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 * Pathfinder for 10th Grade Students of U.S. History**

This pathfinder will help you find information and resources that discuss the causes of the American Revolution. Understanding the foundation of our nation’s history is part of the North Carolina Standard Course of Study for Civics and Economics, as outlined below:


 * Competency Goal 1**: The learner will investigate the foundations of the American political system and explore basic values and principles of American democracy.


 * Objective 1.03**: Examine the causes of the American Revolution.




 * "Join, or Die"**

The thirteen colonies declared independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776, but the seeds of revolution were sown over a decade earlier. Fiery orators like Patrick Henry used their words to spur rebellion against increased British involvement in what had previously been largely autonomous colonies. With shouts of "No taxation without Representation" and "Give me liberty or give me death," zealous Patriots like the Sons of Liberty decided to take action into their own hands.

There is no one incident that sparked the Revolution; rather, a series of escalating events led to the outbreak of war. Divisions existed even among the colonists themselves, as Patriots called for rebellion while Loyalists remained faithful to the British Crown. The events foreshadowing the coming Revolution highlight the changing political, economic, philosophical, and social ideologies of the Patriots who would lay the foundations of a new nation.


 * Scope**

This pathfinder will not have an exhaustive listing of resources, but a sampling of excellent print reference materials, websites, databases, and primary sources, that will help you get started as you begin your research on this topic. Clicking on the links to the left will take you to the resources, but first, you may want to **scroll down to see a timeline on the events that led to the American Revolution.**

**Proclamation of 1763**: Disallowed colonists from purchasing Indian land and stated that only licensed traders were allowed to do business with Indians west of the Appalachian Mountains. **Sugar Act**: Placing tariffs on sugar, coffee, and other goods imported into the colonies in large quantities, this act led to the first cries against "taxation without representation." **Stamp Act**: This act placed taxes on all printed materials. Opposition to the Stamp Act caused the formation of the Sons of Liberty, or "Liberty Boys." **Declaratory Act**: Passed the same day that the Stamp Act was repealed, this act stated that the colonies are "'subordinate' and that Parliament could enact any law it wished 'to bind the colonies and people of America.'"* **Townshend Acts**: Placed taxes on glass, lead, paints, paper, and tea imported into the colonies. All but the tax on tea were repealed by April 1770. **Boston Massacre**: On March 5, 1770, a group of British soldiers fired on a mob of angry Bostonians, killing five of them. **Tea Act**: Parliament gave the British East India Company a monopoly on the tea trade. The resulting outrage in the colonies led to the Boston Tea Party. **Boston Tea Party**: On December 16, 1773, a group of colonists dressed as Indians destroyed all of the tea on three trade ships by spilling the tea into Boston Harbor. **Coercive Acts**: Known as the Intolerable Acts in the colonies, these acts specifically targeted all the citizens of Massachusetts as punishment for the Boston Tea Party. They include the Boston Port Act, the Administration of Justice Act, and the Massachusetts Government Act. **Finally**, on April 19, 1775, the colonists confronted the British Redcoats at the towns of Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, with "the shot heard 'round the world."

* Carnes, Mark C. and John A. Garraty. //American Destiny: Narrative of a Nation//. New York: Penguin Academics, 2006. Print. (Quote from pg. 112.)