Causes of American Revolution

Causes of the American War of Independence
The Seven Years’ War 1756-1763

 In the 1750s, Great Britain and France had colonies in North
America.
 The war began over whether the Ohio Valley was part of the
British Empire or French Empire.
 The French moved troops into the Ohio country and built fort
Duquesne on the Ohio River.
 The Seven Years' War was a conflict between France
and Great Britain that began in 1754 as a dispute over
North American land claims in the region around
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This conflict eventually spread
into other parts of world, including Europe, Africa, and
Asia.
 It was over the construction of this fort that the first battle of the war
took place.
 Both sides also allied with several Native American tribes, including the
Shawnee and the Cherokee.
 The French and Indian War ended in February 1763 with the signing of a
treaty of peace. France was forced to give up all of its North American
territory.
 The war was expensive for the British government to fight. In order to
pay for it, they imposed taxes on the American colonies.
Growing Tensions
• King George III of England issued the Proclamation of 1763 which forbade Americans to
settle in the lands west of the Appalachian Mountains.
• Rationale: the British soldiers couldn’t protect the colonists if they moved out there.
• Parliament (British lawmaking body) began to pass laws to tax the colonist in order to pay
for the cost of keeping an army in America.
• The Taxation Acts
• The King of England started taxing the colonists in the form of Taxation Acts in 1764.
• He felt that the colonists should bear the burden of the expense of maintaining the
colonies.
The Sugar, Stamp & Declaratory Acts
• The Sugar Act was the first law passed by the King of England
that over taxed the colonists on goods shipped to the colonies.
• The Stamp Act was another taxation law on the colonists. This
act taxed newspapers, almanacs, legal documents, pamphlets,
dice, and playing cards.
• Stamp Act repealed, but replaced with the Declaratory Act
which said Parliament had the right to make all laws for the
colonies.
Causes of the American War of Independence
 The Stamp Act (March 1765)

 The Townshend Acts (June-July 1767)
 The Boston Massacre (March 1770)
 The Boston Tea Party (December 1773)
 The Coercive Acts (March-June 1774)
 Lexington and Concord (April 1775)
No Taxation without representation
“No Taxation without representation" refers to those taxes
imposed on a population who doesn't have representation in
the government.
Why the American War of Independence began
The Stamp Act (March 1765)

 Tax on newspapers and official documents, as a result,
widespread rioting in America and demands for repeal.
 The Stamp Act was the first tax imposed on the American colonies in 1765.
 Colonists had to pay a tax on printed materials such as newspapers and legal
documents. They were forced to buy paper from Britain that had an official stamp on it
to show the tax had been paid.
 Colonists believed the British government did not have the right to tax them because the
colonies had no representatives in the British government. They had no say on taxes
and laws.
 The Sons of Liberty protested the taxes by threatening tax collectors and burning
stamped paper in the streets. The famous slogan “No taxation without representation”
was shouted in the streets during protests.
 The Stamp Act was repealed in March 1766.
The Townshend Acts (June-July 1767)
The Townshend Acts or Townshend Duties were a series of British acts of

Parliament passed during 1767 and 1768 introducing a series of taxes and
regulations to fund administration of the British colonies in America. They
are named after the Chancellor of the Exchequer who proposed the
programme.
The Boston Massacre (March 1770)
The Boston Massacre was a deadly riot that

occurred on March 5, 1770, on King Street in
Boston. It began as a street fight between
American colonists and a lone British soldier,
but quickly escalated to a chaotic, bloody
slaughter. The conflict energized anti-British
sentiment and paved the way for the American
Revolution.
The Boston Tea Party (December 1773)
 The Boston Tea Party was organized and carried out by a

group of Patriots led by Samuel Adams known as the Sons
of Liberty. (The Sons of Liberty were groups of American colonists who disagreed
with British rule of the 13 North American colonies. Among the members were many
well-known patriots, such as Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Paul Revere. Their
activities helped lead the colonies into the American Revolution)
 It was an act of protest in which a group of 60 American

colonists threw 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor to
agitate against both a tax on tea (which had been an
example of taxation without representation) and the
perceived monopoly of the East India Company.
The Coercive Acts (March-June 1774)
In 1774, the British Parliament passed a series of

laws collectively known as the Intolerable Acts, with
the intent to suppress unrest in colonial Boston by
closing the port and placing it under martial law. In
response, colonial protestors led by a group called
the Sons of Liberty issued a call for a boycott.
 Real Name: Coercive Acts Issued as punishment for the Boston Tea Party
 Closed Boston Harbor
 Disallowed local elections & local political jobs.
 Stated that any British official who broke the law in the colonies would be
tried in England & not the colonies.
 Also, forced the colonists to quarter British soldiers in their homes
Lexington and Concord (April 1775)
 The British marched into Lexington and

Concord intending to suppress the possibility
of rebellion by seizing weapons from the
colonists. Instead, their actions sparked the
first battle of the Revolutionary War.
“The Road to Revolution”
The French and Indian War, the Taxation Acts, the Boston Massacre, the Boston
Tea Party, and the Intolerable Acts were the five main causes that lead to the
American Revolution.
Division in Colonial America
 Loyalists 20-30%
 Patriots 40-45%
 Neutral 25-40%
 Northern colonies were mostly Patriots
 Southern states were Loyalist
Battle of Saratoga
 The battle which was the turning point of the revolution because after the
colonists won this major victory, the French decided to support with
money, troops, ships, etc.
 October 7, 1777: Saratoga, New York
 American General Horatio Gates faced off against British General John
Burgoyne.
 Ended a major British threat in the northern colonies.

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Causes of American Revolution

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Causes of the American War of Independence

The Seven Years’ War 1756-1763

 The Stamp Act (March 1765)

The Stamp Act (March 1765)

The Townshend Acts or Townshend Duties were a series of British acts of

The Boston Massacre was a deadly riot that

 The Boston Tea Party was organized and carried out by a

 It was an act of protest in which a group of 60 American

In 1774, the British Parliament passed a series of

 The British marched into Lexington and

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