Road to America’s Declaration of Independence

1. Road to America’s Declaration of Independence

2. France built Fort Duquesne at beginning of the Ohio River in 1753. It protected their fur trade.

3. Remains of Fort Duquesne at Point State Park today.

4. Britain Responds to Fort Duquesne • British military leaders responded by sending a young Virginian, several Native American allies and a small militia to force the French from the Ohio Valley. • George Washington and his men attacked Fort Duquesne in 1754, but were forced to retreat.

5. Fort Necessity Built • Washington retreated southeast and hastily built Fort Necessity, 11 miles east of Uniontown. • In the Battle of the Meadow, Washington was forced to surrender after his first military campaign.

6. French and Indian War Begins • As a result of the Battle of the Meadow, the French and Indian War began in 1754. Great Britain paid dearly in men and materials to defeat the French. • Fort Duquesne was renamed Fort _?_ in honor of a British Government official. • Great Britain then sought repayment from English colonists for this war. In addition the British needed more money to govern the Ohio Valley.

7. Stamp and Tea Taxes Imposed • Parliament and King John imposed taxes upon colonists including the Stamp Act in 1765 and later the Tea Tax. • Colonists resisted paying these taxes. They claimed the rights of Englishmen to “no taxation without representation” in Parliament in London.

8. Boston Tea Party 1773

9. Intolerable or Townsend Acts Passed. • The December, 1773 Boston Tea Party caused the Intolerable Acts of 1774 which closed the Port of Boston, suspended jury trial rights in Boston and closed the Massachusetts legislature. • First Continental Congress called for representatives from all colonies in fall, 1774. It tried to work out problems with King and Parliament. Boycott of British goods began.

10. One if by land, Two if by sea! • British troops seized colonial weapons and militia at Lexington and Concord in April, 1775. • Second Continental Congress met in May, 1775 in Philadelphia. It sent written request to King and Parliament to solve problems peaceably.

11. Pennsylvania’s Colonial State House 1775

12. Colonial Delegates form Second Continental Congress, July, 1776 Members of the Second Continental Congress wrote the Declaration of Independence signed in July, 1776. Book page 106. • Section one all men equal, natural rights, democracy and right to rebel for justice. • Section two laundry list of complaints against British king • Section three American sovereignty; “free and independent states”

13. Jefferson’s Goals for America within the Declaration of Independence

14. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal….” Equality

15. “…they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Liberty

16. “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Democracy

17. “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government….” Justice