Chapter 6The United States Breaks Away

Focus Questions for Chapter 6

• How did the emergence of the United States shaped Canada?

• What challenges of coexistence arose from the Loyalist migration?

• How did people meet those challenges?

The context of the time…

• After 1763Britain was deeply in debt because of the Seven Years’ War

• Britain did not want to lose their influence in North America

• To maintain their influence, Britain wanted to keep their troops stationed in the Thirteen Colonies

• Question: If Britain was low on money, how could it fund the cost of keeping troops stationed in the Thirteen Colonies?

• To fund the troops, Britain decided to raise the taxes in the Thirteen Colonies

• Question: If you were a resident in the Thirteen Colonies, how would you react to this? Why?

The colonists refused to pay these new

taxes!

.

The colonists said that Britain had no

authority to tax them

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The saying,“No taxation without representation” served as the slogan for their protests against the British.

What does this saying mean???

“No taxation without representation”

The colonists felt that Britain had no right to tax them, as Britain did not allow colonists to elect representatives to the British parliament

• In 1775 the protests in the colonies turned into rebellion

• George Washington took command of an army raised in the Thirteen Colonies to fight British rule

• In 1776 the Thirteen Colonies decided to break away from Britain and become an independent country….

The United States

The Thirteen Colonies declared

itself independe

nt of Britain

The Declaration of Independence

• Question: How do you think Britain would react to the Thirteen Colonies declaring themselves independent from them?

the American Revolution (which lasted from 1776-1783)

The American War of Independence

The war deeply divided the communities in the Thirteen Colonies

PatriotsLoyalist

s(United Empire

Loyalists)

Did they support breaking away from or remaining under British rule?

The American Revolution pressured people in the Thirteen Colonies to Choose sides

Patriots Loyalists

-supported the rebellion and desired to be free from British rule

-opposed the rebellion and wanted to remain united and loyal to Britain

• Make note of the fact that…The colonies of Quebec and Nova Scotia did not want to join this war against British rule

• During (and after) the war, many people who supported British rule left the Thirteen Colonies for the British colonies of Quebec and Nova Scotia

• They were refugees escaping to territories that remained under British rule

.

What impact do you think these settlers had on people who were already living in these

colonies?

.