Causes of the American Revolution 2025 updated

Causes of the American Revolution

by Ray Fortune

​Mercantilism

• ​Colonies didn’t like being told who they had to do business with

​Lack of Representation

• ​Colonies didn’t like being told who they had to do business with

Open Ended

What is mercantilism?

Open Ended

How do you think mercantilism contributed to tension between the colonies and Great Britain?

​French & Indian War = New Taxes

• ​Britain was in debt because of the war

  Began taxing the colonists without asking to help pay off the debt

  Colonists adopted the slogan, “No taxation without representation!” as their rally cry.

​Proclamation of 1763

• Native Americans had to stay on one side of the Appalachians; the colonists had to stay on the other side to prevent fighting

• Britain left 10,000 soldiers in the colonies to enforce it.

• Colonists were angry about being told where they could & couldn’t go

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Multiple Choice

After the French and Indian War, what became the western border of the 13 colonies?

• Appalachian Mountains

• Mississippi River

• Ohio River

• Rocky Mountains

Multiple Choice

Colonists objected to the Proclamation of 1763 because they - 

• feared it would provoke attacks by Native Americans

• did not want to share control of the fur trade with France

• resented the limits it imposed on wester expansion

• wanted to be able to trade freely with foreign nations

​Sugar Act - 1764

• lowered tax on molasses to try and stop smuggling between the colonies & the French West Indies.

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• Angry colonists responded by boycotting

​Quartering Act - 1765

• Colonists had to feed,  house, and give British solders what they needed.

​

• Colonists grew angry at the government and soldiers

​Stamp Act - 1765

• ​Taxed paper items like wills, legal documents, & playing cards sold in the colonies

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• Angered colonists

• Sons & Daughters of Liberty organized boycotts

• Stamp Act Congress demanded the repeal of the tax.

• Parliament repealed it.

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​Sons & Daughters of Liberty - 1765

• ​Sons of Liberty - established by Sam Adams & others to organize protests, boycotts, etc. against the Stamp Act & other British actions

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• ​Daughters of Liberty – women who worked to make many things previously imported from

Multiple Choice

Which of the following was not taxed by the British government as part of the Stamp Act?

• legal documents

• playing cards

• wills

• food

​Writs of Assistance

• Customs officers could search ships and buildings w/out warrants

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• Colonists’ privacy & rights were ignored making them angry

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T: time - when do you think this image was created?
A: Action - What is going on in this image?
C: Caption - What words do you see in the image?
O: Objects - What familiar objects or people do you recognize?
S: Summary - What do you think the author of this picture was trying to say?

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T.A.C.O.S

​Boston Massacre - 1770

• ​Riot breaks out in front of the Boston Customs House

  Soldiers open fire, killing five colonists

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• ​Patriots use the Massacre as propaganda to turn people against the British government

• ​Crispus Attucks becomes 1^st casualty of the war

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Poll

After watching the video, who do you think was responsible for the Boston Massacre? Be prepared to explain your answer

• Colonists

• British soldiers

• Both

Open Ended

Who is to blame for the Boston (Bloody) Massacre?

Claim - What is your answer to the question?

Evidence - What can you show to support your claim?

Reasoning - How does your evidence support your claim?

​Boston Tea Party - 1773

• ​Tea Act lowers the price of tea and gave the British East India Company a monopoly on tea.

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• Sons of Liberty boarded British ships in Boston Harbor and throw 340 boxes of tea into the water

​Intolerable Acts (AKA Coercive Acts) - 1774

​Ø Parliament said:

• Colonists had to pay for the destroyed tea

• Closed Boston Harbor

• Military put in charge of Massachusetts

  Legislature & town meetings couldn’t meet

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Ø Colonies sided with Massachusetts

Ø Towns created militias and hid weapons

Fill in the Blanks

Open Ended

As a farmer in the South you have witnessed the events in fall-off Boston.

The time has come now for You to pick a side. Are you going to be a Patriot, Loyalist or Neutral?

You must give two reasons to support your choice.

​Causes of the American Revolution Chronology

• ​Proclamation of 1763 – 1763

• Quartering Act – 1765

• Stamp Act – 1765

• Townshend Act – 1767

• Boston Massacre – 1770

• Boston Tea Party – 1773

• Intolerable Acts – 1774

• First Continental Congress – 1774

• Lexington & Concord - 1774

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Poll

Which side will you choose?

• Patriot

• Neutral

• Loyalist