Unit Overview
The Road to the Revolution
Land in the Americas was highly valued and in 1754, the British (and colonists) went to war with the French (and American Indians) over land in the Ohio River Valley. After almost a decade, the British won and the Treaty of Paris was signed which gave the British control over the land east of the Mississippi River. Though they had just gained the land, they worried about the response to settlers from Native Americans in the area, so they issued the Proclamation of 1763, which prohibited colonists from moving west of the Appalachian Mountains. They also began to impose, or issue, new taxes to the colonies to help pay for the war debt from the French and Indian War. As each new tax was imposed, colonists responded with boycotts and protests. The response of these colonists caused the British government to send soldiers, nicknamed "redcoats" to help keep order in the colonies. This reaction only made colonists more upset, and let to conflicts with the soldiers including the Boston Massacre. As time went on, the colonists turned their movement into a push for independence from Britain. In 1776 representatives from each of the colonies agreed to declare independence from the British in spite of the fact that they would have to fight a war to earn it.
The American Revolution
Although they were fighting against one of the most powerful armies in the world, the newly formed American army had the advantage of knowing the land where they were fighting. They also used guerrilla tactics to be successful. The British used an open battlefield method of fighting at which most of the colonist militia were unskilled. The Americans made gains when they began to use guerrilla tactics by sneaking up and ambushing the British to gain an advantage. The Americans, suffered from lack of training and low supplies, however, they were eventually successful and defeated the British, which grated the United States independence.