American Revolution

Inhabitants of the Thirteen Colonies of British America that

supported the American Revolution

are primarily referred to as

"Americans," with occasional

references to "Patriots", "Whigs,"

"Rebels" or "Revolutionaries"..

The geographical area of the thirteen colonies is often referred to simply as ‘’AMERICA’’

Loyalist - Colonists who supported the British in opposing the Revolution usually called ‘’Tories””.

American Revolution was predicated by a number of ideas

and events that, combined, led to a political and social separation of colonial possessions from the home nation and a coalescing of those former individual colonies into an independent nation.

was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America. They first rejected the authority of the Parliament of Great Britain to govern them from overseas without representation, and then expelled all royal officials.

was the result of a series of social, political, and intellectual transformations in early American society and government, collectively referred to as the American Enlightenment. Americans rejected the oligarchies and aristocracies common in Europe at the time, championing instead the development of republicanism based on the Enlightenment understanding of liberalism.

• 1763-> American revolutionary era began , after a series of victories by British forces at the conclusion of the French and Indian War that ended the French military threat to British North American colonies.

Ideology behind the Revolution

American Enlightenment - ideological movement and was a critical precursor to the American Revolution.

> Among the ideas of the American Enlightenment were the concepts of liberalism, democracy,

republicanism, and religious tolerance. > Collectively, the belief in these concepts by a

growing number of American colonists began to foster an intellectual environment which would lead to a new sense

of political and social identity.

RepublicanismA motivating force behind the revolution was the American embrace of a political ideology called "republicanism", which was dominant in the colonies by 1775.

The republicanism was inspired by the "country party" in Britain, whose critique of British government emphasized that

corruption was a terrible reality in Britain.[7]

Fusing Republicanism and Liberalism

. Thomas Paine's best-seller pamphlet Common Sense appeared in January 1776, after the Revolution had started. It was widely distributed and loaned, and often read aloud in taverns, contributing significantly to spreading the ideas of republicanism and liberalism together, bolstering enthusiasm for separation from Britain, and encouraging recruitment for the Continental Army. Paine provided a new and widely accepted argument for independence, by advocating a complete break with history.

Impact of Great

Awakening

Throughout the colonies, dissenting Protestant congregations (Congregationalist,

Baptist, and Presbyterian) preached Revolutionary themes in their sermons, while most Church of England ministers preached

loyalty to the King.[14] Religious motivation for fighting tyranny reached across

socioeconomic lines to encompass rich and poor, men and women, frontiersmen and

townsmen, farmers and merchants.[13]

Controversial British legislation

The Revolution was in some ways incited by a number of pieces of legislation originating from the British Parliament that, for Americans, were illegitimate acts of a government that had no right to pass laws on Englishmen in the Americas who did not have elected representation in that government.

For the British, policy makers saw these laws as necessary to rein in colonial subjects who, in the name of economic development that was designed to benefit the home nation, had been allowed near-autonomy for too long.

Causes of American Revolution

The American people were strongly independent. They wanted to do things for themselves. Great Britain was a long way away. The American people didn't want people an ocean away telling them how to live their lives.

The British government decided to make the American colonies pay a large share of the war debt from the French and Indian War.

Through the Sugar Act, Stamp Act, and other taxes, the British tried to collect taxes that the American people considered harsh.

The American people also thought that they should be able to send their own people to Britain's Parliament or at least vote for Britain's lawmakers.

The combination of the harsh taxes and the lack of an American voice in Parliament gave rise to the famous phrase "taxation without representation."

Patrick Henry, Thomas Paine, and others called for an independent America, colonies free from British rule and interference.

Americans started stockpiling guns and ammunition in violation of British laws. Their defense of such a stockpile led to the shots fired at Lexington and Concord and the beginning of the Revolutionary War.

1733–1763: Navigation Acts, Molasses Act and Royal Proclamation

Mercantile system= where all trade was concentrated inside the Empire, and trade with other empires was forbidden. The goal was to enrich Britain—its merchants and its government. Whether the policy was good for the colonists was not an issue in London, but Americans became increasingly restive with mercantilist policies[17]

Navigation Acts, which Americans avoided as often as they could. The royal officials responded to smuggling with open-ended search warrants (Writs of Assistance). In 1761, Boston lawyer James Otis argued that the writs violated the constitutional rights of the colonists. He lost the case, but John Adams later wrote, "Then and there the child Independence was born."[18]

the Royal Proclamation of 1763 restricted settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains as this was designated an Indian Reserve.[20] Disregarding the proclamation, some groups of settlers continued to move west and establish farms.

1764–1766: More provocative legislation

Sugar Act, Currency Act, Quartering Acts, Stamp Act 1765,

and Declaratory Act Quebec Act

Intolerable Act

Role of women

Abigail Adams

Women in the American Revolution

Patriot women confronted a war that permeated all aspects of

political, civil, and domestic life.

participated by boycotting British goods, spying on the British, following armies as they marched, washing, cooking, and tending for soldiers, delivering secret messages, and in a few cases like Deborah Samson, fighting disguised as men.

they continued the agricultural work at home to feed their families and the armies.

maintained their families during their husbands' absences and sometimes after their deaths.[41]

Mobbing the Loyalist by American Patriots in 1775–76

The Loyalist

about 15–20% of the population remained loyal to the British Crown; these were known at the time as "Loyalists", "Tories", or "King's men".

.[53] Loyalists were typically older, less willing to break with old loyalties, often connected to the Church of England, and included many established merchants with strong business connections across the Empire, as well as royal officials

The Neutrals

A minority of uncertain size tried to stay neutral in the war. Most kept a low profile, but the Quakers, especially in Pennsylvania, were the most important group to speak out for neutrality

The American Era

Causes of the American revolution

Economic policies of Britain. The Stamp Act of 1765 Inspiration of natural rights philosophers Representation in parliament

Incidents provoking the Revolution

‘’The Boston Massacre’’-

-- March 1770, violent anti-British riots broke out into many cities. British soldiers in Boston panicked and opened fire on a hostile demonstration, killing 5 men and wounded six.

Boston Tea Party

-December 16, 1773, a group of American patriots, disguised as Indians, crept into British ships at the harbor and dumped their cargoes of tea in the sea.

April 19, 1775 - the first shot for American freedom was

fired at Lexington, Massachusetts.

Declaration of Independence

July 4, 1776- the historic declaration was written by Thomas Jefferson and approved by the congress.

The American Declaration of Independence consisted of 3 parts.

1.