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Grade 4 Social Studies · World 2: Road to Revolution · Level 10
The French and Indian War
Explain who fought (with American Indian allies on both sides), and how the war's debt and the ban on settling past the Appalachians angered colonists.
Warm-up, learn, try it together, practice, then a quick check. About 15 minutes.
What children learn in Level 10
- In the 1750s, Britain and France both claimed land in North America, especially the Ohio River Valley. But American Indian nations already lived there.
- War began in 1754. Colonists call it the French and Indian War. Britain and its colonists fought France, and American Indian nations chose sides to protect their own lands. Many sided with France, and others, like some Haudenosaunee, sided with Britain.
- A young officer from Virginia, George Washington, fought in this war. In 1763, Britain won. France gave up nearly all its land in North America.
- Winning cost a fortune. Britain was left with a huge debt, which is money owed. Leaders decided the colonists should help pay.
- Then came the Proclamation of 1763. To keep peace with American Indian nations, Britain told colonists not to settle west of the Appalachian Mountains. Many colonists who wanted that land were furious.
Georgia Standards of Excellence in Social Studies:
- SS4H1.a — Trace the events that shaped the revolutionary movement in America: French and Indian War, 1765 Stamp Act, the slogan "no taxation without representation," the activities of the Sons of Liberty, the activities of the Daughters of Liberty, Boston Massacre, and the Boston Tea Party.