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Independence

Independence. Chapter 2.2. American Colonies Seek Independence. King George III and his Parliament believed the colonies had grown too independent Britain had fallen into debt due to the Seven Years War (French and Indian War) They passed many taxes and trade restrictions on the colonies.

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Independence

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  1. Independence Chapter 2.2

  2. American Colonies Seek Independence • King George III and his Parliament believed the colonies had grown too independent • Britain had fallen into debt due to the Seven Years War (French and Indian War) • They passed many taxes and trade restrictions on the colonies

  3. Taxes and Restrictions • Stamp Act 1765- colonists had to pay a tax on many common paper goods (newspapers, contracts etc.) • Britain also began to impose tariffs on goods from other countries in the colonies to give their businesses an advantage • This action raised prices and angered the colonists

  4. Colonial Reaction • Many colonists were outraged because they were being taxed yet had no representation in Parliament • Colonists began to boycott British goods and to protest • In 1770 British soldiers fired on a group of protesters in Boston killing five people this became known as the Boston Massacre

  5. Colonial Reaction continues • 1773 Boston Tea Party- Samuel Adams led a group of colonists to destroy British tea on ships in Boston harbor • 1774 Britain passes the Intolerable Acts which further tightened the trade laws • Colonists petitioned the British government to change these restrictions repeatedly, but to no avail

  6. War • Battles in Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts in 1775 between the British and colonial militias were the first of the Revolutionary War • July 4,1776 Thomas Jefferson and five others draft the Declaration of Independence • This document stated that America was now an independent nation!

  7. Declaration of Independence • Jefferson wrote that the king had violated the colonists unalienable rights and therefore it was their right to revolt • He took these ideas from John Locke’s philosophy on natural rights. • He also referred to Thomas Hobbes’ idea of the social contract

  8. Essay 2.2 • Write an essay comparing this quote from the Declaration of Independence with the ideas of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. Be specific in how you relate the two. Finally, explain some of the events that led to this declaration and whether or not you believe the colonists were justified in revolting • “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it”

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