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media type="custom" key="29542057" align="right" =Explain the political and economic factors that contributed to the American Revolution=

Topics on the Page

 * A. The impact on the colonies of the French and Indian War, including how the war led to an overhaul of British imperial policy from 1763 to 1775. **
 * B. How freedom from European feudalism and aristocracy and the widespread ownership of property fostered individualism and contributed to the Revolution. **

====**See Grade 5.15 for more on the Sugar Act, Stamp Act, the French and Indian War, and other developments leading to the American Revolution.** ====

**See AP United States History 4 for more on the American Revolutionary period.**



The Coming of the American Revolution from the Massachusetts Historical Society provides an interactive look at key developments leading to the American Revolution, including the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, the Sons of Liberty, the Townshend Acts, the Boston Massacre, the Committees of Correspondence, the Boston Tea Party, the Coercive Acts, the First Continental Congress, Lexington and Concord, the Second Continental Congress, the Battle of Bunker Hill, and Washington takes command of the Continental Army.

===// Focus Question**: How did the French and Indian War contribute to the American Revolution?** //===

The Historical Society of Pennsylvania has a useful collection of Primary Sources on the French and Indian War



A. The impact on the colonies of the French and Indian War, including how the war led to an overhaul of British imperial policy from 1763 to 1775
1) The French and Indian War (also known as The Seven Years’ War [2] ) occurred between 1754-1763 and became a large scale conflict involving most of the major European nations at the time.
 * The main belligerents, France and Britain, were fighting for supremacy in the New World.
 * In North America the French and British were battling in a part of this war that became known as the French and Indian War.
 * France had a lot of settlements in North America and the British were using their American colonies along with any native allies they could find to try and keep the French out of North America and also put down any of France’s native allies.
 * The British won the war and took control of France’s colonies, effectively making them the sole major European influence in the area.

//Click here to view a time table of the French and Indian War//

More explanation on the European aspect of the [|Seven Years' War]

[|9 Different Perspectives] on the French and Indian War

Click [|here] for an interactive site that allows you to explore different aspects of the American Revolution including primary sources and items from the time period.

2) During the war, the British had an enormous amount of expenses and considered this a debt that the American colonies would have to repay.
 * Many taxes were imposed on the colonies; some were high but most were fair.
 * The colonists were outraged with this action.
 * The colonists were not being represented by people living in the colonies (which may have been hard) but were represented by Brits in London.
 * They wanted their voice to be heard and claimed that there would be "no taxation without representation."

3) The British argued that the colonists, like all Englishmen, were represented in Parliament through **virtual representation**, the concept that every member of Parliament stood in for every English person, not only those of their own district.
 * There were several districts in England, including Manchester and Birmingham, which also did not send a member to Parliament yet still had to pay taxes.
 * Voting was reserved only for white men with a certain amount of property, and therefore those who did not have property were virtually represented by the members of Parliament. It is under this category that the colonists fell.
 * In response, the colonists could offer no alternative for paying, despite:
 * The colonists paid 1/20th of the taxes paid by the people living in England.
 * The colonists were on average //wealthier// than the British.

The Stamp Act of 1765 was the first direct tax imposed on the colonies. The Stamp Act required Americans to purchase tax stamps for any printed documents including newspapers, legal documents, marriage licenses and more.T he colonists feared that this would set the stage for more taxes in the future. After one year of intense mob protests and the first organizations of the Sons of Liberty, Parliament **repealed** the Stamp Act in 1766.

// See [|Digital History] lesson plan comparing the arguments between the colonists and Parliament over virtual representation. //

4) Tensions continued to rise through the further implementation of new taxes in what became known as the [|Townshend Acts] of 1767, the purpose of which was to raise more direct taxes on goods like glass, paper, and tea, while simultaneously trying to improve colonist obedience to acts of Parliament. - Click [|here] for pictures depicting the events of the Boston Massacre. - Click [|here] for witness accounts from the Boston Massacre trial.
 * It was repealed after three years. On the day of the repeal, March 5th 1770, the [|Boston Massacre] took place, in which British troops opened fire on an angry mob of colonists.
 * There was also the infamous Boston Tea Party [5] in which colonists dressed up as Mohawk natives destroyed shipments of tea intended for the colonies.
 * The group who did this was the Sons of Liberty [6], and they were formed out of the common desire for liberation from Britain and its policies.

These were among many other examples of an unwillingness to follow British laws, including violent attacks on tax collectors and their homes, the burning of ships, and the practice of tar and feathering, which was used extensively against enforcers of the Stamp Act and the Townshend Acts.

//For a time table of events leading up to the American Revolution, click here//

For further explanation of events leading up to the Revolution, click [|here.]

//Click here for the Declaration of Rights and Grievances of 1774, a pivotal document in the progress towards the Declaration of Independence.//

//Click here for a Youtube clip analyzing The Boston Massacre.//

//Click here for information on Crispus Attucks, an African American considered the first man to die in the American Revolution.// //Click here to see Schoolhouse Rock's depiction of events leading up to The American Revolution.//




 * [[image:Female_Rose.png]]Women's Contribution to the American Revolution**
 * [|The Daughters of Liberty], established in 1765, as a group of 92 women, who like the Sons of Liberty, rebelled against British control, primarily the taxation on British goods.
 * These women supported the non-importation of British goods by refusing to drink British tea and using their skills to weave yarn and wool into cloth. Both actions helped to lessen American dependence on British imports and textiles.
 * The Daughters of Liberty also fought for women's equality.
 * A notable woman during this time period was Abigail Addams. Not only was she an active member in the Revolutionary movement, but she was also concerned with the rights of women.
 * In a famous quotation for a letter she wrote to her husband John Addams, she urges him and other members of the Continental Congress not to forget about the nation's women when fighting for America's independence from Britain. She writes to her husband, [|"remember the ladies"].

"Remember the Ladies" Letter by Abigail Adams

//**Focus Question**//: How did freedom of European feudalism and aristocracy and ownership of property foster individualism and contribute to the American Revolution?

 * 1) Changing Attitudes**
 * The English Civil War and the Glorious Revolution of 1688 had had profound effects on the government of Great Britain and Europe as a whole. Parliament became the dominant force in England and the power of the monarchy continued to shrink. Before the start of the 18th century, new ideas of government were developing in the Western World. American Republicanism began to develop, drawing from the examples of the ancient Roman Republic, as well as recent philosophical & political works by John Locke, Baron de Montesquieu, and Thomas Hobbes. Their political writings, among others', helped not only to generate anti-British sentiment, but also contributed to the foundation of the American government.

//Watch a video here by Khan Academy detailing the roots of the Declaration of Independence.//

("Revolutionary Real Estate: Statesmen, Soldiers, Spys Who Made America—and The Way They Lived" by Hugh Howard, Smithsonian, December 2007, p. 78.)
 * 2) Life in 18th Century Colonial America**[[image:Slavery_in_the_13_colonies.jpg width="330" height="362" align="right" caption="Map of Slavery in the 13 Colonies" link="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Slavery_in_the_13_colonies.jpg"]]
 * Slavery was legal in all 13 colonies
 * The average child had a 50% chance of surviving to adulthood
 * Women could not vote, hold public office, or own property (unless widowed) in most colonies
 * Except for a small number of city-dwellers, everyone was a farmer
 * Fire was the sole source of heat; moonlight or candles provided light after dark
 * Bloodletting and purging were the dominant medical practices of the time
 * Every household produced some, if not all, of the goods it needed (clothing, food, soap, candles)
 * There was no indoor plumbing

Click here for a description of slavery in the colonies prior to the Revolution.

The Geography of Slavery presents a digital collection of advertisements for runaway and captured slaves and servants in 18th- and 19th-century Virginia newspapers.

**Correct Answer: C**
Click here to play "For Crown or Colony?" in which you play a 14 year old colonist who must decide whether to support or oppose the Revolution.

Links
[1] (2007). The American Revolution. Retrieved April 10, 2007, from The American Revolution Web site: http://www.theamericanrevolution.org/index.asp [2] (2007). Seven Years War Timeline. Retrieved April 10, 2007, Web site: http://ns1763.ca/remem/7yw-timeline-w.html [3] (2001). Stamp Act 1765. Retrieved April 10, 2007, from America's Homepage Web site: http://ahp.gatech.edu/stamp_act_bp_1765.html [4] Boston Massacre. Retrieved April 10, 2007, from Boston Massacre Historical Society Web site: http://www.bostonmassacre.net/ [5] Hewes, G Boston Tea Party- Eyewitness Account. Retrieved April 10, 2007, from The History Place Web site: http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/revolution/teaparty.htm [6 (2007). The Sons of Liberty. Retrieved April 10, 2007, from US History.org Web site: http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/related/sons.htm [7] Lovett, F. (2006). Republicanism. Retrieved April 10, 2007, from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Web site: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/republicanism/

**Image IDs**
1. Wikimedia Commons, "American Revolutionary War collage". 2. Wikipedia, "French and Indian War map". 3. Wikimedia Commons, "Benjamin West 005". 4. Wikimedia Commons, "1765 BostoniansReadingStampAct". 5. Wikimedia Commons, "Boston Massacre high-res". 6. Wikimedia Commons, "Slavery in the 13 colonies".