Birth of the American RepublicMr. Divett

Britain Becomes a Global Power

Britain became a global power because:• Location made trade easy to control• Friendly toward business• Few trade restrictions• Often won European conflicts• Monopolized slave trade• Expanded territories locally

George III

• 60-year reign began in 1760• English born• Wanted to:– Reclaim lost territory– End Whig domination– Appoint his own ministers– Dissolve the cabinet system

George III

Colonies

• There were many colonies in North America• These stretched along the east coast• They became profitable• Who can name the original 13 colonies?

Original 13 Colonies

The Navigation Acts

• Parliament passed the Navigation Acts in the 1600s

• A series of acts passed starting in 1651• These acts required:– All European goods to pass through England first– All goods be transported on English ships– Colonial goods be shipped only to England

The Navigation Acts

• Were poorly enforced• Led to resentment towards England• Also led to rampant smuggling

Colonies in 1700s

• More diverse population than England• Social distinctions were fuzzy• Colonists felt entitled to British Rights

Taxes

• Britain was broke from Seven Years’ War and French and Indian War

• Sugar Act 1764- import taxes• Stamp Act 1765- taxes on paper items• “Taxation without representation”

Rebellion of Colonists

• Boston Massacre• March 1770• Five died

Boston Tea Party

Continental Congress

• Representatives from each colony met• This included John Adams and George

Washington

Continental Congress

Revolutionary War

• Started April 1775 at Lexington and Concord• Preceded by Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride

Revolutionary War

Congress Calls Army

• The Continental Army• George Washington

was the commander

Second Continental Congress

• Voted to declare independence from Britain

• Reflected John Locke’s ideas

• Penned by Thomas Jefferson

Declaration of Independence

• Detailed grievances against Britain• Offered right to alter or abolish unjust

governments• Popular sovereignty- government power

comes from the people• Adopted on July 4, 1776

Declaration of Independence

War Continues

• Things did not look good for colonists. They were:– Outnumbered– Outskilled– Outfunded– Outstrategized

Colonist’s Advantages

• Home court advantage• Determination• Good leader

British Advantages

• They offered freedom to slaves who fought the colonists

• They made alliances with natives

Support

• French back the colonists (against their rivals) after the victory at Saratoga in 1777

• Spain and Netherlands also supported them

Winter at Valley Forge

End of War

• French blockaded Chesapeake Bay• British surrendered at Yorktown, Virginia in

1781• Treaty of Paris formally recognized

independence of USA

Chesapeake Bay

Treaty of Paris

Constitution

• The Articles of Confederation were first in 1787

• James Madison and Benjamin Franklin helped right them

• The Constitution followed in 1789• It made the USA a federal republic, or a

government with power divided between federal government and states

Constitution

• This created a system of checks and balances• The founding fathers drew heavily from the

teachings of enlightened thinkers Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau

Checks and Balances