1. The Road to the Revolution
British flag

2. THINK ABOUT THIS?
The King of England started to tax the colonists for different reasons.
The colonists didn’t want to pay the taxes
WHAT IS A TAX?
A fee imposed by the government people MUST pay.

3. The Colonies & Britain Grow Apart
During the French & Indian War, colonies & Britain fought side by side.
Proclamation of 1763
no colonists could settle west of the Appalachian Mountains
Proclamation Line
ORV

4. King George III
King George III, the British King during the Revolutionary War
wanted to enforce the Proclamation so he sent 10,000 British troops into the colonies.

5. Quartering Act & Sugar Act
1765 Parliament passed the Quartering Act
This required colonist to house, feed, & provide supplies for British soldiers
1764 Parliament passed the Sugar Act
This put a tax on sugar & molasses brought into America (used to cook)
WHY?
Britain had a large debt from the French & Indian War and needed $$$$.

6. Taxation Without Representation
Many colonists claimed Parliament (British government) had no right to tax the colonists without asking permission.
Colonists were not represented in Parliament.
“No Taxation Without Representation!”

7. Stamp Act 1765 Parliament passed the Stamp Act
all legal & commercial documents must have an official stamp showing a tax had been paid on the document
Ex: newspapers, diplomas, contracts, playing cards
Colonial merchants organized a boycott of British goods as a result of the Stamp Act.
Boycott is a refusal to buy goods

8. Sons of Liberty / Townshend Acts
Many colonists formed secret societies to oppose British rule.
Sons of Liberty
staged protests against the acts
Samuel Adams was their leader
1767 the Townshend Acts passed
placed taxes on goods the colonists used daily
glass, paper, paint, lead and tea

9. Boston Massacre
In 1770
British soldiers and colonists began shouting insults, then throwing snowballs at each other
A fight broke out and British soldiers fired
5 Americans died
Crispus Attucks

10. The Boston Massacre
Crispus Attucks?

11. Tea Act 1773 Parliament passed Tea Act
A tax put on tea brought into the colonies
Samuel Adams began to form committees of correspondence
groups who exchanged letters and information on colonial affairs

12. Boston Tea Party
As a result of the Tea Act, colonists dressed up to look like Mohawk Indians
They boarded British ships carrying goods into the Boston Harbor
dumped only the tea from the ships into the Boston Harbor

13. The Boston Tea Party

14. Intolerable Acts A series of laws passed by Parliament
Closed the port of Boston
Made town meetings illegal
Had to house British troops
British officials could go to Britain to go on trial

15. First Continental Congress
Delegates (members) from all colonies met in Philadelphia, Penn
First Continental Congress
Agreed to begin training troops for war
Wanted to fight for colonists rights & independence
Banned trade with Britain

16. TO ARMS!! By the end of 1774, colonists began to prepare for a war
Militia – force of armed civilians ready to fight for their country.
Minutemen – civilian men ready to
act at a minute’s warning
Redcoats – nickname for British
soldiers

17. Paul Revere Paul Revere British troops
rode to Lexington and Concord (Massachusetts)
British troops
were going to attack militia and steal artillery
wanted to capture Hancock and Adams
“The British are coming, the British are coming!!”

18. Paul Revere’s Ride

19. Lexington and Concord British troops found about 70 minutemen waiting.
Shots were fired…the war had begun
‘the shot heard round the world’
the first battles of the Revolutionary War

20. Patriots and Loyalists
Those who supported the British in the war were called Loyalists.
Those who supported the colonists (rebels) in the war were called Patriots.

21. The Continental Army George Washington
The Continental Army began to form
army of colonists fighting for independence
Over 20,000 militiamen showed up in Boston
George Washington
Commanding General

22. Battle of Bunker Hill
British soldiers forced the militia off the hill in a very bloody battle
1,000 British killed or wounded
400 militiamen killed
British redcoats won this battle
“Don’t fire ‘til you see the whites of their eyes!”

23. Thomas Paine Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet called Common Sense
a complete break away from England was necessary
sold 120,000 in 3 months

24. Let’s Declare Independence!
A group was chosen to draft a document called the Declaration of Independence
On July 4, 1776 (Independence Day) Congress adopted
Thomas Jefferson
wrote in 17 days

25. Declaration of Independence
What’s in the Declaration?
unalienable rights
Reasons for separating from Britain
Declared colonies to be free and independent states

26. Unalienable Rights Unalienable right
a right that cannot be taken away
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

27. The Road to the Revolution
The Proclamation of 1763
Townshend Acts
1767
Stamp Act
1765
Boston Tea Party
1773
Boston Massacre
1770
Tea Act
1773
Battles of Lexington & Concord
1775
Intolerable Acts
1774
First Continental Congress
1774
Declaration of Independence written
1776
Revolutionary War begins
1775