Module 2: The American Revolution - 1750s to the 1780s

Martina and Terrence visit the Independence Hall, the location of the signing of the Declaration of Independence

Martina and Terrance were glad to have your help sorting out all of the causes and contributions that led to American independence. Along the journey to American independence, you investigated the French and Indian War, which began as the French gained control of trade and territories that the British felt belonged to them. The British won the French and Indian War, which led to the creation of new rules like the Proclamation of 1763 and the Stamp Act. These new rules upset the colonists, and sparked a series of conflicts like the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party.

It was at this point that the patriots decided to fight the British for their independence, starting with the Battle of Lexington and Concord. As the Revolutionary War raged onward, new ideas about the government and the rights of people were expressed by authors like John Locke and Thomas Paine. These same ideas were brought together in the Declaration of Independence, which was written by Thomas Jefferson. Once the patriots defeated the British at the Battle of Lexington, they secured the ideas of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” and ended the war.