The American Revolution: from the Tea Party to the Constitution
FoundationPost-war taxes on the thirteen colonies met the cry of 'No taxation without representation'; war followed the Boston Tea Party of 1773, the Declaration of Independence (1776) founded the United States, Britain conceded in 1783, and the federal Constitution of 1787 set up federalism and separated powers.
- The causal opening: Seven Years' War debt → the Stamp Act (1765) → 'No taxation without representation'
- The Boston Tea Party (1773, 342 chests) → the Coercive Acts (1774) → Lexington (1775)
- The Declaration of Independence (4 July 1776): equality, natural rights, government by consent
文體小知識：歷史敘事課：接著「加稅→傾茶→開戰→獨立→制憲」五步走，留意啟蒙思想（天賦人權、社會契約）怎樣寫入《獨立宣言》——「無代表，不納稅」是貫穿全課的關鍵詞。
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1The thirteen North American colonies had largely governed themselves for a century. Britain's debts after the Seven Years' War (1756–1763) led Parliament to tax the colonies: the Stamp Act of 1765 put a duty on every paper document. Since the colonies had no seats in Parliament, they cried 'No taxation without representation', boycotted British goods and forced the act's repeal — but the tea tax stayed, and tension kept rising.
2In the Boston Massacre (1770) redcoats shot five men dead; in December 1773 Boston's 'Sons of Liberty', dressed as Native Americans, boarded three tea ships and dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbour, protesting the East India Company's tea monopoly — the Boston Tea Party. Britain answered with the Coercive Acts: Boston's port was closed and Massachusetts' self-rule curtailed. The colonies sent delegates to Continental Congresses, and in April 1775 the first shots rang out at Lexington.
3On 4 July 1776 the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence drafted by Jefferson, proclaiming that 'all men are created equal', endowed with rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and that governments derive their powers from the consent of the governed — Enlightenment ideas in a founding document. Washington's Continental Army turned the war at Saratoga (1777); France joined in 1778. At Yorktown (1781) Cornwallis surrendered, and by the Treaty of Paris (1783) Britain recognised American independence.
4The first constitution, the Articles of Confederation, left the central government too weak: no power to tax or regulate trade, and Shays' Rebellion (1786–87) exposed the chaos. The Constitutional Convention of 1787 wrote a federal constitution: power divided between nation and states; executive (president), legislative (Congress) and judicial (Supreme Court) branches separated and checking each other. It took effect in 1789 with Washington as first president; the Bill of Rights (1791, the first ten amendments) protected speech, faith and other freedoms. The American Revolution showed Enlightenment ideas could become institutions, and directly inspired the French Revolution.
1Summary 重點摘要
Post-war taxes on the thirteen colonies met the cry of 'No taxation without representation'; war followed the Boston Tea Party of 1773, the Declaration of Independence (1776) founded the United States, Britain conceded in 1783, and the federal Constitution of 1787 set up federalism and separated powers.
2Vocabulary cards Vocabulary
The colonists' slogan: since the colonies had no seats in Parliament, Parliament had no right to tax them.
The 1765 act taxing every paper document with a stamped duty; boycotted by the colonies, repealed in 1766.
In December 1773 the 'Sons of Liberty', disguised as Native Americans, dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston harbour against the tea tax and the East India Company monopoly.
Britain's 1774 reprisals for the Tea Party — Boston's port closed, Massachusetts' self-rule curtailed — which united the colonies instead.
Adopted 4 July 1776, drafted by Jefferson: all men created equal, with rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, government resting on the consent of the governed.
Commander-in-chief of the Continental Army who led the war to victory; first president of the United States from 1789.
The American victory of 1777 that persuaded France to enter the war openly — the turning point of the revolution.
The 1781 siege where the allied American-French army trapped Cornwallis, whose surrender effectively ended the war.
Drafted 1787, in force 1789: federalism plus separated, mutually checking powers — the world's first written federal constitution.
The first ten amendments (1791) protecting speech, faith, assembly and other personal freedoms.
3Step by step Steps
- Para 1: post-war taxesAfter the Seven Years' War (1756–1763) Britain's national debt stood at some £130 million, and London decided the North American colonies should share the cost of their own defence. The Stamp Act (1765) put a duty on newspapers, documents and even contracts, and the colonies answered with sweeping boycotts; 'No taxation without representation' became the central cry. The quarrel was not the size of the tax but the claim that Parliament had no right to tax the colonies directly at all.
- Para 2: the Boston Tea PartyIn 1770 a street confrontation in Boston left five civilians dead when British soldiers fired — the Boston Massacre. In December 1773, protesting that Parliament had let the East India Company dump cut-price tea on the colonies and monopolise the trade, members of the 'Sons of Liberty', disguised as Native Americans, boarded three ships in Boston harbour and dumped 342 chests of tea into the sea. Britain answered with repression, and the crisis escalated fast.
- Para 2: repression to warParliament punished Massachusetts with the Coercive Acts (1774): Boston's port was closed until the tea was paid for, the colony's self-government was curtailed and soldiers were quartered in private homes. The colonies closed ranks in the First Continental Congress; in April 1775 troops marching out to search for militia stores clashed with minutemen at Lexington — the first shots of the War of Independence, and a point of no return.
- Para 3: the DeclarationOn 4 July 1776 the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, drafted by Jefferson, proclaiming thirteen colonies free of British rule. 'All men are created equal', it declared, endowed with rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, and when they destroy those ends the people may alter or abolish them — Locke's and Rousseau's ideas written into a founding charter for the first time.
- Para 3: winning the warWashington knew a decisive battle was beyond him and kept the army alive through a war of attrition. Saratoga (1777) proved the Continental Army could beat regulars and brought France into the war in 1778 with navies, money and an expeditionary force, followed by Spain and the Netherlands. In 1781 a combined Franco-American army besieged Yorktown, where Cornwallis surrendered with some 7,000 men; by the Treaty of Paris (1783) Britain formally recognised American independence.
- Para 4: the federal ConstitutionUnder the post-war Articles of Confederation the central government could neither tax nor regulate interstate trade — a union close to existing only on paper; Shays' Rebellion (1786–87) exposed the danger. The Constitutional Convention met at Philadelphia in 1787 and built federalism with separated powers: a president for the executive, Congress for legislation, a Supreme Court for justice, each checking the others. Effective from 1789, it was completed in 1791 by ten amendments, the Bill of Rights, protecting individual liberties.
- Summary: a double significanceThe American Revolution's significance is twofold. At home it turned Enlightenment ideas into institutions — a written constitution and a Bill of Rights proving that principles can be made to work as a practical frame of government. Abroad it demonstrated that colonies could defeat an empire, directly inspiring the French Revolution and the Latin American independences of the nineteenth century. A dispute that began over taxes ended by rewriting the political rules of the modern world.
4Diagrams Diagrams
5Worked example Example
Example: how do the Declaration of Independence and the federal Constitution embody Enlightenment ideas? Give two examples each.
- Declaration (1776): 'all men are created equal' with natural rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness — Locke's rights list rewritten
- Declaration: government's power rests on the consent of the governed, so the colonies might leave a king who broke the contract — social contract applied
- Constitution (1787): executive (president), legislative (Congress) and judicial (Supreme Court) powers separated and checking each other — Montesquieu in operation
- Bill of Rights (1791): the first ten amendments protect speech, faith and assembly — power limited by written law
- Answer: The Declaration embodies Locke's natural rights and the social contract (the legitimacy of founding); the Constitution embodies Montesquieu's separation and checks (guarding against the new government's own tyranny), with the Bill of Rights adding personal freedoms. Tip: pair one document with one idea and a date — instant structure.
6Common mistakes Mistakes
7Quick check Quick check
Q1What did 'No taxation without representation' mean?
Q2When was the Boston Tea Party, and what happened?
Q3When was the Declaration of Independence adopted, and what Enlightenment ideas did it carry?
Q4Which battle was the turning point and brought France into the war?
Q5What system did the federal Constitution of 1787 establish?
8Recap Recap
- The causal opening: Seven Years' War debt → the Stamp Act (1765) → 'No taxation without representation'
- The Boston Tea Party (1773, 342 chests) → the Coercive Acts (1774) → Lexington (1775)
- The Declaration of Independence (4 July 1776): equality, natural rights, government by consent
- Saratoga (1777) → French entry → Yorktown (1781) → the Treaty of Paris (1783) recognising independence
- The Constitution (1787): federalism plus separated powers; the Bill of Rights (1791) guarding freedoms