1. Road to Revolution Notes SS8H3
UNIT 5 STATEHOOD
Road to Revolution Notes
SS8H3

2. Road to Revolution CLOZE Notes 1
Indians
Proclamation
Georgia
French & Indian War
Competition
CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
Because the British were nearly bankrupt from the Seven Years War, they could not afford to fight another costly war with American Indians over territory.
The intent was to stabilize relations between Great Britain and the American Indian tribes who lived in the area.
Much of the land was given to American Indians to avoid uprisings and violence with the settlers.
Colonists who lived there had to pack up and move back east, and they were not too happy about that!
In 1763, King George issued a statement prohibiting colonists from moving west of the Appalachian Mountains.
Georgia’s borders were also expanded to the St. Mary’s River to the South, the Mississippi River to the West, and land around Augusta to the North.
Georgians were happy with this decision because there would be no more Spanish threat to the colony.
The Treaty of Paris 1763 also gave Spanish Florida to England.
Even though the British won the war, the economic cost of the war was incredible and left the country virtually bankrupt.
In the Treaty of Paris 1763, France was forced to give up all of its North American colonies, including Canada and all the land between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River.
Great Britain won the war.
In Europe, the war was called the Seven Years’ War.
They were worried that the British settlers would take over their land.
This war was known as the French and Indian War in America because the local American Indians joined forces with the French troops.
In 1756, fighting broke out between the two countries over fur trading territory in the Ohio Valley.
By the mid-1700s, France had become Great Britain’s biggest rival.
Great Britain, France, and Spain had been competing for land in North America for centuries.
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Road to Revolution CLOZE Notes 1

3. Road to Revolution CLOZE Notes 2
Stamp Act
Taxation
Control
Georgia
Reaction
Goals
Many colonists rebelled, saying that the government should not tax them when they had no representation in Parliament.
It put a direct tax on items that were commonly used by almost every colonist, including newspapers, licenses, and legal documents.
In 1765, England imposed the Stamp Act, which required colonists to buy a government stamp for nearly every paper document.
Many colonists were angered by the taxation, particularly because there was no colonial representation in the British Parliament.
To help alleviate the debt incurred from the war, the British Parliament felt that the colonists should be responsible for some of the financial burden by paying new taxes.
During the 1760s, England began to assert more control and the colonists were not happy.
Great Britain had left the colonies alone to manage their own affairs for years.
Throughout the 1700s, the American colonists had become increasingly independent.
This new land opened up new coastal areas for Georgians to settle, which was great for trade.
Also, Georgia gained land and resources from the Spanish after the French and Indian War.
The colony was relatively small and most colonists were still settled along Georgia’s coastline.
People in Georgia did not share the same reactions to the Proclamation of 1763 as other colonists.
Many frontiersmen ignored the treaty and moved west into areas that are now Kentucky and Tennessee.
The colonists, many of whom participated in the war in hopes of gaining new land, were extremely upset by the Proclamation of 1763.
Also, Great Britain planned to build forts along the Proclamation Line in order to better defend and maintain its colonies.
King George III wanted to build a trade relationship with American Indians in order to capitalize on the fur trade business.
In addition to making peace with the American Indians, the proclamation had two other goals.
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Road to Revolution CLOZE Notes 2

4. Road to Revolution CLOZE Notes 3
Boston
Liberty Boys
Wright
Georgia
Stamp Act
The 1773 Boston Tea Party took place when colonists dumped 342 chests of tea into the Boston Harbor to protest the Tea Act.
The Boston Massacre occurred in 1770 when British soldiers fired into an angry mob of protestors, killing five colonists.
The American colonists were becoming more and more rebellious, particularly in Boston.
Nine other colonies sent delegates to the Stamp Act Congress, while Georgia sent none.
He refused to call Georgia’s legislature into session to vote on the issue.
The American colonists held a Stamp Act Congress in 1765, but Governor Wright did not want Georgia to participate.
The Liberty Boys, along with many other Georgians, were unhappy with the unfair tax on paper goods.
On November 6, 1765, a group affiliated with the Sons of Liberty called the “Liberty Boys” was established to oppose the Stamp Act.
Despite Governor Wright’s influence, there was some resistance to the Stamp Act.
Governor Wright was very loyal to King George III, and he urged the colonists to remain loyal as well.
Many Georgians knew that he cared about them and wanted to see the colony be prosperous.
Governor Wright was well liked and had really improved the quality of life in Georgia.
Georgia’s royal governor, James Wright, had much to do with the colony’s calm reaction.
Georgia was actually the only colony where the hated stamps were sold.
Georgia’s response to the Stamp Act was not as violent as in other colonies.
These acts caused even more discontent and began to set the stage for the Revolutionary War…
Due to colonial pressure, the British Parliament eventually repealed the Stamp Act (but continued to issue others).
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Road to Revolution CLOZE Notes 3

5. Road to Revolution CLOZE Notes 4
Preamble
Declaration
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
Fight
1st Congress
The Preamble explains why the colonists decided to separate from Great Britain.
It states that “all men are created equal” and that people have natural rights that should not be denied by governments.
The introduction to the Declaration of Independence is called the Preamble.
There are three main parts of the Declaration: the Preamble, a list of grievances, & the official declaration.
The Declaration also expressed the colonists’ belief that everyone deserves natural rights.
It stated why the colonists declared their independence, and the colonists hoped to win support from countries all over the world.
The Declaration announced to King George III that the colonists were united against him.
On July 4, 1776, the delegates adopted the Declaration of Independence, which proclaimed to the world that the American colonies were united in the fight for independence.
The Congress appointed Thomas Jefferson to pen a statement outlining the reasons for the colonies’ separation from Great Britain.
The Second Continental Congress chose to officially declare independence.
At first, the Congress tried to find a peaceful solution, but the king would not compromise.
After several more battles, the Second Continental Congress met in May 1775.
On April 19th, 1775, the first battle of the American Revolution took place at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts.
King George III said that the colonists would not become independent without a fight.
They also pledged military support to Massachusetts if they were attacked by Great Britain.
The members wrote protests to England and decided to boycott British goods until taxes and trade regulation were repealed.
The First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia in 1774.
Every colony except Georgia sent representatives to the First Continental Congress of 1774.
These colonists were unified in a belief that the British Parliament was violating their rights.
Other American colonies were outraged and joined in sympathy with Massachusetts.
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Road to Revolution CLOZE Notes 4

6. Road to Revolution CLOZE Notes 5
Hall
Gwinnett
Declaration
Grievances
Hall was a member of the Georgia delegation to the Second Continental Congress and signed the Declaration of Independence.
He moved to Georgia in 1760 and joined Button Gwinnett in leadership of the St. John’s Parish.
Lyman Hall was a minister and a doctor from Connecticut who practiced medicine in Georgia and South Carolina.
Gwinnett died of his injuries three days later.
While in office, Governor Gwinnett challenged his enemy Lachlan McIntosh to a duel and was shot.
In 1777, he became Georgia’s governor, but only served a few months.
After signing the Declaration of Independence, Gwinnett became chairman of the committee who wrote the Georgia Constitution of 1777.
During the Revolutionary War period, Gwinnett was an influential member of the Whig Party and became the leader of the radical St. John’s Parish patriot group.
He was a merchant, plantation owner, and an important figure in Georgia’s politics.
Button Gwinnett was born in England in 1735 and arrived in Georgia in 1765.
Three Georgians signed the document: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, and George Walton.
The conclusion also contains the signatures of 56 signers from all 13 states.
It announced the formation of the United States of America and declared they were no longer connected to Great Britain.
The final part of the Declaration officially declared the colonies free from British rule.
The king kept an army in the colonies at all times.
The king denied the colonists’ right to self-government by dissolving their legislatures.
The king issued taxation without the colonists’ consent.
Some of the grievances include:
This is the largest part of the Declaration and it clearly states the ways that the king had wronged the colonists.
The middle section of the Declaration of Independence is a list of 27 grievances, or complaints, against King George and the British Parliament.
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Road to Revolution CLOZE Notes 5

7. Road to Revolution CLOZE Notes 6
Walton
Hall
He was a representative to Congress, circuit court judge, chief justice of Georgia, governor of Georgia, and US senator.
When the war ended, Walton remained active in Georgia politics for the next 30 years.
He was wounded and captured by the British and ended up walking with a limp for the rest of his life.
During the American Revolution, Walton served as a Patriot colonel.
Walton was a delegate to the Continental Congress and was the third Georgian to sign the Declaration of Independence.
Walton served in the provincial congress and was the president of the Council of Safety.
George Walton was a successful lawyer who became involved in Georgia politics during the Revolutionary War.
Hall was also instrumental in the founding of the University of Georgia.
He was elected governor in 1783, and focused on important issues like rebuilding Georgia’s economy and dealing with Loyalists and American Indians.
After the American Revolution, Hall returned to his medical practice.
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Road to Revolution CLOZE Notes 6