Towards Independence: Causes of the American Revolution

​Causes of the American Revolution

EQ: Why was there an American Revolution?

​The French and Indian War

• 1754-1763 between Great Britain and France

  • Both countries wanted more land in North America

• ​1763- France surrenders to Britain

  • France gives up land claims in Canada and west of​ Mississippi River

• As a result, Britain has a lot of war debt that needs to be repaid

  • This leads Britain to place new taxes and laws on colonists

Multiple Choice

The French and Indian War was between...

• The French and Natives

• The British and Natives

• The French and the British

• The French and the Colonists

Multiple Select

What did Great Britain gain as a result of winning the French and Indian War? 

• French land claims in Canada

• French land claims east of the Mississippi River

• Spanish controlled territories 

• The 13 Colonies

Multiple Select

What happened as a result of the French and Indian War?

• The British government had large amount of debt

• The British government started passing new laws and taxes to pay for the war

• The British gave up control of the 13 Colonies

• The British lost control of the midwest

​The British government said colonists could not move west of Appalachian Mountains

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​Colonists felt this was tyranny (unjust use of government power)

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​Colonists ignored and kept moving west​ or already had land there

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British sent more ​troops to the colonies

Proclamation of 1763​

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Multiple Select

What happened as a result of the Proclamation of 1763?

• The British sent more troops to the colonies and North America

• The Colonists gave up land claims west of the Appalachian Mountains

• The Colonists protested and eventually ignored the Proclamation

• The British repealed the Proclamation

​The Stamp Act- 1765

The French and Indian War left the British with a huge amount of debt

In order to pay off this war debt, the British passed a law that required colonists to buy a stamp for every piece of paper ​they used.

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​This included newspapers and letter as well as legal documents

​The Stamp Act- 1765

The colonists paid taxes to their local governments and were fine having to pay taxes as long as they had a voice in the decision

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Colonists were upset because they did not have a voice in this

• Colonists had no say in how much or what the tax money would pay for ​

• The British government 3,000 miles away imposed this on them without any say- NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION!​

Multiple Choice

Why did the British Parliament (law makers) begin passing new laws and taxes in the Colonies?

• The British government wanted to punish the colonies for violating the Proclamation of 1763

• The British government was in a lot of debt from the French and Indian War

• The British government was at war with Spain and needed to pay for the war

• The British government officials would get the money taxed in the colonies

Multiple Choice

Why were many colonists upset about the Stamp Act

• The Colonists hated the idea of paying taxes

• The Colonists hated using paper in the first place

• The Colonists were ok paying the tax

• The Colonists did not have a voice or choice in the matter