big Idea: Why do people take risks?
The Struggle for North America
Unit 4 The Struggle for North America

2. Lessons Review Maps Maps
Graphic Organizer
Graphic Organizer
Lesson 1
The French in Louisiana
Lesson 2
The French and Indian War
Lesson 3
Colonists Protest British Rule
Lesson 4
The Revolution Begins
Lesson 5
Declaration of Independence
Click on a Lesson.
Lesson 6
Fighting the War
Lesson 7
American Victories
Lessons
Lesson 8
The War Ends

3. The French in Louisiana
Lesson 1
Vocabulary
tributary
territory
Reading Skill
How did France take control of the Mississippi River?
Main Idea and Details
Teacher Notes
Essential Question: How did France take control of the Mississippi River?

4. The French in Louisiana
Why was the discovery of the Mississippi River so important?
It was the best way to travel north and south in North America.
Why did the French king think settling in Louisiana and controlling the Mississippi River were so important?
The colony’s centralized location would stop Spain and England from moving further west.
Teacher Notes
Jacque Marquette and Louis Jolliet were the first French to explore the Mississippi River.
Robert de La Salle claimed Louisiana for the French.
King of France decided the French needed to strengthen their position in America by controlling the Mississippi River.
They needed a larger French population.
New Orleans was settled and became the largest French settlement in Louisiana.
Instead of focusing on the fur trade, they built large plantations.
Planters brought enslaved workers to raise indigo, rice, and tobacco.

5. The French and Indian War
Lesson 2
Vocabulary
French and Indian War
Treaty of Paris
Proclamation of 1763
What were the cause and effect of the French and Indian War?
Reading Skill
Main Idea and Details
Teacher Notes
Essential Question: What were the cause and effect of the French and Indian War?

6. The French and Indian War
What was the cause of the French and Indian War?
War broke out because English settlers were farmers. The French fur traders feared that farmers would cut down trees and hurt the fur trade.
What was the Treaty of Paris?
The Treaty of Paris was a document that ended the French and Indian War. It gave all the French Colonies in North America to the British.
What were the results of the war?
United the colonists
Strong leaders emerged
American identity
Teacher Notes
French and their allies, the Wyandot, against the British
Fort Duquesne:
George Washington won the first battle in the French and Indian War.
General George Braddock brought Washington and his men to Fort Duquesne and lost against the French. He was killed.
British colonists asked William Pitt for more money to fight the French.
British took the fort and renamed it Fort Pitt.
British wanted to drive the French out of Canada. They attacked Quebec and held it under siege for months before the French surrendered.
A year later, the British captured Montreal, and the French were forced from Canada.
After war, French could no longer help the Native Americans.
British claimed the former French lands but did not have firm control over them.
The Proclamation of 1763 set land aside west of the Appalachian Mountains for Native American groups because the British could not afford to protect settlers there.

7. Colonists Protest British Rule
Lesson 3
Vocabulary
Stamp Act
boycott
repeal
delegates
What caused the colonists to unite against Great Britain?
Reading Skill
Main Idea and Details
Teacher Notes
Essential Question: What caused the colonists to unite against Great Britain?

8. Colonists Protest British Rule
Complete the graphic organizer to explain how disagreements over taxes led to protest in the colonies.
Main Idea
Details
Colonists objected to taxation without representation.
Colonists forced the repeal of the Stamp Act and the Townshend Acts.
Resistance to British taxes helped unite the colonists.
The Boston Tea Party protested taxes on tea.
After the Intolerable Acts were passed to punish Boston, most of the colonies sent delegates to the First Continental Congress.
Teacher Notes
War was very costly for the British government so it raised taxes for colonists.
Stamp Act—1765
Colonists had to buy stamps and place them on all printed documents, including letters, wills, newspapers, and even playing cards.
Colonists said the British could not tax them without their consent.
Staged a boycott (refusal to buy goods or services from a person, group, or country).
Sons of Liberty was a group formed to protest the Stamp Act.
The Stamp Act was repealed in 1766.
Townshend Acts
Taxed factory-made goods such as paper, glass, and paint.
Colonists boycotted the newly taxed items and any colonial merchant who sold or used taxed goods.
British feared the boycotts would lead to violence, so they sent troops to Boston, whose citizens had caused most of the trouble.
Boston Massacre
Colonist gathered at the Boston Customs House, where taxes on goods for Great Britain were paid.
British soldiers fired into the crowd and killed 5 colonists.
Write About It!
Why were the colonists willing to take risks by protesting British law?

9. Colonists Protest British Rule
Which two key events led to the Revolution?
Boston Massacre
Boston Tea Party
What happened as a result of the Boston Tea Party?
The British closed Boston harbor until colonists paid for the tea.
Town meetings were banned.
More British soldiers were sent to the colonies.
Teacher Notes
Boston Tea Party
British government repealed the Townshend Acts but passed the Tea Act.
Tea Act was to help the British East India Company. It allowed the British East India Company to sell tea without paying import taxes.
Angered colonists because another law had been passed without their consent or approval.
Sons of Liberty, some disguised as Mohawk, boarded ships and emptied the tea chests into the harbor. Similar attacks also happened in Annapolis, Maryland, and New York City.
Colonists called Parliament’s actions “The Intolerable Acts” and became even more united against Great Britain.
Delegates (representatives) from the colonies met in Philadelphia to discuss the problem.
They formed the First Continental Congress to decide what action to take against Great Britain.

10. The Revolution Begins Vocabulary Reading Skill Lesson 4
militia
ammunition
Reading Skill
What events led to the American Revolution?
Main Idea and Details
Teacher Notes
Essential Question: What events led to the American Revolution?

11. The Revolution Begins What was the importance of Bunker Hill?
The British won the battle but the colonists realized they could win the war.
What advantages did each side have?
The British had a trained army that was better equipped than the militia.
The Patriots were defending their homes, knew the territory, and used guerrilla tactics.
Teacher Notes
Lexington and Concord
Colonists stored weapons in Lexington and Concord.
General Thomas Gage sent 700 soldiers to seize the weapons. They also wanted to arrest Samuel Adams and John Hancock, who were two well-known supporters for independence.
Paul Revere set off for Lexington to warn of the British approach. William Dawes was the second rider and Dr. Samuel Prescott was the third rider.
When British reached Lexington, Adams and Hancock were already gone.
Captain John Parker and the colonial militia called minutemen (volunteer soldiers who fought only in an emergency) were waiting for the British and shots were fired.
British continued toward Concord, where they were met with more minutemen, and the British retreated.
Battle of Bunker Hill
Colonists worked all night to build earthen walls for protection.
They did not have enough ammunition.
The British marched up the hill twice and only won the third time, when the Americans ran out of ammunition.

12. The Declaration of Independence
Lesson 5
Vocabulary
Continental Army
Declaration of Independence
What did the Second Continental Congress do in 1775 and 1776?
Reading Skill
Main Idea and Details
Teacher Notes
Essential Question: What did the Second Continental Congress do in 1775 and 1776?

13. The Declaration of Independence
What was the purpose of the Declaration of Independence?
It declared the colonies’ independence from Great Britain.
What was the importance of the Olive Branch Petition?
It asked the king to repeal his governing policies for the colonies, but he refused to read it and sent more troops.
Most delegates at the Second Continental Congress agreed that independence was their only choice.
Teacher Notes
John Hancock was elected president of the Second Continental Congress.
Delegates disagreed on declaring independence from England.
George Washington was chosen as the commander of the Continental Army.
The Declaration of Independence (document stating that the colonies were independent from Great Britain)
Thomas Jefferson was nominated to write the first draft.
John Adams and Ben Franklin helped him revise it.
Signed on July 4, 1776
Anyone who signed it risked being hanged as an enemy of the king.

14. Fighting the War Vocabulary Reading Skill Lesson 6
Patriot
mercenary
Loyalist
profiteering
inflation
What were the challenges for each side as the war began?
Reading Skill
Main Idea and Details
Teacher Notes
Essential Question: What were the challenges for each side as the war began?

15. Fighting the War Write About It!
How did women and African Americans help support the war?
Some women became carpenters, blacksmiths, and shipbuilders. Others took charge of family farms or businesses. Some women also cooked and cared for sick and wounded soldiers
Free African American men were inspired by the words “all men are created equal.” They fought because they hoped that victory over the British might create a new nation that would treat all people equally.
Teacher Notes
British military leaders believed the war would end quickly, but it lasted for five years.
The British were aided by Loyalists and Native Americans.
Examples of women who contributed to the effort:
Sybil Luddington warned colonists of a British attack on Danbury, Connecticut.
Deborah Sampson disguised herself as a man to join the army.
About 5,000 African American colonists served with the Continental Army.
In Rhode Island African Americans formed their own unit, which helped in a victory over the British as Yorktown.
Support for the war came in many ways:
Some people loaned the government money to buy gunpowder, food, and supplies.
Some people made weapons.
Write About It!
Compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of the British and American armies.

16. American Victories Vocabulary Reading Skill Lesson 7
desert
Treaty of Alliance
How did Patriots work toward success between 1776 and 1778?
Reading Skill
Main Idea and Details
Teacher Notes
Essential Question: How did Patriots work toward success between 1776 and 1778?

17. American Victories
Main Idea
Details
Complete the graphic organizer with details about the Battle of Saratoga.
The Americans blocked British invasions from Canada.
The Battle of Saratoga was a turning point in the war for independence.
The victory showed that the Americans could win.
Teacher Notes
The Patriots blocked British invasions from Canada.
The victory showed that the Patriots could win.
Other countries agreed to help them fight Great Britain.
Major Patriot victories:
Washington and his men crossed the Delaware River to attack Hessian soldiers on Christmas night.
Hessians surrendered.
Washington decided to attack because Americans needed a victory to give them hope.
In Princeton, New Jersey, Pariots captured badly needed supplies.
These victories gave the Patriot soldiers food, weapons, shoes, and hope.
The Battle of Saratoga was a major turning point in the Revolutionary War.
Other countries agreed to help them fight Great Britain.

18. The War Ends Vocabulary Reading Skill Lesson 8
blockade
Treaty of Paris
How did the American Revolution end?
Reading Skill
Main Idea and Details
Teacher Notes
How did the American Revolution end?

19. The War Ends Write About It! How did Spain support the colonists?
Spain gave the colonists support by loaning them money and closing the port at New Orleans to Great Britain.
What was the Treaty of Paris 1783?
The Treaty of Paris was an agreement between the British and the colonists to end the American Revolution. Great Britain had to recognize American independence.
Teacher Notes
British hoped to win the war in a region with a large Loyalist population ( Southern Colonies) and they wanted to control the wealth in the South.
Britain was winning battles but they lost a lot of men.
Battle of Yorktown
General Cornwallis stationed his troops in Yorktown to help fortify the area, and they waited there for British ships to bring supplies.
He and his men were trapped by American and French troops who learned of his plans.
They had French warships block British troops and supplies from reaching Cornwallis.
They battled for weeks before Cornwallis surrendered October 17, 1781.
Write About It!
How did the French help Washington win the Battle of Yorktown?

20. The War Ends Results of the war: The United Stated won independence.
Many Loyalists moved to Canada or the western frontier.
Many Native Americans lost their land. Americans felt justified because Native Americans had sided with the British.
Slavery continued. “All men are created equal” did not apply to enslaved Africans. The government needed the support of Southern plantation owners who depended on slavery.
Teacher Notes
Some Loyalists were forced to give up their homes and property during fighting.
Many moved to Canada.
Some stayed.
Others moved to the western frontier.
Native Americans lost lands because they sided with the British, who had protected Native American lands west of the Appalachians from American settlement.
Many thought slavery would end because of the phrase “all men are created equal,” but it continued because the new American government needed the support of Southern plantation owners who depended on the labor of enslaved Africans.

21. Review
What two acts angered the colonists and caused them to unite against Great Britain?
The Stamp Act required colonists to buy stamps and place them on all printed documents.
The Townshend Act taxed factory-made goods.
What were the Intolerable Acts?
The Intolerable Acts were King George’s actions in retaliation for boycotts of the Stamp and Townshend Acts. The British closed the Boston harbor until the colonists paid for the tea, banned town meetings, and sent more soldiers to the colonies.
Answers
The Stamp Act required colonists to buy stamps and place them on all printed documents.
The Townshend Act taxed factory-made goods.
The Intolerable Acts were King George’s actions in retaliation for boycotts of the Stamp and Townshend Acts. The British closed the Boston harbor until the colonists paid for the tea, banned town meetings, and sent more soldiers to the colonies.
Boston Massacre
Boston Tea Party
Which two key events led to the Revolution?
Boston Massacre
Boston Tea Party

22. Review What was the Treaty of Paris?
The Treaty of Paris was an agreement between the British and the colonists to end the American Revolution.
Why did slavery continue?
The new American government needed the support of Southern plantation owners who depended on the labor of enslaved Africans.
Answers
The Treaty of Paris was an agreement between the British and the colonists to end the American Revolution.
The new American government needed the support of Southern plantation owners who depended on the labor of enslaved Africans.

23. Maps Click on a map to enlarge the view.

24. Graphic Organizer Main Idea and Details
Click on the graphic organizer to enlarge the view and enter content.
Click on the graphic organizer to enlarge the view and enter content.