hi there my name is Maya and welcome to u.s. history 3 the Revolutionary War and
the Declaration of Independence in this video you'll learn about how the
American colonists decided to revolt against the British and the document
that first founded the United States of America
as the colonists continued to settle into their new homes and build families
and businesses they began to find that their needs and wants were quite
different from those of the British back home throughout the late 1600s and the
1700s the British passed new laws preventing the colonists from
controlling where their products were shipped as well as what products were
shipped in from Europe they also decided to prevent westward expansion forbidding
the colonists from exploring new land and growing past a certain point however
the colonists were not too happy with any of these developments and tensions
began to build in 1764 the British prime minister decided the Americans were not
paying enough taxes to help support the British Army in their endeavors across
the world he passed several new laws imposing
taxes on sugar and more importantly newspapers cards and even legal
documents this meant that these everyday goods could no longer be bought in
America for their previous low price instead every American was forced to pay
more for these simple items but most importantly these taxes did not feel
fair to the colonists because no one from America was currently represented
in the British Parliament where every legal decision was made for them the
Americans were furious their motto became no taxation without
representation they refused to purchase any British goods and clashed violently
with the British soldiers who came to America one of the colonists most famous
acts of rebellion was the Boston Tea Party in 1773 when they boarded ships
full of British tea being imported and tossed it all into the sea their
message was clear they would not back down until they saw change in 1774 the
Continental Congress was formed a political group of Americans seeking to
change the laws that restricted the colonies though they tried to put forth
several compromises to the British none were accepted and negotiations fell to
violence in 1775 British troops tried to take Massachusetts under control as it
was considered a place of rebellion however the Americans rose up against
them fighting back with surprising force the Congress had had enough they formed
an official American army with George Washington as commander the American
Revolution had begun with every colony now in declared rebellion the fighting
continued to escalate meanwhile the Congress formed a committee to draft the
Declaration of Independence a document that would officially free America from
British control the Declaration of Independence listed the many faults and
flaws of the British system and the ways America had suffered underneath their
rule it also set forth goals for a better America in the future one line
particularly stands out we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men
are created equal that they are endowed by their creator with certain
unalienable rights that among these are life liberty and the pursuit of
happiness the Declaration was authored by Thomas Jefferson and was signed and
adopted on July 4th 1776 to this day July 4th is an American holiday to
celebrate this incredible freedom with fireworks flags and fun parties here's a
fun fact that same year a woman named Betsy Ross sewed the first American flag
with alternating red white stripes as well as 13 stars in the
blue corner these stars represented the 13 colonies of the time throughout the
fall of 1776 the war did not look good for the Americans George Washington was
forced to retreat from the battles in Long Island in New York and the British
remained confident in their ability to win due to size and experience and Wars
however their ships of supplies and soldiers took many weeks to arrive and
the Americans were far fiercer than they had anticipated Washington won battles
in Trenton and Princeton New Jersey and surrounded British troops in Saratoga
New York as the war continued the Americans knew they couldn't win against
a powerful enemy like the British without a little bit of help they
convinced the French as well as the Spanish to declare war on Britain making
it nearly impossible for the British to supply enough resources to their troops
in America the war finally began to end in 1781 when the British were forced to
surrender in the battle at Yorktown Virginia just two years later the Treaty
of Paris is created and signed for the Continental Congress as well as by
representatives of King George the third it was official the United States of
America was free and had the Declaration of Independence to prove it if you want
to learn more about how the u.s. created their own government and established new
laws check out US history for the Constitution and it's amendments
meanwhile you can practice what you learned on our fun online games and
quizzes thank you for watching and until next time always be clever