american revolution

• How did Britain use its American colonies

  To grow crops - cotton, tobacco and sugar

  A penal colony
• How many colonies were there?

  13 with a population of 2.5 million
• Lexington incident


  In 1775 British army tried to seize a supply of gunpowder that was held by the American rebels, and were fired upon by 20,000
• When was the Decleration of Independence signed?

  July 4, 1776
• Boston Tea Party


  protest against increased tea prices in 1773 in which colonists dumped british tea into boston harbor
• Boston Massacre (1770)


  An incident in which British soldiers fired into a crowd of colonists who were teasing and taunting them; five colonists were killed.
• Medium term causes

  No representation in parliament

  Stamp tax (newspapers)

  "No taxation without representation"
• Long term causes

  Paid for British army presence

  Navigation act impacted trade

  Disagreed with land boundaries agreed with natives
• Why did the brits have to surrender

  When French joined, Cornwallis was trapped in Yorktown with no hope of reinforcements or evacuation
• How did the brits surrender

  Forced to march out of Yorktown between lines of us and French troops, formally hand over weapons and 8000 troops, regiment played "world turned upside down"
• Who was Thomas Paine?


  A revolutionary activist who wrote 1776 pamphlet "common sense" which outlined why America should break from Britain
• Who was John Adems?

  The speaker of the revolution

  Travelled Europe as a diplomat

  Radicalist who was present and first and second continental congress
• Short term significance

  - set up government with constitution of congress and a president

  - brits were humiliated

  - inspired French Revolution in 1789 and excecution of Louis XVI
• long term significance

  -slavery still existed until 1865 and natives were still discriminated against

  -only rich got vote

  -America was most powerful nation by 1900s

  -aus and nz were new penal colonies

  -French revolution inspired working class globally to fight for the right to vote