1. The Road To Revolution 1763-1775
Pageant Chapter 7

2. 1. Intro. To The Revolutionary Period
They were idealists, explorers and risk takers. They simply had grown accustomed to life without a king.

3. 2a., b. Mercantilism
a. Exporting more than you import means you are selling more than you are buying – making $$$.
b. Colonies sending raw materials means less reliance on a foreign country for these goods.

4. The Original

5. 2c. Mercantilism The Navigation Laws (Acts) of 1650
1) All colonial trade must be transported in British vessels ONLY.
2) Colonial merchants MUST ship certain products, mainly tobacco, to Britain ONLY.

6. 2d. Mercantilism Negative Aspects of the Navigation Laws
A) The Navigation Laws caused a currency shortage in the colonies, because the Colonists bought more from Britain than they sold.
Positive Aspects of the Navigation Laws
A) The British paid colonial merchants well for producing much needed raw materials.
B) The colonists benefited from the protection of the world’s most powerful army without a cost

7. 3a. Stamp Tax Uproar New taxes were passed on the colonies after 1763.
Britain was 140 million pounds in debt from the French-Indian War
The Stamp Tax (Act) – 1765; passed by British Prime Minister George Grenville.
The British felt the colonists should pay for the protection and care they are provided with.
Why were the colonists so upset?
1) No American colonists had seats in Parliament – taxation w/o representation.
2) Americans felt their basic rights to property were being violated.
3) Violation of the taxes meant being tried in admiralty courts, where there is no trial by jury and the burden of proof is on the defendant.

8. 3c. Stamp Tax Uproar What was the colonial response to the Stamp Act?
1) The formation of the Stamp Act Congress in 1765 – they requested that Britain repeal the Act.
2) The colonists boycotted British products
THE STAMP ACT WAS REPEALED IN 1766…

9. The Worst Job in Colonial America: Stamp Tax Collector

10. King George III

11. 4. Townshend and Tea
1767
New British Prime Minister – Charles Townshend
Raised import taxes on tea, the most popular drink in the colonies
Another uproar
Enter Samuel Adams, and the Committees of Correspondence
C of C was the first effort to link the colonies
Demonstrations ensued
The Boston Tea Party – December 1773

12. Samuel Adams: Founder of the Sons of Liberty

13. The Boston Tea Party

14. 5. Continental Congress of 1774 and Bloodshed
The colonists unite again, in the form of the First Continental Congress
They agreed on a COMPLETE colonial boycott; all 13 colonies
Revolutionaries outnumber Loyalists 5 to 1
They are continuing to unify….
Martial law is enforced in parts of the colonies, so colonial militias in Concord, Mass. begin to stockpile weapons in the case of an armed conflict
Loyalists alert the British, who begin their march on Lexington and Concord, in 1775 where the first shots of the American Revolution are fired.

15. 6. The Power Line-Up Home court advantage
Excellent leadership (George Washington)
Inspiring cause for war
Untrained
Short of food and ammo
No central government to assist them during the war

16. 6. The Power Line-Up Strong, well trained Strong government
Support of Native Americans
Large distance separating them from Britain
Unfamiliar with terrain
Weak leadership