1. Revolutionary War Causes

2. Major Causes The French and Indian War The Sugar Act The Stamp Act
The Revolution wasn’t an impulsive act that just happened overnight. There are multiple historical events leading up to the fighting of the Revolution. The major causes in chronological order are the French and Indian War, the Sugar Act, and the Stamp Act.

3. Rivalry between the French and British Who will control North America?
The French and Indian War—1754
Rivalry between the French and British
Who will control North America?
British, colonists, and Native American allies fought French and Native American allies
Two European nations, France and Great Britain, were fighting over who got custody and control of North America. The colonists and some Native Americans from the Iroquois Confederacy were allied with the British against the French and other Native Americans from the Algonquin and Huron tribes.

4. Treaty of Paris (1763) Ends French and Indian War
Gives Britain control of all territory east of the Mississippi River & Canada
Mississippi River was to be open for trade

5. The king says you have to come back!
Proclamation of 1763
Banned colonization west of Appalachian Mountains
Those who already lived there must move east
The king says you have to come back!

7. The Sugar Act - 1764 First attempt to raise income from the Colonies
Duty on sugar and molasses not obtained from Britain
Smuggling cases tried in Great Britain
Making colonists purchase British-made goods instead of products from the French West Indies was Great Britain’s first plan to regain lost monies. Great Britain passed the Sugar Act, which included a tax on all non-British imports, to strongly encourage colonists to “buy British.” This act was also an attempt to regulate American smuggling. The Act called for a tax of threepence on every gallon of molasses, taxed wine and other goods, and provided for strict enforcement.

8. The Stamp Act—1765 Official government stamp required
First internal tax paying for British protection
The colonists hated the Stamp Act. It deeply impacted and infuriated American lawyers who dealt with legal documents. Many of these lawyers, including Sam and John Adams, were vital contributors to the Revolutionary Movement.

9. More Major Causes The Townshend Acts Boston Massacre Boston Tea Party
The Intolerable Acts
Great Britain didn’t stop there. The British continued to pass a series of laws to restrict the colonies and hold them partly responsible, once again, for British protection from possible attacks by the French or native Americans. The Townshend Acts eventually led to the Boston Massacre and Boston Tea Party, but the Intolerable Acts, as the colonists nicknamed them, prompted the large-scale revolt by outraged colonists against Great Britain’s King George III.

10. The Townshend Acts—1767
Import duties on tea, lead, glass, and paint colors
Money used to pay royal governors
“No taxation without representation”
The Townshend Acts, or duties, were the last straw. They were an attempt to get Americans to pay extra taxes on a variety of items most often used in the Colonies, such as tea, red and white lead (paint pigments), glass and paint tints. The money raised by taxation was used to pay royal governors in Great Britain and the colonists had no official representation within the government. “No taxation without representation” became a rallying cry for American revolutionaries.
Townshend

11. Boston Diary
“Dined with three hundred and fifty Sons of Liberty, at Robinson’s, the Sign of Liberty Tree in Dorchester…. To the Honour of the Sons, I did not see one Person intoxicated, or near it.”
—John Adams (1769)
This diary excerpt shows the seriousness of the colonists. Listen.

12. Boston Massacre—1770 Crowd of colonists threaten British soldiers
British open fire killing five Americans
Parliament canceled the Townshend duties
It’s hard to believe, but a snowball fight led to the very first casualties of the War. It took place, in the center of Boston, five years before the first actual battle. Americans were throwing snowballs at British sentries. One British soldier fell on ice, causing his rifle to discharge. This accidental firing led to the historical Boston Massacre in which five colonists were killed. Crispus Attucks was the person of color casualty of the Revolutionary War. Parliament canceled the Townshend duties, all except for the tea tax, shortly after.

13. Boston Tea Party—1773
British sold tea even more cheaply than smuggled tea
Colonists dressed up as Mohawks
Colonists boarded tea ships
Tea was dumped overboard
Tea, along with beer, was the favorite drink in the Colonies. When the British undersold smuggled tea, thus threatening American trade, the Sons of Liberty, an organization of colonists ready for revolution against Great Britain’s king, had a “tea party” at Boston Harbor. The group disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians, crept onto the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver, and dumped 342 crates of tea into the Boston Harbor water. Mixed reaction met the event, and some colonists, including Ben Franklin, thought the tea should be paid for. Many colonists promised to change their drinking habits to something other than British tea, but that movement was short-lived.

14. Tea Party Diary
“Last Night 3 Cargoes of Bohea Tea were emptied into the sea. This Morning, a Man of War sails. This is the most magnificent Movement of all.”
—John Adams (1773)
This piece from Adams’ diary shows how excited the colonists were to strike out against the British.

15. The Intolerable Acts—1774 Closed the Port of Boston
American town meetings banned
British officials in trouble sent to Great Britain for trial
The British had to retaliate to save face. They couldn’t let this act go unpunished. They responded to the Tea Party by toughening their stand against the Colonies, passing a series of “Intolerable Acts,” which restricted the Colonies in numerous ways, including closing the Port of Boston (essential to the colonists for importing and exporting goods), banning colonists from holding town meetings, and having British officials who had committed crimes sent from the colonies to Great Britain for trial, where they were rarely prosecuted.

16. First Continental Congress
56 Delegates
Included George Washington, Patrick Henry and Sam Adams
Direct response to Intolerable Acts
Met in Philadelphia – 1774
Fifty-six colonial leaders, including George Washington, Patrick Henry, and Sam Adams, decided to figure out what course of action to take after the Intolerable Acts were passed. They met in Philadelphia in 1774 and became known as the First Continental Congress.

17. Colonists Agreed To: Boycott British goods
Arm themselves and form militias
Appeal to the king
The First Continental Congress agreed to the following measures to let Great Britain know they meant business: boycott British goods, arm themselves, and form trained militias, and appeal directly to King George III.

18. King George III Refused To:
Allow American colonist representation in Parliament
No response to colonists’ complaints and official grievances
The king seemed to be too dignified and important to be bothered with trivial demands by the menial colonists. King George III, the leader of Great Britain, continued to be bothered by the rebels in the 13 colonies. He refused to allow for colonist representation in Parliament. He did nothing to pacify the American colonists and continued to disregard their requests.
King George III