Revolutionary War Pre 1776

The Revolutionary war was the result of the American political revolution. The colonists argued that they were illegally being taxed without being represented in Parliament. British Parliament voted and passed laws affecting the American Colonists without the colonists having any representation in their government. Great Britain was over taxing American colonist to pay for the French and Indian war. The cost of the French and Indian war (1754-1763) and of controlling the newly acquired territories by England was high. The British looked to the colonies to help pay those costs. That began the long spiral of events that led to the Revolution and the newly formed First Continental Congress, which was made up of representatives from twelve of the colonies. The colonists realized that they would be stronger against Britain if they unified.

Ben Franklin's famous cartoon, encouraging the colonies the unify as together they will be strong, May 9, 1754.

One of the first acts that outraged the colonists was the Sugar Act of 1764 which taxed colonists on sugar, molasses and other things the colonists imported. This prompted James Otis to remark the famous saying "taxation without representation is tyranny." This evolved into the famous battle cry "No taxation without representation." Another act that outraged the colonists was The Quartering Act of 1766, it impeded on the rights of the colonists. This act entitled any British soldier to stay in any private home that it wanted in the colony. The families living there would have to house and feed the British soldiers. The colonists had a problem with being unfairly taxed by Britain and the Stamp Act of 1765 taxed colonists on all paper used for legal documents and commercial documents. such as contracts, newspapers, even playing cards. Colonists formed the Stamp Act Congress in New York City to decide what they should so about the new and excessive taxes. Colonists began to ban British goods. The Sons of Liberty, lead by Samuel Adams burned any stamped paper in protest of the tax. The Daughters of Liberty produced items that the colonists boycotted from the British. Great Britain later repealed the Stamp Act in 1766, however instituted another act, taxing the Colonists; the Townshend Acts of 1767. This act taxed British imports, but also gave the British military the authority to search private homes and businesses for smuggled imports. The colonists continued to boycott and protest. Eventually the boycotts and protests boiled over to the Boston Massacre in 1770. British troops fired on the protesting colonists, killing five colonists and injuring several others. This event caused the British to repeal the Townshend Acts in 1970, but later instituted the Tea Act of 1773. Which forced the colonists to buy all their tea from Great Britain. The Colonists rejected paying high taxes for British goods. In 1773 the colonists destroying shiploads of British tea during what is known as the Boston Tea Party 0f 1773. Britain immediately ceased Massachusetts self government and sent British military to rule over Massachusetts. Britain responded with the Coercive Acts, which the colonists referred to as the Intolerable Acts. The First Continental Congress met and decided to ban all trade until the acts were lifted. The First Continental Congress also decided that there should be a militia in all the colonies, that could be ready to fight in a minutes time.

1846 lithograph by Nathaniel Currier, entitled "The Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor"; it has not yet become called the "Boston Tea Party."

Militias began training and a group of colonists went to Concord Massachusetts to collect gun powder and munitions. When the British heard news of this, British troops were sent to intervene. They arrived in Lexington on April 19, 1775. The British told the colonists to disperse. The minutemen were told not to fire unless fired at first. The first shot was fired at Lexington, "the shot heard round the world at the Battle of Lexington and Concord 1775, the first battle of the American Revolution." The Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia in response to the battle. The congress voted to go to war. George Washington was appointed as commander-in-chief. There were still some colonists who did not want to declare independence. In January 1776, Thomas Paine's pamphlet Common Sense came out and said how it did not benefit the colonies to under British control and that it was common sense that the colonies become independent. This argument convinced many people. A declaration committee was formed in June of 1776. Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence. Ben Franklin and John Adams made some minor edits to Jefferson's draft and the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

Scene at Lexington, first shot of the war.

Declaration of Independence with signatures.

Annotated Bibliography

This is a great link for kids to review primary sources of the Revolutionary war. Children can examine the actual documents from the American Revolution

http://www.historycentral.com/documents/Revolt.html

This is an excellent interactive source for students, especially the visual learner. Students can watch the movie and then participate in the games and activities on the smart board pertaining to the causes of the American Revolution.

http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/ushistory/causesoftheamericanrevolution/

Excellent interactive source for students learning about the Declaration of Independence.

http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/ushistory/declarationofindependence/

This is a link to a page that clearly outlines and dates the causes of the Revolutionary War. Each cause links to an overview of that event.

http://www.historycentral.com/Revolt/causes.html

Questions for Assessment

Q) What did Ben Franklin mean by his cartoon, of the segmented snake?

A) Response is open ended, but should be along the lines that the colonies are stronger when they work together against Britain.

Q) What were the colonists upset about, why would they want to become independent?

A) The colonists did not have a say in how they were governed. The colonists felt that were unfairly taxed without being represented in British government.

Q) What is the shot heard round the world?

A) The first shot fired at the Lexington, the first battle of the American Revolution.

Q) Name and explain one act the colonist found unfair?

A) Stamp Act, Townshend Act, Tea Act, Quartering Act, ect. Rights of the colonists were impeded and taxes were imposed.