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The Great Awakening
The Great Awakening was an uonrganized and widespread movement of sermons and church meetings, usually held in an open field. It took place in all of the 13 colonies from Georgia to New England, during the 1730s and 1740s. The Great Awakening began because the religious church leaders felt that the colonists' religious dedication was lacking. It soon impacted the religious, political, and social lives among the colonists. -
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It affected the religious feelings of the colonists, specifically women and slaves, to forgive their sins and gave them hope. It changed the social and political lives of the colonists, it built a bridge betweeen the differences of the colonies and they soon became socially communicated towards political decisions. It soon even encouraged the colonists to demand more political equality. -
French and Indian War
The war was the product of an imperial struggle, a clash between the French and English over colonial territory and wealth. The British wanted to settle in the Ohio River Valley and to trade with the Native Americans who lived their, the French however wanted to protect their fur trade with the Indians. In 1754, George Washington led his troops to fight the French, however he was defeated, which put Great Britian in debt. This caused the King to establish the Proclaimation fo 1763. -
Proclaimation of 1763
The Proclaimation of 1763 was an event caused by the British's fear of more fighting and lives lost, as the colonists continued to move into the Indian territory(Pontiac's Rebellion) caused the British's government great concern too. The Proclaimation ordered colonists, who lived on the Ohio River to move and banned any colonial settlement west of the Appalachians. the colonists however, disagreed. They felt that the British should allow to colonies to expand. -
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This document caused much rebellion and showed the disagreements of Great Britian and the colonies. The document eventually even led to more taxing acts and war -
Sugar Act
The Sugar Act was passed in 1764, to raise money for the army. This tax was required on imported sugar, molasses, certain wines, coffee, pimiento, cambric and printed cunfair for business, some even believed that the tax was violated their rights. James Otis and Samuel Adams created the slogan " no taxtation without representation. The colonists soon boycotted, which hurt the British economy, which forced them to end the tax. This eventually led to the stamp act and rebellion. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act took place after the Sugar Act ended. The Prime minister had to pass the Stamp Act when the colonists refused to come up with a better plan to pay for military expenses. The tax required the colonists' to pay for a stamp or seal, whenever they purchased a newspaper, pamphlets, legal documents, licenses, licenses, and even playing cards. The proceeds were sent straight to the British government, whom felt it was the most equal system. -
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However, the colonists disagreed, they felt that it was unecessary to pay taxes on every day items. The colonists soon began protests from New England to Georgia. The tax was soon ended in 1766 and eventually led to the Townshend Acts. -
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts were proposed by Charles Townshend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Townshend Acts were 5 laws and their purpose were to,
- to pay the salaries of governors and judges, so that they can be independent on colonial rule.
-to create a new enforcing compliance with trade regulations.
- to punish New York's province for rebellion against the Quartering Act of 1765.
- to establish that Parliament had the right to tax the colonies. -
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The colonists resisted the acts, which led to the Boston Massacre in 1770. This event shows how the colonies and British troops settled their differences with rebellion and eventually fighting. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre occured when the British troops were attempting to enforce Parliamentary legislation. The colonists disagreed and performed acts of rebellion. They harassed and assaulted a sentry and soon a small company of soilders. The troops soon took action and fired shots, that were not ordered, killing five people and injuring others. At Castle Island, 8 soilders were charged with murder, 2 convicted of man- slaughter, and 6 were aquitted by the defending lawyer John Adams. -
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The Boston Massacre drew attention to the issues between the colonists and the British style of rule, and colonial sentiment was turned against King George III. Which eventually led to the American Revolutionary War. -
Tea Act
The Tea Act was established by the Parliament of Great Britian, in hope to reduce the tea surplus of the British East Indlia Company. The Tea Act allowed the British East India Company to sell tea directly to the colonists. Many colonial merchants and smugglers feared that the company's cheap tea would put them out of business. The colonists harassed the company however, many of the colonists disguised in the Boston Tea Party, which later caused the beginning of the Intolerable Acts. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was an event that was caused by the Great Britian's Tea Act in 1770. The Boston Tea Party was caused by the colonists whom thought the act was a bribery to get them to pay taxes. So the colonists boarded the ships, some were disguised as Indians, anchored in harbor, and dumped 342 chests of the East India Company's tea overboard. The Parliament was furious and decided to punish Massachusetts for their resistance to the tea act., by passing the Intolerable Acts in 1774. -
Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts occured after The Boston Tea Party, due to Parliament's frustration with the colonists' rebellion to the taxing acts. The Intolerable acts consisted of,
-Boston Port Bill, It closed Boston Harbor to everything but British ships.
-The Quartering Act .The King sent out British troops that the colonists were forced to house and feed. If they refused they wer shot immediately.
- The Administration of Justice Act.British Officials could not be tried in colonial courts for crimes. -
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-Massachusetts Government Act.This bill effectively annulled the charter of the colonies, giving the British Governor complete control of the town meetings.
-Quebec Act. This bill extended the Canadian borders to cut off the western colonies of Connecticut, Massachusettes and Virginia.
t was an important factor that contributed to the American Revolution because the colonists felt the acts violated their rights. -
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In order to resolve the differences brought about by the Intolerable Acts, the colonists called the First Continental Congress (1774). Representatives from 12 of the 13 colonies (Georgia declined to participate) Samuel Adams and his cousin John Adams called for a boycott against British goods and the training of local militia to resist British troops. This eventually led to the Battle of Lexington and Concord in 1775. -
Battle of Lexington and Concord
The Battle took place in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy (present-day Arlington), and Cambridge, near Boston. Before the Battle of Lexington and Concord, British troops were sent to Concord to capture John Hancock and Samuel Adams, but both men had been warned about the British attack. The night of April 18th, Paul Revere rode through Concord warning everybody about the British attack. -
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The Battles of Lexington and Concord was between the Province of Massachusetts and Great Britian. It was a battle that took many lives. By the end of the day, British troops had lost 273 soldiers, while the Colonists lost only 94 men. The Battle of Bunker Hill took place after this battle in June, 1775. The Battle of Lexington and Concord was a memorable battle because, it was the beginning of the Revolutionary War. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775. It was between Great Britian and the U.S. colonies in Charlestown, Massachusetts. It was also refered to as the " Battle of Breed's Hill". The British won with the result of 800 wounded men and 226 men killed during battle. The battle is seen as an example of a Prrhic Victory for the British. The Colonial forces retreated and suffered few casualties. This battle shows how the forces were willing to stand up to the British army in a battle. -
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Even though the British had won the battle, it was a short lived victory since the colonists took control of the hill again, but this time with more soldiers to defend it. The Battle of Bunker Hill was important because it was the first battle of the Revolutionary War. A year after the battle, Thomas Paine published " Common Sense", which urged seperation from Great Britian. -
Common Sense
"Common Sense" , was a forty-seven page pamphlet that urged the seperation of the colonies from Great Britian. It was anomously published by Thomas Paine, whom sold 500,000 copies. The pamphlet argued that the citizens should make the laws, instead of the kings or queens. It created a strong case for economic freedom and for self defense. It also was strongly against tyranny, the abuse of government power. It was written by a common many for the common people. -
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Eventually, some of the Continental Congress members felt it was time to make independence real. Thomas Paine's booklet soon had a major influence on Thomas Jefferson in his writing of the Declaration of Independence. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a document written by Thomas Jefferson that stated that the 13 colonies are going to seperate from the English and why. The document stated that we are put on earth by God, with equal rights, that all men are created equal and that we have unalienable rights that cannot be taken away from us, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. A government is established to make decisions by the people for the people in a safe and non- chaotic matter. -
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The declaration also consisted of the peoples rights in a government and listed the grevences of Parliament's abuse of power. The Declaration declared the 13 English colonies in North America "free and independent states", no longer under the rule of Britain and its king. -
Battle of Saratoga
The battle of Saratoga was part of the American Revolutionary war. The Battle of Saratoga started because the British troops came down from Canada and tried to take over New England and the Americans were forced to defend New England. The British's plan failed however and were forced to surrender. France, whom was secretly supplying the American's weapons, was pleased to see the British lose.The Spanish were also aiding the Americans too, The French and the Spanish soon allied in 1779. -
Battle of Yorktown
The Battle of Yorktown took place in Virginia, where the French and U.S. forces fought the Great Britian troops. The Battle occured due to the British wanting to take over the southernn colonies, during the Revolutionary War. The U.S. and the French together, had a large army compared to the British. The French allies sailed to Chesapeake Bay, to challenge the British navy, while the Americans fought on foot. The British General Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781, The war was over. -
Treaty of Paris
In 1781 Congress began to attempt peace noegotiations with the British. The Congress consisted of John Jay, John Adams, Henry Laurens, and Benjamin Franklin. It took two years however, to make a treaty, which laid out the new borders of the Great Lakes to the North and the Mississippi River to the West. The British soon accepted that the Americans were able to settle and trade, west of the 13 colonies. The treaty declared freedom and independence of the nations.
