Essay on Study Guide

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SSUSH3
The student will explain the primary causes of the American Revolution.
There are many causes of the American Revolution. The primary ones are: the French and Indian War, Treaty of Paris, Stamp Act, Proclamation of 1763, the Intolerable Acts, and Thomas Paine’s Common Sense.
a. Explain how the end of the Anglo-French imperial competition as seen in the French-Indian War and the 1763 Treaty of Paris laid the groundwork for the American Revolution.
The future of the North American continent was largely determined by the French and Indian War between 1755 and 1760. France and their Indian allies dominated the first few years of the war because of strategy and organization. However, when William Pitt, British secretary in 1757, increased Britain’s financial commitment to the war and gave the British and American colonies the resources they needed to defeat the French in the battle in 1760. Because of the Treaty of Paris 1763, the French had to surrender Canada and all of its territories (east of the Mississippi River) to the British, who also gained the control of Florida from Spain. The tensions between the British and American colonists that came from the war and the aftermath, led to the American Revolution. The French and Indian War
b. Explain colonial response to such British actions as the Proclamation of 1763, the Stamp Act, and the Intolerable Acts as seen in Sons and Daughters of Liberty and Committees of Correspondence.
The Proclamation of 1763 was intended to avoid warfare with the Indians and to concentrate the colonial colonies on the seaboard so that they could be a part of the mercantile system. However, the colonists were not at all appreciative to this and thought of the new policy as a violation of their basic rights.
The 1765 Stamp Act was enacted to raise colonial tax revenues to help defray the cost of the French and Indian War. The colonists did not agree with the idea of the Stamp Act and thought of it as an attempt to raise money in the colonies without the approval of the colonial legislatures.
The Intolerable Acts were laws, which were actually punishments, put on the colonies by King George III. He wanted to punish them for dumping tea into the harbor at the Boston Tea Party. The Intolerable Acts consisted of: The Boston Port Bill (June 1, 1774), The Quartering Act (March 24, 1765), The Administration of Justice Act (May 20, 1774), Massachusetts Government Act (May 20, 1774), and The Quebec Act (May 20, 1774). The colonists were very much angered by the forceful acts and decided to band together and fight back. They organized a resistance to the Intolerable Acts that was later called the Continental Congress. The first meeting of the Continental Congress, representatives from all of the colonies came, except for Georgia. The representatives voted to cut off trade with Great Britain unless they abolished the Intolerable Acts. They also tried to define America’s rights, put limits on Parliament’s power, and agree on techniques to resist the English Government. By the end of the first meeting of the Continental Congress, opposition had begun between Britain and the colonies. The Stamp Act
c. Explain the importance of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense to the movement for independence.
Common Sense was originally published anonymously and advocated independence for the American colonies from Britain. It was considered one of the most influential pamphlets in American history. It played a remarkable role in the colonial dispute into the American Revolution. Before Common Sense was published, the goal of independence had not been determined and was just a thought. Thomas Paine gave the colonists clarification on why American should seek independence. Thomas Paine
SSUSH4
The student will identify the ideological, military, and diplomatic aspects of the American Revolution.
Some of the ideological, military, and diplomatic aspects of the American Revolution are the Declaration of