By: Cammie Goodman

In the French and Indian War (1754-1763), the British fought the French for
control of territory in North America, called the Ohio River Valley.
• The British saw the Ohio Valley as an area for trade and growth.
• The French saw it as connecting their lands in Canada and Louisiana.
 
In June 1754, colonial leaders met at Albany, New York, to talk about how to deal with the French forces.
• Seven colonies sent delegates, or representatives, including Benjamin Franklin.

• Franklin said that the colonies should unite to fight the French.
• His idea, which became known as the Albany Plan of Union, was not approved. The colonies were not
yet willing to fight as one country.
George Washington led the Virginians. On their way to a French fort, the
Virginians fought some French soldiers.
• Virginians built Fort Necessity.

George Washington and his staff inside fort necessity on the night before he surrendered to the French.
On July 3, 1754, the French and their Native American allies attacked.

• Virginians gave up. This battle turned out to be the start of the French and
Indian War.
 Treaty of Paris
• The French and Indian War ended in 1763 with the Treaty of Paris, which gave
Britain most of Canada, all French lands east of the Mississippi River, and
Spanish Florida.
 French & Indian War

 The British fought the French for control of
territory in North America and won but they
left with a large amount of debt.
 They wanted people of the 13 colonies to
help pay the bills.
 The British charged the colonist in different
ways which upset the colonist.
French and Indian War BrainPop Video
• Many colonists wanted to settle the new land, but it was home to Native Americans.
• King George III issued a proclamation. He hoped to please the Native Americans who had sided
against him during the French and Indian War. He also wanted to avoid sending troops to defend
the colonists on the Native land. People were angry and moved anyways.
• The Proclamation of 1763 said that all lands west of the Appalachian Mountains
belonged to Native Americans. White settlers in those lands were told to leave.
 In 1765, the British Parliament passed the Stamp Act.

 A tax is money that people pay to the

government for services.
 This act was a tax on newspapers, contracts,
pamphlets and court documents—even on
playing cards.
 This made the colonist very angry and they spoke
out.
 2 groups formed: the Sons of Liberty and the Daughters
of Liberty which organized parades to protest the Stamp
Act.
 They also attacked British Tax collectors.
 In 1766, Parliament repealed, or canceled, the Stamp Act. Next year the British tried to tax the colonist
again. Parliament passed the
Townshend Revenue Act.


 This law taxed glass, paint, lead, paper, and tea
and again the colonist grew angry.
 They had to say no in the British decision.
 The cry “No Taxation without representation” was
heard throughout the colonies.
 Colonists were upset that they were being taxed
by the British government, yet they did not have
a say in Parliament.
In 1773, Parliament passed the Tea
Act.



This law was meant to help the British East India Company.
The company had warehouses full of unsold tea.
 This act would allow the company to sell the tea directly to
the colonies at a low price, but with tax included. This made
the colonist very angry because it meant they still would be
paying tax.
 The colonist did not want to be forced to drink tea only from
the British East India Company.
 Businessmen in the 13 colonies were also upset because they
would lose money if the tea was not sold through by them.
Disagreements Grow
In December 1773, The Sons of Liberty
disguised as American Indians, boarded the tea
ships in the Boston Harbor.
• They dumped tons of tea into the water.
• This became known as the Boston Tea Party.
• The British Government was very mad.
In 1774, Parliament passed a new group of laws that the colonist
called the Intolerable Acts.
(Also known as the Coercive Acts).


 A group of laws made to punish the colonist
 One law closed the port of Boston
 A second law said that Massachusetts was no longer allowed to
govern itself.
 British officials accused of crimes could be taken to England to
be tried.
 More British troops were sent to the colonies and the colonist
would have let these British soldiers live in their privately owned
buildings.
Cause of the American Revolution BrainPop Video
The Declaration of Independence
In 1774, colonial leaders met in Philadelphia at the
First Continental Congress.
They sent a petition, or protest letter to Great Britain.
 This reminded the king of the colonists’ basic rights as British
citizens:
 right to life and liberty
 right to assemble, or gather together
 right to trial by jury

It's Too Late To Apologize- Declaration Video

Congress set May 10, 1775, as a deadline for Parliament to
answer.
• Congress then voted to stop most trade with Britain.
• It also asked the colonies to form militias, or armies of
citizens
• Colonists in Massachusetts quickly formed militia units
called Minutemen because they were said to be ready to fight
at a minute’s notice.
 The British Take Action
In April 1775, the first shots of the American Revolution were fired at
Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts.

o In April 1775, General Gage sent over 700 British soldiers to Lexington and Concord.
They planned to arrest the two leaders of the Sons of Liberty and to take the
weapons.
o Paul Revere, another member of the Sons of Liberty, found out
about the plan. He rode to Lexington ahead of the British to
warn Adams, Hancock, and the townspeople.
o John Parker, shouted, “Don´t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have
war, let it begin here.”
o shots rang out, but nobody knows which side fired first
o “The shot heard ´round the world." The fighting that day moved the colonies
closer to becoming the United States of America.
o This was the beginning of a long war called the American Revolution.
o A revolution is sudden, complete change of government.
 The Road to War
The Second Continental Congress
 News of the fighting at
Lexington and Concord spread
through the colonies.

 Colonial leaders called for the

Second Continental Congress
to meet in Philadelphia on May
10, 1775. Its delegates met at
the Pennsylvania State House.
 By June, Congress agreed that
the colonies should prepare for
war.
 Congress formed the Continental Army.
o Army was mostly made up of full-time soldiers.
o George Washington was chosen as the army’s commander in chief,
o To supply the Continental Army, Congress asked each colony to give money to
pay for guns, food, and uniforms.
o Congress also printed its own paper money, which became known as
Continental currency. Congress paid the soldiers in bills called Continentals
 The Battle of Bunker Hill

 By the time George Washington was chosen to lead the new

Continental Army, the first major battle of the Revolutionary
War had already been fought.

 The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775.

 The British won the battle, but they had suffered heavy losses.

 More than 1,000 British soldiers had been killed or wounded and
about 350 colonists had been killed or wounded.
 Trying for Peace
The Olive Branch Petition
o On July 5, 1775, Congress sent
another petition to King George III,
asking for peace.

o By the time the Olive Branch Petition

reached London, The Battle of
Bunker Hill had further angered
British leaders.

o King George III promised to do

whatever was necessary to crush the
colonists´ rebellion.
 Moving Towards Independence

At the 2nd Continental Congress:
 The members appointed a committee of 5 to draft a statement
declaring the independence of the 13 colonies from the British.
 The leader of this group was Thomas Jefferson, a 33 year old
lawyer from Virginia. Jefferson was the main writer of the
document.
 After some debate over the exact wording, the Continental
Congress approved the Declaration of Independence on
July 4, 1776.
 We celebrate this day as America’s birthday.
 The 1 part of the
st

Declaration of Independence:
 were doing what they
 Told the British why the colonists
were doing.
 Jefferson pointed out that all men are created equal and
that they are entitled to rights that can never be given up
or taken away.
 These are the rights to live, to be free and to lead a life
that makes us happy. Jefferson also said that the people
make the laws of their government.
 He said that government has its power through the
consent of the governed.
 The 2 part of the
nd

Declaration:

 Listed all the actions the king
took that the colonist thought
were unfair.

 They blamed him for trying to

establish an “absolute tyranny”
over the colonies.

 Tyranny means being under the

absolute control of a cruel
leader.
 The last part of
the Declaration:
 Explained that the colonist had tried 
peaceful ways to present their point
of view to the British government.
 These efforts had failed and now the
colonies wanted to be a self-
governing people.
 It took courage for the colonial
leaders to sign the Declaration of
Independence. They knew that
signing meant that England would
treat them as traitors. They could
lose their lives if they were caught.
Declaration of Independence BrainPop Video