This week we will begin Unit III on the American Revolution. We will start with an examination of British colonial theory and practice from 1688 to 1763. During this period, British leaders viewed their colonial system as a centralized enterprise run by the Crown-in-Parliament in London. In actuality, however, the empire functioned in a decentralized fashion with the colonies operating as “pockets of proximate independence.” What does this mean? It means that the British believed their colonial system worked one way (with them in absolute control), when it actuality it worked another way (with the colonies exercising a good bit of local control).

From our discussion of British theory and practice, we will move to the French and Indian War (1754-1763) and its effects in North America. Specifically, we will see that the debt created by the war forced the British Parliament to implement new taxes in America. These taxes along with other controversial policies led to the opening stages of an event that would soon be called the American Revolution.

I encourage each of you to watch the wonderful PBS video entitled, Liberty: The American Revolution. Episode I covers much of the material we will discuss this week. It can be found here.

Complete quiz 7 | 20 multiple choice questions | left menu bar | due by October 21 at midnight

Website: Creating the United States [ html ]

Liberty: The American Revolution | episode I