American Revolution Causes

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Causes of the American Revolution Notes – Answer Key French and Indian War 1. In the 1750s, Britain and France went to war over the Ohio River Valley. 2. Both the British and the French wanted this area of land to trade fur. 3. In 1754, representatives from the colonies met to discuss how they could fight France. 4. By 1763, France was ready to make peace with Britain. The two countries signed an agreement called the Treaty of Paris. Sugar Act 5. After the French and Indian War, British Parliament decided to tax American colonists to help pay back the cost of the French and Indian war. 6. In 1764, Britain implemented the Sugar Act. 7. The Sugar Act taxed not only sugar, but coffee, cloth, indigo, and wine. Stamp Act 8. The Stamp Act taxed anything that was printed on paper. 9. To buy an item printed on paper, colonists had to pay for a tax stamp. “No taxation without representation!” 10. How did the colonists feel about the new taxes? The colonists were very unhappy about the taxes. 11. Colonists felt as though their local representatives should be the ones to pass tax laws, not British Parliament. 12. The colonists had representatives in their local government, but not Parliament. 13. Who made an angry speech against the Stamp Act? Patrick Henry Sons of Liberty 14. What did the Sons of Liberty want? The Sons of Liberty wanted to be free of another country’s rules. 15. Samuel Adams led the Sons of Liberty in Boston. Townshend Acts 16. What did the Townshend Acts tax? Tea, glass, lead, paints, and paper that colonies imported 17. Why did the British send soldiers to Boston? To protect British tax officials from angry colonists 18. The colonists boycotted British goods and made their own. As a result, British merchants lost money. 19. Parliament removed the taxes on glass, lead, paints and paper. The tax on tea remained. Boston Massacre 20. On March 5, 1770, a fight broke out between people in Boston and a British soldier. The crowd yelled and threw snowballs at the soldiers. 21. How many colonists were killed at the Boston Massacre? 5 Tea Act 22. In 1773, Parliament passed the Tea Act. 23. What company was allowed to sell tea in America at a cheap price? East India Tea Company of Britain 24. What would the colonists still be paying if they bought the British tea? British tax 25. Boston merchants refused to sell the British East India tea. It sat unloaded in the Boston Harbor. Boston Tea Party 26. What did the colonists do to the unwanted tea? The colonists dumped the tea into the Boston Harbor. 27. The Boston Tea Party occurred on December 16, 1773. Intolerable Acts 28. Name the acts that Lord Frederick North passed as punishment for the Boston Tea Party. Coercive Acts 29. Why did the colonists call these acts the Intolerable Acts? The colonists considered them unbearable. First Continental Congress 30. On December 5, 1774, delegates, or representatives, from each colony met in Philadelphia to discuss the Intolerable Acts. 31. Congress wrote a letter to the British government and the American colonists. It stated that colonists should have the same freedom as British citizens. 32. How did King George III respond to the letter? King George III sent more troops to Boston and said the colonists started a rebellion. Battle of Lexington and Concord 33. General Thomas Gage, the British governor of Massachusetts, learned that Patriots were storing gunpowder and cannons in Concord, Massachusetts. 34. Name the two Patriots that rode on horseback to warn the minutemen that the British were coming toward Concord. Paul Revere and William Dawes 35. Which side shot first at the Battle of Lexington? No one knows which side fired first. 36. What happened after news traveled about the Battles of Lexington and Concord? Militias gathered in Boston and trapped the British. 37. Why was the Battle of Lexington and Concord significant to the causes of the American Revolution? It marked the first battle of the Revolutionary War.