Tuesday, December 1, 2015 Journal: Name THREE things that you learned about the American Revolution from the video yesterday *have your homework on your desk! (Break the Code: Road to Revolution)

American Revolution

Setting The Stage England now had a constitutional monarchy, and was the most progressive in Europe Growing number of England’s colonists here accused them of a tyrannical rule Inspired by the Enlightenment, the colonists would attempt to overthrow the power and create their own nation

The Colonists By Mid 1700s, most colonists had been there for 150 years. Each of the 13 colonies had their own government Colonists viewed themselves as Virginians, Pennsylvanians, etc.., rather than British They were still British subjects and had to obey their law, though.

Leading to the War… The British racked up a large debt after winning the French and Indian War (1763) Taxing the colonists – Stamp Act – pay a tax on printed materials. Paid in British currency, not colonial paper money The colonists had never paid a tax directly to the British before. They were outraged! The colonists had no representatives in Parliament, therefore, they were being taxed without representation.

Enlightenment Influence In July 1776, the Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson Influenced greatly by John Locke – “…life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Locke argued the right to rebel against an unjust ruler – The Declaration of Independence listed out all of King George III’s abuses

Reasons for Patriot Success After the D.O.I., the war was in full swing and the colonists appeared very weak 1. American motivation – fighting on homeland 2. Overconfident British generals made mistakes 3. The longer the war went on, the more money the British had to spend 4. France was very helpful – Louis XVI wanted to weaken their main rival (British) so they joined forces with the Patriots 1781 Marked the end of the Revolution (French joined in 1778)

Articles of Confederation 1781 Established a Republic – (representatives) The 13 states held most of the power Therefore, the Articles of Confederation created a very weak national government There was only one branch of government – The Congress They knew they needed a strong central govt

The U.S. Constitution Like Montesquieu suggested, they set up three branches of government – Judicial, Executive, Legislative Checks and Balances – Each branch checks the powers of the other two (ex: veto) Federal System – Power divided among national and state governments

The U.S. Constitution Federalists vs. Anti Federalists – Anti Federalists feared too much power for federal govt., so they wanted a bill of rights Bill of Rights – The first 10 amendments of the U.S. Constitution Many of the basic rights outlined had been advocated by Voltaire, Rousseau, and Locke Enlightenment Ideals made a reality in government for the first time. The optimism spread across the world….