1. The American Revolution & The Declaration of Independence
One of the most important formative events in American history.

2. The American Revolution
( ) French and Indian War
The British government was left with a large debt
Imposed a series of new taxes on the colonies to pay the debt
Stamp Act
Townshend duties
Tea duty
“taxation without representation”
1773 – Boston Tea Party
A group of colonists dressed as Indians threw tea off British ships
1775 – Lexington and Concord
“the shot heard round the world”

3. Jonathan Trumbull, Sr. Governor of Connecticut
Refused to help British General Thomas Gage, informing Gage that he would act instead in support of the colonial patriots
A close friend of George Washington
The only colonial governor to side with the colonists
Spoke in favor of colonial rights and against English abuses
Supplied Washington’s army with food, clothing, and munitions
Became Connecticut’s first state governor

4. John Peter Muhlenberg Protestant Minister
Enlisted more than 100 men into the Continental Army
Became part of the “Black Regiment”
A group of ministers who wore black clerical robes while preaching and who worked to recruit large numbers of volunteers for the Revolutionary cause
Rose to the rank of General under Washington
Later served as a U.S. senator and congressman

5. The Declaration of Independence
A committee of five was charged to write the Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston
Thomas Jefferson wrote the majority of the Declaration.
Final document was issued on July 4, 1776
Put forward a theory of government
Many of its ideas were borrowed from the English philosopher John Locke

6. The Declaration of Independence
Get with your shoulder partner!
Rewrite each paragraph of the Declaration in your own words.

7. Signers of the Declaration of Independence
56 delegates from all 13 colonies met to sign the Declaration.
The British viewed the Declaration as an act of treason, punishable by hanging.
The following men are all signers and important patriots of the American Revolution
John Hancock
Benjamin Rush
Charles Carroll
Dr. John Witherspoon

8. John Hancock
Made the largest and most recognizable signature on the declaration
A prosperous merchant from Boston
President of the Continental Congress
Hancock’s name became second only to George Washington’s as a symbol of freedom in the colonies.

9. Benjamin Rush A physician, educator, and humanitarian
Sometimes known as the “father of American medicine”
A pioneer in the fields of physiology and psychiatry
Known for his proposal to establish a national public university to train public servants
Favored the education of women
Helped establish the oldest African-American church in the country
His son later became the U.S. Ambassador to England.

10. Charles Carroll of Carrollton
One of the wealthiest men in the colonies
Helped to finance the Revolution with his own money
One of the first to recognize the necessity for independence from Britain
A Catholic
Catholics made up less than 2% of the colonial population and lacked political rights
Helped in the struggles for the acceptance of the Roman Catholic religion in America.

11. John Witherspoon A Scottish immigrant
A leading member of the Continental Congress
A Presbyterian clergyman
Became President of the College of New Jersey (later known as Princeton University)