Uniting for independence By JayeniseaAlex Britain tightens control

Uniting for independence By: Jayenisea+Alex

Britain tightens control • Two events changed the relationship between the colonies and Britain: the French and Indian war and the crowing of king George 3 rd. The French and British began fighting over what is now Pennsylvania and Ohio. Many native American tribes sided with the French and fought against the British led by George Washington. Great Britain eventually won the war and gained control of the eastern third of the continent getting rid of French power in north america

Taxing the colonies • When George III became king in 1760, to help pay for the damages from the war, he started to tax citizens on tea, sugar, glass, paper, and other projects. In 1765 the stamp act imposed taxes on just about everything. Because of this Britain's revenue increased but so did colonial resentment. Protests started and people began to refuse to buy goods. Once the stamped act was repealed but replaced it led the Boston tea party where colonists threw 342 barrels of tea into the water. The event led to the closing of the Boston harbor and the loss of the right for Massachusetts to govern itself.

Colonial unity • By the 1760 s more and more colonists started to think of themselves as Americans united by the wrong doings of the government. At the same time colonial leaders began to work together to take political action against british oppression.

Taking action • In 1765 9 colonies sent delegates to a meeting to protest the stamp act and the kings actions. By 1773 colonists were forming organizations to furtherly urge the resistance to the British. Within a few months there were ober 80 committees in Massachusetts alone.

First continental congress • In September 5 th, 1774 the delegates met to propose their best ideas about what do about the relationship with great Britain they finally agreed on embargo, an agreement that prohibited trade, and agreed to boycott british goods. This led to the first battle of the revolutionary war at Lexington and concord.

Second continental congress • After three weeks all the delegates met again and choose john hancock as president of the continental congress and appointed George Washington as commander of the continental army.

Declaring independence • The colonies had not yet declared their independence from Great Britain , but a movement for independence was growing rapidly. Thomas Paine, a one time British corset maker, advocated for independence and influenced many colonists. In his pamphlet Common sense, Paine argued that monarchy was a corrupt form of government and that George III was an enemy to liberty:

Key parts of the constitution • The American declaration of independence is one of the most famous documents in history. It stirred the hearts of the American colonists. To the point, no government had been founded on the principles of popular sovereignty and consent of the governed. In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson drew on social contract theory and the ideas of John Locke and others to explain the colonists’ need for freedom

the first states and the first constitution • The declaration of independence recognized the changes taking place in the colonies. The biggest change was states not having any higher authority. By 1776, 10 states had adopted written constitutions. Most of the new state constitutions contained a bill of rights defining citizens personal liberties. At the time there wasn’t a formal government yet to unite all the states.

question • What specific demands were outlined in the declaration of independence?