Unit 6 How Did the French and Indian War Set the Stage for the

“They know not the character of Americans.”

—John Adams, reflecting on the negative reaction

by the colonists to the passage of the Stamp Act

Background for the Teacher

Read the “How Did the French and Indian War Set the Stage for

the American Revolution?” section of the Teacher Background on

the French and Indian War, page 27.

The French and Indian War changed the relationship between

the British colonies and the mother country. After the 1763

Treaty of Paris, the British had a huge new empire to manage.

The British began to enact policies that set the stage for the

American Revolution.

Students who begin their study of American history with the

Revolutionary War are left with many questions. Why did the

British pass so many taxes in the 1760s? Why were the colonists

able to come together? In this unit students will learn how the

end of the French and Indian war affected the Revolution.

Key Teaching Points

tBritain was in debt and had a huge new empire to manage

tTo cover costs of troops, the colonists were taxed

tThe colonists rebelled

tAfter the American Revolution began, many colonists used

their military training and experience from the French

and Indian War

tFrance allied with the Americans during the Revolution

in part to get revenge on Britain after losing the

French and Indian War

tPontiac’s War was the last war in which the

American Indians had enough resources to

change the outcome of the wars they waged

against the British and Americans

Activities in

This Unit

“The French and Indian

War Sets the Stage for the

American Revolution”

• This reading outlines

four ways the French

and Indian War set the

stage for the American

Revolution.

“Join or Die”

• This helps students learn

to interpret primary source

documents that are visual.

Students will examine

Benjamin Franklin’s

cartoon to see if they can

“read” its message.

Unit 6 How Did The War Set the Stage for the American Revolution?

Fred Anderson. Crucible of War. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000), 656.

Unit 6

How Did the French and Indian War Set

the Stage for the American Revolution?

Spanish dollar

and two British coins

84 Teacher Instructions The French and Indian War Sets the Stage for the American Revolution

The French and Indian War Sets the Stage

for the American Revolution

Teacher Instructions

The French and Indian War set the stage for the American

Revolution and influenced its outcome. This lesson plan

explores fours ways the French and Indian War was influential.

The reading is broken up into short passages followed by

questions. Having students reflect on what they have read is

one good way to increase their comprehension. The questions

ask the students their opinions and don’t necessarily have right

or wrong answers.

Procedure

1. Hand out the Student Reading. Have the students read

“The French and Indian War Sets the Stage for the

American Revolution.”

2. Have the students answer the questions in the reading

and discuss. The questions are opinion questions;

however, the students should support their opinions.

3. Ask the students if they can name four ways the French

and Indian War helped set the stage for the American

Revolution or influenced the outcome of the war.

•TheBritishgainalargeamountoflandfromthe

French at the end of the French and Indian War.

Since it was expensive to have soldiers in North

America the British government began taxing the

colonists to pay for these soldiers. The American

colonists were upset by the taxes.

•TheAmericancolonistshadworkedtogetherduring

the French and Indian War making it easier to work

together against the British government.

•ManyAmericansgainedmilitaryexperienceduring

the French and Indian War.

•TheFrenchjoinedtheAmericanRevolutiontoget

revenge on the British. They were bitter about losing

the French and Indian War.

National History Standards

K-4 Topic 3: 4A, 4B, 4C

US Era 3: 1A, 1C

World Era 6:

Standards

Materials You’ll Need

•1copyofthestudent

reading “The French

and Indian War Sets

the Stage for the

American Revolution”

for each student

George III, King of Great Britain

during the American Revolution

85Student Reading The French and Indian War Sets the Stage for the American Revolution

The French and Indian War Sets the Stage

for the American Revolution

Student Reading

The end of The French and Indian War influenced both the colonial Americans as well

as the officials in the British government. In many ways, it led them on a path to the

American Revolution. Then it continued to influence people and their actions even after

the Revolution began.

Fighting the French and Indian War was very expensive for the British government. It

had borrowed money and needed to pay it back. The British had gained a lot of land from

the French in North America, including many forts. After the war, they stationed British

soldiers in the former French forts, which was expensive. In order to help pay for the

soldiers, the British government decided to start taxing the American colonists, which

they had never done before. The colonists had only been taxed by their own colonial

governments. The first taxes were the Sugar Act of 1763 and the Stamp Act of 1764. The

Americans didn’t think the taxes were fair because they had no elected representatives

in the British government.

Question: Do you think it was fair for the British government to tax the Americans

in order to pay for soldiers who were protecting the American colonies?

_________________________________________________________________________________________

The American colonists protested the taxes and the British government did away with

them; however, the British government thought it had the power to tax the colonists, so

they voted for another tax. After the American colonists protested, they did away with that

one, too. This went on for about ten years. When some Massachusetts colonists dumped

chests of tea into the harbor to protest the tax on tea, the British government became

angry. They decided to punish the colony. Among other things, they closed the port of

Boston and took away much of Massachusetts’ power to govern itself. Many American

colonists were upset by this. They didn’t think the British government had the right to

do these things to any colony. Twelve of the colonies decided to send representatives to a

meeting of the first Continental Congress in the fall of 1774 so that they could coordinate

their opposition to the British government’s actions.

Most of the time the colonies acted independently, but things were changing. During the

French and Indian War, the American colonists had acted together under the command of

the British military to fight the American Indians and the French. Now the colonists were

coming together to protest how the British government was treating them.

86 Student Reading The French and Indian War Sets the Stage for the American Revolution

Question: When you have a disagreement, does everyone have the same ideas

about how to resolve it?

_________________________________________________________________________________________

The first shots of the American Revolution were fired six months later, in April 1775. The

second Continental Congress met and appointed George Washington as the commander of

the American army, which was called the Continental Army.

The Americans tried to resolve their disagreement with the British government, but they

could not find a solution. Finally, on July 4, 1776, they issued the Declaration of

Independence, stating that they planned to break away from the British and form their

own government.

Washington and many other soldiers in the Continental Army had gained experience by

fighting as British soldiers in the French and Indian War. This knowledge and experience

would help the Americans fight against the very powerful British army.

Question: If the French and Indian War had not occurred, do you think the

Continental Army would have been experienced enough to fight the British army?

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Student Reading - The French and Indian War

Sets the Stage for the American Revolution

87Student Reading The French and Indian War Sets the Stage for the American Revolution

The Continental Army had some great victories and some terrible defeats. In 1778,

the French decided to recognize America as an independent country and send money,

weapons, ships and soldiers. The French helped in the final major battle of the war, at

Yorktown, Virginia, that allowed the Americans to win. After that victory, the British

were ready to make peace with the Americans and allow the United States of America

to be an independent country.

What made the French join the Americans? Mainly, it was revenge that drove the French

into helping the Americans. The king of France did not support colonies revolting against

him. At the end of the French and Indian War, the French resented their loss. They

wanted to get back at Britain and make sure that the British did not get too powerful.

Question: Do you think revenge is a good reason for the French to join the

American Revolution?

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Shortly after winning the French and Indian War, the British government decided to

reserve all the land between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River for

Americans Indians. The American colonists were very angry at that decision. They wanted

to settle that land, even though it was where the Americans Indians lived.

Twenty years later, at the end of the American Revolution, the Americans no longer had to

pay attention to the British decision and began to settle the area. As more Americans

moved into the Ohio River Valley, the Americans Indians needed to decide whether to fight,

move out of the area or change their way of life and become like the Americans settlers.

Question: Should the United States government have kept the area

between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River reserved

for the American Indians?

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Student Reading - The French and Indian War

Sets the Stage for the American Revolution

88 Teacher Instructions Join or Die

In 1754, Benjamin Franklin created a political cartoon that

conveyed a powerful message. It was a drawing of a snake cut

into eight parts. Each of the parts represented one or more of

the 13 colonies (South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia,

Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and New

England). The cartoon’s simple message was “Join or Die.”

At the time the colonists didn’t think they needed to join

together. They thought the British government would take care

of them. The cartoon did not become popular until after the

rebellion against the British started and the colonists began to

see the need to unite. It was during the French and Indian War

that the colonists saw how effective and powerful they could be

when they worked together.

This worksheet will help your students learn how to interpret

this critically important American history document.

Procedure

1. Pass out the Activity Worksheet.

2. Have students work alone or in small groups to answer

the questions.

National History Standards

K-4 Topic 2: 3B, 3D, 3E

K-4 Topic 3: 4B

US Era 2: 1B, 2A

US Era 3: 1A

World Era 6:

Standards

Materials You’ll Need

•1copyoftheActivity

Worksheet “Join or Die”

for each student

Join or Die

Teacher Instructions

1754 Join or Die

political cartoon

89Activity Worksheet Join or Die

Join or Die

There’s an old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. Benjamin Franklin

understood that saying.

Here is a drawing that he created in 1754, during the French and Indian War.

It was not popular at that time. However, it became popular later, during the

American Revolution.

Look at the drawing. What do you see?

Look carefully at the sections of the snake’s body. How many sections are there?

Do you see letters by each section? What could those letters represent?

What do you suppose Franklin is saying with this picture?

Why do you suppose it wasn’t popular at first and became popular later?

What was one thing the colonists learned from the French and Indian War?

Activity Worksheet