The American Revolution美国革命.pdf

Identifying Problems and Solutions Use a chart to list the problems American colonists faced in shaping their republic and solutions they found. TAKING NOTES Problem Solution 1. 2. 3. 1. 2. 3. 640 Chapter 22 MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW TERMS NAMES REVOLUTION Enlightenment ideas helped spur the American colonies to shed British rule and create a new nation. The revolution created a republic, the United States of America, that became a model for many nations of the world. ? Declaration of Independence ? Thomas Jefferson ? checks and balances ? federal system ? Bill of Rights 4 SETTING THE STAGE Philosophes such as Voltaire considered England’s government the most progressive in Europe. The Glorious Revolution of 1688 had given England a constitutional monarchy. In essence, this meant that various laws limited the power of the English king. Despite the view of the philosophes, however, a growing number of England’s colonists in North America accused England of tyrannical rule. Emboldened by Enlightenment ideas, they would attempt to overthrow what was then the mightiest power on earth and create their own nation. Britain and Its American Colonies Throughout the 1600s and 1700s, British colonists had formed a large and thriving settlement along the eastern shore of North America. When George III became king of Great Britain in 1760, his North American colonies were grow- ing by leaps and bounds. Their combined population soared from about 250,000 in 1700 to 2,150,000 in 1770, a nearly ninefold increase. Economically, the colonies thrived on trade with the nations of Europe. Along with increasing population and prosperity, a new sense of identity was growing in the colonists’ minds. By the mid-1700s, colonists had been living in America for nearly 150 years. Each of the 13 colonies had its own government, and people were used to a great degree of independence. Colonists saw themselves less as British and more as Virginians or Pennsylvanians. However, they were still