What was the most important cause of the American War of Independence?

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What was the most important cause of the American
War of Independence?

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Objectives

• In this activity you will
• Learn the reasons for the American Revolution.
• Discuss the significance of different causes.

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What was the most important cause of the American
Revolution?

• Historians, when exploring the causes of
  different events, often discuss what they
  consider to be the most important cause of an
  event.
• The American Revolution began in 1775, when
  fighting broke out between British troops and
  American rebels in Lexington.

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What was the most important cause of the American
Revolution?

• To identify the most important cause, we need to
  firstly identify some of the different causes of
  the revolution.

1773 Boston Tea Party/Tea Act
1763 Restricting Westward Expansion
Why?
1774 Coercive Acts
1763 British victory in The French and Indian War
1770 Boston Massacre
1774 Quebec Act
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What was the most important cause of the American
Revolution?

• On the following four slides are brief
  explanations of each cause. You may wish to use
  the internet or your textbook for additional
  information.

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Restricting WestwardExpansion 1763

• Britains victory against the French resulted in
  Britain requiring more territory, which was
  expensive to control. Therefore, the Government
  had to raise taxes.
• The British Government also prevented Westward
  Expansion into Indian territory, which many
  colonists resented.

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Boston Massacre 1770

• American colonists were protesting against
  British Taxes known as the Townshend Duties.
• British troops open fired on the protesters,
  resulting in five colonists being killed.

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Boston Tea Party/Tea Act 1773

• The Tea Act decreased taxes on imported British
  tea, which meant British merchants could sell tea
  more cheaply than their American competitors.
• This act resulted in the famous Boston Tea
  Party. John Adams led a group of colonists
  disguised as Indians and boarded British tea
  ships, and threw their cargo of tea into the sea.

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Coercive Acts 1774

• The Coercive Acts protected British officials
  from being prosecuted within American Colonial
  courts.
• Americans referred to this law as the
  Intolerable Acts.
• The Quebec Act recognised the privileged position
  of the Roman Catholic Church in Quebec.
• The boundaries of this province was extended into
  Ohio and the Mississippi River Valleys.
• Most of the Colonists within the Thirteen
  Colonies were Protestant and opposed the Quebec
  Act.

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What was the most important cause of the American
Revolution?

• Once you have identified and understood some of
  the most important causes of the American
  Revolution, try to explain what you consider to
  be the most important cause.
• Use the following statement as a possible
  starting point
• No taxation without representation

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What was the most important cause of the American
Revolution?

• Here is an example explanation
• The most important cause of the American
  Revolution was the continued British attempts to
  increase taxes within the Thirteen Colonies. This
  resulted in many American colonists opposing the
  British Government and the unfair taxes placed on
  them. The British ignored their demands for more
  political power within the Thirteen Colonies.
  This eventually resulted in armed clashes between
  the colonial rebels and British forces starting
  in Lexington in 1775. Many rebels supported the
  argument of no taxation without
  representation.
• Now write your own explanation of the most
  important cause of the American Revolution.