CHAPTER 5
THE ROAD TO REVOLUTION
Embedded Files
OUR AMERICAN IDENTITY
ESSENTIAL CHAPTER QUESTION
ESSENTIAL CHAPTER QUESTION
Why did the colonists decide to break from Britain?
BRITISH CONTROL
BRITISH CONTROL
LIMITS ON FREEDOM | TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION | THE STAMP ACT | BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
After the French and Indian War, the British government enacted laws that restricted some of the colonies’ freedoms.
British attempts to impose taxes and exert greater control over the colonies caused growing anger and resentment among colonists.
An attempt to impose a new type of tax sparked open protests and violent action, which forced the British government to repeal the tax.
“To succeed, jump as quickly at opportunities as you do at conclusions.” —Benjamin Franklin
REBELLION IN THE COLONIES
REBELLION IN THE COLONIES
COLONIAL PROTESTS GROW | THE BOSTON MASSACRE | THE BOSTON TEA PARTY
Britain’s attempt to raise revenue and control the colonies through the Townshend Acts led to protests and violence.
Tensions between the British troops and the colonists in Boston reached a breaking point when some soldiers fired on an angry crowd of citizens.
When Parliament imposed new laws to regulate tea, colonists responded by throwing a cargo of British tea into Boston Harbor.
LEXINGTON AND CONCORD
LEXINGTON AND CONCORD
PREPARING TO FIGHT | THE MIDNIGHT RIDE OF PAUL REVERE | SHOT HEARD ROUND THE WORLD
Britain enacted a series of laws to punish Boston and force the colonies into obedience, but the colonies united to resist the laws.
The British wanted to take control of military supplies in the colonies, but Paul Revere and others warned colonists of the coming attack.
The American Revolution began when Massachusetts militia fought the British forces in the towns of Lexington and Concord.
DECLARING INDEPENDENCE
DECLARING INDEPENDENCE
COLONIAL ARMY FORMS | GEOLOGY SHAPES THE BATTLEFIELD | BREAKING WITH BRITAIN | DRAFTING THE DECLARATION | DECLARATIONS OF FREEDOM
Colonial leaders remained reluctant to fully declare independence, but battles between the British and colonial militias continued to break out.
Throughout history, successful commanders were the ones who understood how to use the local terrain to their advantage. The names of American Revolution battle sites like Brooklyn Heights (New York), Bunker Hill (Massachusetts), and Kings Mountain (South Carolina) are clues to the importance of battlefield geology. Hills, cliffs, bluffs, and other elevated landforms played a key role in the war.
The Second Continental Congress made one last attempt to make peace with Britain, but fighting continued and public opinion moved toward declaring independence.
In 1776, the Continental Congress formally declared the independence of the United States of America from Great Britain.
Beginning in the late-1600s, political thinkers put forth new ideas about natural rights and human equality in books, articles, essays, and pamphlets. These writings set the stage for a revolution that created a nation and transformed the world.
REVIEW
REVIEW
VOCABULARY
VOCABULARY
Boycott - (n.) a form of protest that involves refusing to purchase goods or services
Currency Act - (n.) the British law that regulated paper money in the American colonies
Duty - (n.) a tax on imports
Grievance - (n.) an objection or reason to complain
Militia - (n.) military force made up of local citizens to help protect their town, land, or nation
Proclamation of 1763 - (n.) a law requiring colonists to stay east of a line drawn on a map along the crest of the Appalachian Mountains
Quartering Act - (n.) one of several British laws that required American colonists to provide housing and food for British soldiers stationed in North America
Repeal - (v.) to cancel or nullify, especially a law
Revenue - (n.) income; money that is received
Sons of Liberty - (n.) the group of merchants, shopkeepers, and craftsmen who successfully opposed the Stamp Act by establishing networks to boycott British goods.
Stamp Act - (n.) the British law requiring colonists to purchase a stamp for official documents and published papers
Sugar Act - (n.) the British law that lowered the duty on molasses to cut out smuggling so that the British would get the revenue
Tyranny - (n.) unjust rule by an absolute ruler
Boston Massacre - (n.) the 1779 incident in which British soldiers fired on locals who had been taunting them
Boston Tea Party - (n.) the 1773 incident in which the Sons of Liberty boarded British ships and dumped their cargo in protest of British taxes on the colonists
Committee of Correspondence - (n.) in the Revolutionary era, a group of colonists whos duty it was to spread news about protests against the British
Tea Act - (n.) the British law stating that only the East India Company was allowed to sell tea to the American colonists
Townshend Acts - (n.) a set of British laws that placed duties on tea, glass, paper, lead, and paint; required colonists to purchase from Britain
Writ of Assistance - (n.) a legal document giving authorities the right to enter and search a home or business
First Continental Congress - (n.) the 1774 meeting of representatives from all American colonies to decide on a response to the Intolerable Acts
Intolerable Acts - (n.) the British laws passed to punish the people of Boston after the Boston Tea Party; also called the Coercive Acts
Loyalist - (n.) an American colonist who supported Britain during the American Revolution
Minutemen - (n.) an American colonial militia member who was ready to join in combat at a moment's notice
Patriot - (n.) an American colonist who supported the right of the American colonies to govern themselves
Artillery - (n.) large guns that can fire over a long distance
Continental Army - (n.) the American army formed in 1775 by the Second Continental Congress and led by General George Washington
Declaration of Independence - (n.) the document declaring U.S. independence from Great Britain, adopted July4, 1776
Drumlin - (n.) a smooth-sloped hill made of glacial sediments
Earthwork - (n.) human-made land modifications
Geology - (n.) the study of the processes that shaped Earth's rocks and landforms
Hessian - (n.) German soldiers hired by the British to fight during the American Revolution
Second Continental Congress - (n.) a group of leaders of the American colonies who met to address the problem of British tyranny, declared independence in 1776, and led the United States through the American Revolution
Terrain - (n.) the physical features of the land
Unalienable Right - (n.) a right that cannot be taken away
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