Events leading up to American Revolution

Events leading up to American Revolution 

To raise money, Parliament passed the Stamp Act in 1765. This law required the purchase of tax stamps to buy paper. The Colonists were outraged. After years of "Salutary Neglect"wherein Colonial taxes were not collected by the British, the new policy was unwelcome.

The Colonists had always considered themselves Englishmen. Among the rights granted to all Englishmen was a voice in Parliament -- something they didn't have. With the Stamp Act, "Taxation without representation is tyranny," became a battle cry. Rioting, rhetoric, and the calling of the Stamp Act Congress quickly led England the repeal the Stamp Act. But many new taxation measures, such as the Sugar Act and Townshend Acts followed. The Americans reacted by forming organized political groups such as Committees of Correspondence and the Sons of Liberty.

The people of Boston were most outspoken and violent in their reaction to taxes. They threatened and harmed British customs officials trying to collect taxes. So, the British quartered troops in Boston to protect their officials. In 1770, the Boston Massacre occurred as British troops fired into a group of protesters, killing five of them. This was the first blood.

In 1773, with the issuance of the Tea Act, the East India Company was granted a virtual monopoly on the importation of tea. In protest, a group of Boston citizens disguised as Mohawk Indians boarded a ship and dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston harbor. This was known as the Boston Tea Party.

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1.What caused Americans to rebel against the British? and Why...? 

2. What did American colonists mean by “No taxation without representation”?

The French and Indian War

The French and Indian War 

In the middle of the 18th century (1700's), the British and the French were both trying to establish positions in the Ohio valley, including western Pennsylvania. colonial extension of the Seven Years War that ravaged Europe from 1756 to 1763, was the bloodiest American war in the 18th century.    Bear in mind that the British and French had been enemies for centuries in Europe, and had fought several wars.

Before long, British and French forces clashed over their attempts to gain control of this territory by establishing forts in the area.  Indian tribes who were unhappy with the British efforts to expand westward joined with the French.  There were minor conflicts for several years in the Ohio valley as well as further north into the Great Lakes and Canada before the war was officially declared in 1756.  

The turning point of the war was in 1759 when the French surrendered their garrison in the city of Quebec.  By the end of 1760, the British had gained control of the whole area.

This was confirmed with the Treaty of Paris in 1763, which gave all of North America east of the Mississippi River -- other than New Orleans -- to the British.

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1. Why would it have been difficult to fight, how different were the fighting styles of both?

2. What would the United States first president have to do with this conflict?

3. What do you feel is the reasons for the cause of the war? Please explain why!