USHC 1: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the conflicts between region and national interest in the development of democracy in the United States.
USHC 1.3: Analyze the impact of the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution on establishing the ideals of a democratic republic.
Why did the Revolutionary War begin?
1. American colonists believed the British taxes imposed on them were unconstitutional, which led to protests against British law such as the _ and the _.
2. The _ led to strict law enforcement by the British crown, which the colonists rejected.
3. The hostilities between Great Britain and the colonies led to a shot fired in what came to be known as _, and the official start of the Revolutionary War.
The Revolutionary War began as a war between Great Britain and its American colonies, but expanded into a global conflict when France, Spain and the Netherlands allied with the colonists.
How did the Revolutionary War begin?
1. Battle of Lexington and Concord (1775):
–The _ battle of the Revolutionary War
–The British military was given orders to secretly capture and destroy colonists’ military supplies supposedly stored in Massachusetts
–The colonists had previous knowledge of the British plans, so supplies had already been moved
–Paul Revere’s Ride: “The British are coming, the British are coming!”
–The confrontation between the British troops and colonial militia led to the first shots of the Revolutionary War
Other Major Battles:
1. _ (1777):
–Turning point in the war for the colonists
–The British wanted to take control of the Hudson River Valley to cut off New England from the other colonies
–British troops attacked colonial militias three times, and on the third at Saratoga were defeated and forced to surrender
–this American victory was instrumental in _decision to ally with the colonies, and also contributed to Spain’s decision to support the Americans in the revolution
2. Battle of Yorktown (1781):
–The colonists were able to force Cornwallis and his troops to Yorktown, Virginia
–The _navy arrived in the Chesapeake Bay shortly after, attacking and defeating the British navy
–French troops began attacking British forts, trapping the British troops between the French and the colonists
–Cornwallis was forced to surrender when his troops began running out of food and ammunition
–This major loss motivated the British government to _, as they became concerned they were going to lose the war
By declaring their independence, the Americans made it possible to enter into an alliance with other nations.
_: a formal agreement or treaty between two or more nations to cooperate for specific purposes
The French king did not support the ideals of democracy, but following the Battle of Saratoga, the French government began to believe that the colonists might be successful against the English, the traditional enemy of France.
Why were England and France enemies?
France and Great Britain have a long history of disputes, mainly over territorial gains:
1. _: a series of conflicts waged from 1337 to 1453 between the Kings of France and the Kings of England and their various allies for control of the French throne
2. _: from the 1650s, the New World increasingly became a battleground between the two powers
3. _: the war was later described by Winston Churchill as the first "world war", because fighting took place on several different continents over territorial gains; The French and Indian War was part of the Seven Years War
The French treaty provided the Americans with French naval support and supplies which proved invaluable to victory at _.
The Declaration of Independence
What did the colonists want?
1._
2. They wanted British recognition that only their colonial legislatures had the right to _.
What did the colonists NOT want?
1.The colonists were _, and they did not want to create a new government.
2. The colonists did not want representation in Parliament; because they knew they would be outvoted.
3. The colonists did not _want freedom from Great Britain.
Why was the Declaration of Independence written?
To further the cause of the colonists’ fight with the mother country already in its second year
Who was the Declaration of Independence written for?
It was driven by a “decent respect to the opinions of mankind”, it was more importantly addressed _
ABSOLUTE POWER
_
ABSOLUTELY
The Declaration of Independence…
1. Expresses the concept of limited government
a. _: a government in which anything more than minimal government intervention in personal liberties and the economy is not generally allowed by law, usually in a written constitution
2. Is based on the ideas of _
3. States the ideals of democracy, the principles of equality, and the natural rights of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”
4. Explains the purpose of government to secure the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness
5. Outlines the “_” government when natural rights are not protected by government
6. Made the case that _, had violated the rights of the colonists
Why did the Declaration of Independence blame the King, and not Parliament?
The list of actions that “He” (the King) did was designed to break the bonds between _ in the colonies and to unify the new nation against a _.
1) Which of these was a reason the American colonies were fighting a war for independence in 1776?
A) restrictions on colonial trade
B) restrictions on slave ownership in the colonies
C) failure to protect the colonists from attacks by the French
D) failure to protect the colonists from attacks by the Spanish
The principles expressed the Declaration of Independence also had an impact on the newly formed state governments and the Articles of Confederation government the Second Continental Congress established as its own replacement.
a.Declaration of Independence: statement adopted by the Continental Congress which announced that the Thirteen Colonies, then at war with Great Britain, regarded themselves as _
b. Articles of Confederation:
a. An agreement among the 13 founding states that established the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states
b. Served as its _
c. Its drafting by the Continental Congress began in 1776
d. An approved version was sent to the states for ratification in late _
e. The formal ratification by all 13 states was completed in early _
c. Second Continental Congress:
a. convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that started meeting on May 10, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon after warfare in the American Revolutionary War had begun
b. It succeeded the First Continental Congress, which met between September 5, 1774 and October 26, 1774, also in Philadelphia
c. The second Congress managed the _, and moved towards independence by adopting the United States Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
d. By raising armies, directing strategy, appointing diplomats, and making formal treaties, the Congress acted as the existing national government of what became the United States of America during the Revolutionary War
These governments relied primarily on the role of the _and severely _ power.
In the postwar period Americans began to put the principles of the Declaration into practice.
a. States in the North passed laws that provided for the _emancipation of slaves
a. _: to free from restraint
b. States provided for _
c. _citizens could vote
a. Voting was limited to those who owned _, but property ownership was widespread, so many white American males could exercise their right to vote
The principles and promises expressed in the Declaration of Independence remained _.
MAIN IDEA: _