World History Ch.2 sec.3

1. The American Revolution
Ch.2 section 3

2. Inspired by a belief in natural rights theory,
American colonists rebelled against Britain to
found a new nation.

3. • In theory, the colonies were governed by the British,
but in practice colonial legislatures often acted
independently. (p. 191)
• After the French and Indian War, the British angered
colonists by imposing new taxes to help pay for the
war. (p. 191)
• Drawing on natural rights theory and the ideas of John
Locke, the Declaration of Independence declared the
colonies to be independent of the British Crown. (p. 192)
• Americans won their independence from Britain in 1783 and
later ratified a constitution that clearly spelled out the rights
of individuals and the limits of government. (p. 194)
• Americans struggled to find a balance between individual
freedom and a unified central government. (p. 196)

4. 1. Identify the causes of the American Revolution.
2. Describe the short-term and long-term impact
of the American Revolution.

5. John Hancock, the president of the Second
Continental Congress, was the first to sign the
Declaration of Independence. Hancock
remarked that he wrote his name large enough
for King George to read it without his glasses.
Hancock’s bold signature stands out on the
original document. Eventually 55 delegates
signed the paper announcing the birth of the
United States.

6. I. How the Colonies Learned
Self-Government (page 191)
A. The British colonies in North America were
established to supply raw materials to Britain
and to be a market for British goods.
B. For decades, the colonists—who had
formed 13 legislatures—had operated with
little British interference. There were also
county and local governments.

7. I. How the Colonies Learned
Self-Government (page 191)
Who elected the representatives in the
colonial governments?
White male citizens who owned land elected
colonial representatives.

8. II. British and French Rivalry in
North America (pages 191–192)
A. The French colonies in North America
(Canada and Louisiana) were thinly populated
trading outposts. French settlers would not
move to North America. The 13 British
colonies were thickly populated with about
1.5 million people by 1750. The British
colonies were quite prosperous.
B. The American phase of the Seven Years’ War
(1756–1763) between Britain and France was
called the French and Indian War.

9. II. British and French Rivalry in
North America (pages 191–192)
C. The British and French fought for control of
North America, especially the Ohio River
valley. The French tried to establish forts in
this valley to keep the British settlers from
expanding into new territory. Native
Americans allied with the French because the
French were viewed as traders, not settlers.
D. At first the French were winning, but then
William Pitt the Elder, Britain’s prime
minister, revived Britain’s cause. He
focused the British navy against the French
colonial forces. It defeated the smaller,
weaker French navy.

10. II. British and French Rivalry in
North America (pages 191–192)
E. The British soon scored a series of land
victories in the Great Lakes area and the Ohio
River valley. The French made peace, and the
1763 Treaty of Paris transferred Canada and
all lands east of the Mississippi to Britain.
Spain, an ally of France, transferred Florida to
British control, and France gave Spain its
Louisiana territory.
The Battle of Quebec in 1759 was a
great British victory over the French
in the French and Indian War.

11. II. British and French Rivalry in
North America (pages 191–192)
F. By 1763 Britain was the world’s greatest
colonial power.
G. After the Seven Years’ War, Britain needed
more revenue from the colonies. In 1765
Parliament imposed the Stamp Act. Printed
material such as legal documents and
newspapers had to carry a stamp showing
that a tax had been paid to Britain. After
strong opposition, the act was repealed
in 1766.

12. II. British and French Rivalry in
North America (pages 191–192)
Why did the British defeat of the French navy
turn the tide in Britain’s favor in the land war?
The French were unable to resupply and reinforce
their garrisons.

13. III. The American Revolution (pages 192–194)
A. Prior to the Stamp Act, tensions had been
mounting between Great Britain and the
colonies, mostly over trade restrictions
imposed by Britain.
B. Britain passed the Declaratory Act the same
day they repealed the Stamp Act. The
Declaratory Act led to new taxes and the
undermining of colonial legislatures. The
colonists were outraged, and ―No taxation
without representation‖ became a rallying
cry against the British.

14. III. The American Revolution (pages 192–194)
C. The Tea Act of 1773 led to the Boston Tea
Party, where colonists boarded a British ship
and dumped 342 chests of tea into the
Boston Harbor.
A British cartoonist’s image
of the Boston Tea Party

15. III. The American Revolution (pages 192–194)
D. King George III punished Massachusetts
with the Coercive Acts—renamed the
Intolerable Acts by the colonists. The acts
violated the traditional English rights to a trial
by jury and to not be forced to quarter troops
in one’s home.
E. The First Continental Congress was held in
1774 to discuss the situation with Britain. It
was here that an American identity began to
be forged.

16. III. The American Revolution (pages 192–194)
F. Fighting broke out between the colonists and
the British Redcoats at Lexington and
Concord, Massachusetts in 1775.
G. At the Second Continental Congress, held in
May 1775, a Continental Army commanded by
George Washington was organized.
At the Second
Continental Congress
in Philadelphia, Patriot
leaders called for a
Continental army.

17. III. The American Revolution (pages 192–194)
H. In July 1775, the Second Continental
Congress sent the Olive Branch Petition to
King George III in an attempt to negotiate for
peace and for their rights as English citizens.
King George sent troops to suppress the
colonial rebellion.
I. Loyalist colonists wanted to remain loyal to
the king. Patriots began calling for
independence. Thomas Paine’s pamphlets,
called Common Sense, began circulating.
Paine said King George and Parliament
were acting like tyrants and only full
independence from Britain would secure the
rights of Americans.

18. III. The American Revolution (pages 192–194)
What grievances did the American colonists
have with the British?
Taxes, restrictions on trade, and restrictions on
English citizen’s rights were the main grievances
of the colonists.

19. IV. The Birth of a New Nation (pages 194–195)
A. On July 4, 1776, the
Second Continental
Congress approved the
Declaration of
Independence, written by
Thomas Jefferson. The
Declaration declared the
colonies to be ―free and
independent states
absolved from all Thomas Jefferson
allegiance to the British
crown.‖

20. IV. The Birth of a New Nation (pages 194–195)
B. The Continental Army and the colonies faced
a formidable foe in the British. But they held
several advantages: they had the home
ground advantage, they were fighting for their
freedom, and they had the support of the
French.

21. IV. The Birth of a New Nation (pages 194–195)
C. The war dragged on from 1776 to 1783.
Finally British General Cornwallis surrendered
at Yorktown. The 1783 Treaty of Paris
acknowledged an independent United States
and granted Americans control of territory
stretching to the Mississippi River.
The March to Valley
Forge, 1883 by William
B.T. Trego conveyed
the suffering General
Washington and his
Continental Army
endured during the
brutal winter of 1777 at
their headquarters in
Pennsylvania.

22. IV. The Birth of a New Nation (pages 194–195)
How would America be different now if the
British had won the Revolutionary War?
Answers will vary. Accept relevant, thoughtful
answers.

23. V. Ruling a New Nation (pages 196–197)
A. The 13 former colonies were now states,
having created a new social contract. They
had little interest in forming a country with a
strong central government. Each kept to its
own affairs, as the weak Articles of
Confederation showed. Soon it was clear the
government under the Articles lacked the
power to deal with the new nation’s problems.

24. V. Ruling a New Nation (pages 196–197)
B. In 1787 delegates met to revise the Articles.
That meeting became the Constitutional
Convention. The delegates wrote a plan for
a new national government.
This 1867 painting depicts the signing in Philadelphia of a new plan of
government for the former British colonies—the United States Constitution.

25. V. Ruling a New Nation (pages 196–197)
C. The proposed Constitution created a federal
system. Power is shared between the
national and state governments. The national
(federal) government had the power to levy
taxes, raise an army, regulate trade, and
create a national currency.
D. The federal government was divided into
three branches in a system of checks and
balances. The president (executive) had the
power to execute laws, veto the legislature’s
acts, supervise foreign affairs, and direct
military forces.

26. V. Ruling a New Nation (pages 196–197)
E. The second branch (legislative) consisted of
the Senate, elected by the state legislatures,
and the House of Representatives, elected
directly by the people. The Supreme Court
and other courts made up the third branch
(judicial). The courts were to enforce the
Constitution as the ―supreme law of the land.‖

27. V. Ruling a New Nation (pages 196–197)
F. The promise of a Bill of Rights helped get the
Constitution adopted. These 10 amendments
guaranteed freedom of religion, speech, press,
petition, and assembly. They gave Americans
the right to bear arms and to be protected from
unreasonable search and seizures. They
guaranteed a trial by jury, due process of law,
and the protection of property rights.
G. Many of these rights were derived from the
natural rights proposed by the eighteenth-
century philosophes.

28. V. Ruling a New Nation (pages 196–197)
H. The new American republic was a great
inspiration to the French. The French
Revolution began in 1789—the same year the
American Bill of Rights was proposed.
I. The American Revolution inspired events in
nineteenth-century Latin America and
twentieth-century independence
movements around the world.

29. V. Ruling a New Nation (pages 196–197)
An irony of the American Revolution is that
Founders such as Thomas Jefferson continued
to own slaves, not entirely practicing what they
preached. If a person does not practice what
he or she preaches, is that sufficient reason to
reject the ideas he or she espouses?
Answers will vary. Accept relevant, thoughtful
answers. One good avenue to explore is getting
students to see that people can hold beliefs for
reasons other than the kinds of people they are.
Evidence can be independent of life history.

30. Vocabulary
Match the term on the left with the correct definition.
___
B colony A. the American nation’s first constitution
approved in 1781
___
E Stamp Act
B. a settlement of people living in a new
___
D Declaration of territory, linked with the parent country
Independence by trade and direct government control
___
A Articles of C. the first ten amendments to the
Confederation Constitution
___ federal system D. a document outlining why American
F colonies were free from Britain
___
C Bill of Rights E. required that certain printed material
show proof that a tax had been paid to
Britain
F. a form of government in which power is
shared between the national
government and state governments

31. Reviewing Big Ideas
List the freedoms guaranteed under the
American Bill of Rights.
The freedoms guaranteed under the American
Bill of Rights are freedom of religion, speech,
press, petition, and assembly; to bear arms;
from quartering soldiers; from unreasonable
search and seizure; due process of law; trial by
jury; and from cruel and unusual punishment.

32. Critical Thinking
Analyzing Cause and Effect Why did the
American colonies declare their independence
from the British Empire?
The British Parliament imposed unpopular
taxes on the colonists, which led to widespread
opposition and eventually to fighting.
CA HI 2