THE AGE OF REVOLUTIONSWas the American Revolution a revolution?

What is a Revolution?• a sudden, complete or marked change in something• a sudden, radical, or complete change• a fundamental change in the way of thinking about or

visualizing something• activity or movement designed to effect fundamental

changes in the socioeconomic situation• EXs

Flow of History:What major European movements would lead to the Age of Revolutions?

• Protestant Reformation & ensuing religious disunity• Enlightenment/Age of Reason• Birth of Capitalism (& a Middle Class)• Colonialism in the New World

Rights Gained by English Citizens• Magna Carta (1215)• English Civil War (1642-1649)• Glorious Revolution (1688)• English Bill of Rights (1689)• The English colonists in America had come to expect these rights

along with a certain amount of economic freedom

The American Revolution• Why did it start?• What were the major values of the American Revolution?• What major figures do you know from the American

Revolution?• What major events are associated with the American

Revolution?• Were the Revolting Colonists justified in their actions?

Why or Why not?

French & Indian War (1754-1763)• In 1754 France & Great Britain fought on American soil

over their North American colonies. • Britain protected their American colonists from Indian

attacks and their French neighbors in Canada.• During this war, France was defeated by Britain, and was

forced to surrender Canada to Britain.• This gave British colonists in the Americas freedom from

fear of the French and the hope of westward expansion towards the Ohio River Valley

British opinion on American Colonies• During the French & Indian wars the British government

had run up a massive debt • The British knew they had to pay this debt and thought the

colonists in America were responsible for helping

Colonial Objections• The colonists felt that these new taxes had been imposed

without their consent, violating their rights as English subjects

• No one thought that the colonists could be represented in Parliament in London

• Instead, the colonists favored greater self-government while the British Parliament felt it should be able to exercise its control over its colonies.

Reasons for Independence mindset• The Glorious Revolution of 1688 had demonstrated to the

colonists that English subjects could be justified in overthrowing an oppressive ruler.

• John Locke and many other Enlightenment philosophers were read and studied fervently by many of the American revolutionary leaders.• The writings of Enlightenment philosophers made many colonists

believe it was unjust for the British government to tax them without considering their views• The cry “taxation without representation is tyranny” rang throughout the

colonies

• They began to believe a better form of government could be created.

Escalation: Tea Party• To prevent unrest, the British government sent in more

troops.• They gave up on many taxes, but insisted the colonists

pay a duty (tax) on tea to help the struggling East India Company.

• A group of colonists disguised as Native Americans, climbed on board a ship carrying some of this tea, and dumped it into Boston Harbor.

• The British responded by closing the harbor

The final straw• Colonists sent representatives to Philadelphia to discuss

the growing problem.• In 1775, violence finally erupted near Boston between

British troops and colonial volunteers.• From Massachusetts, the war quickly spread to the other

colonies.• Thomas Paine published a pamphlet, called Common

Sense, which applied reason to the problem• Paine argued that it was reasonable for the colonies, so far from

England and on a land mass so much larger and more plentiful than England, to become independent

• In 1776 the colonist declared their Independence

American Revolution reverberates in Europe

• Many Enlightenment reformers in Europe supported the American Revolution, seeing it as the realization of their own ideas.

• Volunteers like Marquis de Lafayette from France and Casmir Pulaski from Poland traveled to America to assist the colonists• They also persuaded the French to ally

with the colonists against Britain. The French were eager for revenge after their defeat by the British in 1763

• The colonists won their Independence in 1783

Constitutional Convention• The first American constitution, “The Articles of

Confederation”, was far too weak.• The Americans sent representatives to a Constitutional

Convention in 1787 to create a strong national government that would still be protected against growing too powerful or becoming abusive.

• The founders of this constitution utilized the best ideas of many Enlightenment philosophers in an attempt to strike the perfect balance

US Constitution• This constitution created a system where power as shared

between the national and state governments• The three different government powers—legislative,

executive, and judicial—were separated into different branches of government as advocated by Baron de Montesquieu

• Each of these branches were given several ways to check the other branches from abuses in power (checks & balances)

• Later, a Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution to include protections of individual liberties for citizens

• Bill of Rights PPT