1.  Please take out your folders.  Bellwork: Friday  Objective: Analyze the causes and effects of the American Revolution.  Activity: For today’s bell work, write Enlightenment Essay Outline.  I learned…  You have 10 minutes to complete this outline and have it stapled and turned in!

2. 1775-1783

3.  The American Revolution occurred between 1775 and 1783. The conflict arose from growing tensions between residents of Great Britain’s 13 North American colonies and the colonial government, which represented the British crown.

4.  Also known as the Seven Years War, this war was fought over conflicting territorial claims between the French and British in the Ohio River Valley. The British victory resulted in virtual expulsion of the French in N. America, and the rationalization of taxing the Americans to recoup losses.

5.  The 1765 Stamp Act required colonists to pay a tax (in the form of a stamp) and printed documents, licenses, and other goods. Colonists rebelled and terrorized British tax collectors.

6.  The Townshed Act of 1767 authorized Parliament to issue taxes on in demand imports such as glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea. British soldiers had to be brought into Boston to prevent an uprising.

7.  Tension over the presence of British troops in Boston led to the Boston Massacre, the first episode which resulted in the loss of life. Four Bostonians were killed when Redcoats fired into an angry mob.

8.  Angry Bostonians known as the Sons of Liberty boarded a British tea vessel dressed as Indians and dumped all of its tea into Boston Harbor in protest of the Tea tax. This event resulted in the Intolerable Acts.

9.  With war looming, the Continental Congress was formed for the purposes of drawing consensus within the colonies for action against the growing threat of British occupation.

10.  Common Sense, one of the most influential pamphlets in American history galvanized the American public to support the Revolution and condemn the monarchy in England.

11.  In 1778, France joined the revolution on the side of the Colonists, making it an international war.  The British surrendered in Virginia in 1779, but fighting wouldn’t officially stop for four more years!

12.  The purpose of this iconic American document was to tell the world why America was breaking away from British rule.

13.  This document outlined the terms of the British surrender in 1783. Its ratification officially ended the Revolution, making America a free country.

14.  America’s first attempt at organized government was the ill-conceived Articles of Confederation. This government gave new “states” too much power and was insufficient as a means of governing a nation.

15.  The 1787 Constitutional Convention resulted in the elimination of the Articles of Confederation and the formation f a new, more effective government and constitution.

16.  The Federalist Papers were a series of essays written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison, which outlined reasons why the states should ratify the Constitution.

17.  Although many legislators believed a Bill of Rights was not necessary as part of the Constitution, it was nevertheless included and is the first ten amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

18.  Foreign policy issues, newspaper wars, and partisan politics threatened to destroy the new nation in its infancy.