3.  In 1760 King George III took the throne  At this time most colonists had no thoughts of revolution or independence  They still thought of themselves as loyal subjects of the British king But….  They had been in the colonies for nearly 150 years and thought of themselves as Virginians or Pennsylvanians

4. A way for the colonists to help pay for the huge war debt from French and Indian War Need to pay for official “stamp” for wills, deeds, newspapers, etc Colonial lawyers argued that it violated the colonists’ natural rights Tax Stamp, British Revenue 1765-1766 Massachusetts Historical Society Collection

5. The colonists had never paid taxes directly to Britain before In Britain citizens consented to taxes via representatives in Parliament The colonists had no such representatives Parliament repealed the Stamp Act in 1766 after many angry protests and a boycott of British manufactured goods

6. The Boston Tea Party  To protest an import tax on tea  1773 in the Boston Harbor, orchestrated by Samuel Adams  The raiders dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor  King George ordered the British navy to close the port of Boston and troops occupied the city

7. September 1774 in Philadelphia Representatives from all 13 colonies, except Georgia Protested treatment of Boston Basically ignored by King George The members, along with Georgia, then formed the Second Continental Congress to debate their next move.

8. First shots fired on village green at Lexington Fighting spread to nearby Concord Second Continental Congress voted to raise an army The American Revolution had begun

10. Though some colonists wanted to remain part of Great Britain, many favored independence People like John Adams, Patrick Henry, and Benjamin Franklin used enlightenment ideas to justify fighting for independence They stated that King George broke the “social contract” by not granting the colonists the same political rights as citizens of Great Britain

11. Written by Thomas Jefferson in July 1776 Firmly based on Enlightenment ideas, especially John Locke, Jefferson argued for natural rights Included a long list of King George III’s abuses …“are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown.”

12. Cons for colonists Poorly trained Poorly equipped The sheer difference in number of soldiers available They faced one of the most well trained forces from one of the most powerful countries in the world at the time Strong motivation Colonists knew the lay of the land Long distance war very expensive King Louis XVI was eager to weaken Britain and helped the colonists Pros for colonists

13. Combined forces of 9500 Americans and 7800 French soldiers trapped the British at Yorktown, VA Lord Cornwallis surrendered

14. 1. Take out a piece of paper and fold it into four squares 2. Label each square with one of the following phrases: I see…, I think…, I feel…, I wonder… 3. Fill in each box in regards to the picture to your left, then share it with the person next to you