The Road to Revolution: 1754-1775
What’s the “Big Idea” behind the causes of the American Revolution?
Salutary Neglect: the British were not involved in the active governing of the colonies
The colonists had become accustomed to self-rule
In the 1760’s Britain began to assert its power to collect taxes and enforce trade laws more aggressively than it had before
Colonists resisted and eventually rebelled against increased British control
Why did Britain change the way it dealt with its colonies?
Over 74 years Great Britain, Spain and France fought four wars
o King William’s War
o Queen Anne’s War
o King George’s War
o The Seven Years War
The Seven Years war, referred to as the French & Indian War by the colonists, began in North America
o The British & French fought over the Ohio River Valley
The Albany Plan of Union: the first plan for an “American” government
o Developed by Benjamin Franklin
o Designed to protect the colonies from the French
o Created an inter-colonial government, a system for recruiting troops and collecting taxes for colonial defense
o Set a precedent for the Continental Congress
The British defeated the French
The Treaty of Paris 1763:
o France lost all North American colonies
o Britain gained Canada
Expenses from all four wars led the British to more strictly enforce existing tax laws like the Navigation Acts and create new taxes to pay
war debts
How are Pontiac’s Rebellion and the Proclamation of 1763 connected?
Chief Pontiac led a Native American attack against the colonial settlements in the west
The British sent troops to put down the rebellion
To prevent the expense of future conflicts between colonists and Native Americans the British issued the Proclamation of 1763
o Stopped colonial settlement of territory west of the Appalachian Mountains
o Angered colonists who believed their colonial charters entitled them to lands from the Atlantic ocean to the Pacific ocean
What other British actions did the colonists see as threats to their liberty?
The Sugar Act (1764):
o Placed taxes on foreign sugar and imposed stricter enforcement of the Navigation Acts
o Smugglers were tried in admiralty court without juries
The Quartering Act (1765): required colonists to provide food and living quarters for British soldiers
Stamp Act (1765):
o Required all legal documents, newspapers, pamphlets, and advertisements
o The first direct tax: paid by people in the colonies not by merchants that imported the goods
o Stamp Act Congress: representatives from nine colonies met to protest the Stamp Act
o Sons of Liberty: secret organization that intimidated tax collectors with violence
o Boycotts: refusing to buy British goods proved to be the most effective protest
o Parliament repealed the Stamp Act in 1766 at the request of British merchants
The Declaratory Act (1766): face-saving measure by Parliament, issued after the repeal of the Stamp Act, stated Parliament had the right
to tax and make laws for the colonies “in all cases whatsoever”
The Townshend Acts (1767):
o Parliament enacted new taxes to be collected on tea, glass and paper
o Allowed the search of private homes without a warrant from a judge
o Suspended NY’s colonial assembly for its defiance of the Quartering Act
o Colonists organized boycotts to protest the Townshend Acts
o Repealed in 1770 because of damage to British trade
What were some examples of colonial unhappiness before the American Revolution?
The Boston Massacre (1770):
o A crowd of colonists got into a scuffle with a small group British soldiers
o The soldiers fired into the crowd killing five including an African-American, Crispus Attucks
o Called a “massacre,” the event was used by colonial leaders to provoke ant-British feelings
The Committees of Correspondance: In 1772 Adams organized committees in Massachusetts towns to exchange letters about potential
British threats to colonial liberty
The Boston Tea Party (1773):
o The British put a tax on tea
o Colonists boycotted British tea, and bought smuggled Dutch tea
o Parliament lowered the price of British tea, with tax, below the price of Dutch tea
o Colonists still refused to buy the taxed tea, so as to not recognize Britain’s right to tax
o Bostonians disguised as Indians boarded a British ship and through all the tea overboard as a sign of protest
o Lord North, the British Prime Minister, and the rest of Parliament responded with the Coercive Acts (called the Intolerable Acts
by colonists)
The Coercive/Intolerable Acts (1774): punishment for the Boston Tea Party
o Closed the port of Boston
o Reduced the power of the Massachusetts legislature & increased the power of the royal governor
o Expanded the Quartering Act to allow British troops to housed in private homes throughout the colonies
o Colonists formed the first Continental Congress in response
The Quebec Act (1774): established Catholicism as the official religion of Quebec made lands claimed by lands in the Ohio River Valley
claimed by the colonies
What were some of the big philosophical ideas behind the revolution?
No taxation without representation: parliament could not tax the colonies unless there were representatives from the colonies in
Parliament
The Enlightenment: movement that stressed reason could be used to solve humanity’s problems
John Locke:
o Sovereignty (power) resides with the people
o Governments have an obligation to respect a person’s natural rights (life, liberty and property)
o Citizens have an obligation to revolt against a nation that fails to protect natural rights
o Americans who favored revolution saw taxation as a violation of their natural rights to liberty and property
Rousseau: further developed Locke’s ideas of natural rights with his social contract, his belief that a contract existed between the
government and the governed
The American Revolution: 1775-1783
What did the First Continental Congress do?
In 1774 Representatives form each colony, except Georgia, sent delegates to Philadelphia to organize a response to the Intolerable Acts
Rejected the Intolerable Acts and called for their repeal, urged the colonies to prepare for a possible war and urged the organization of
boycotts
Declaration of Rights and Grievances: a petition listing colonial complaints submitted to King George III
Called for a second Continental Congress in 1775 if their colonial rights were not recognized
What happened at Lexington and Concord?
The first battles of the American Revolution
King George declared Massachusetts to be in a “state of rebellion” and sent in additional troops
British troops tried to seize colonial military supplies in Concord, Massachusetts
Alerted by Paul Revere, the Lexington militia (minutemen) assembled to stop the British troops
The Americans were forced to retreat and the British were able to destroy some of the supplies
Marching back to Boston, the British were ambushed and suffered heavy losses
What happened at Bunker Hill?
American forces were defeated by British forces
The Americans claimed a victory of sorts, having nearly defeated the superior British forces
What did the Second Continental Congress do when they met in 1775?
Called for the formation of a Continental Army to be led by George Washington
o Chosen to pull southerner support by appointing a southern general
The Olive Branch Petition:
o An attempt by the Congress to avoid a war with Britain
o Asked the king to allow the colonies to remain a part of the British Empire, but to be granted more independence
o The King responded by declaring all of the colonies in rebellion and cutting all trade
What documents called for American Independence from Britain?
Common Sense:
o Pamphlet by Thomas Paine that urged Americans to declare independence
o Argued it was a wrong for a large continent to be ruled by corrupt government 2000 miles away
The Declaration of Independence:
o July 4, 1776 the Second Continental Congress signed the Declaration
o Declared American Independence from Britain
o Borrowed from John Locke (life, liberty & pursuit of property) by listing ways the British had violated American natural rights
and arguing these violation justified revolution
How were Americans divided by the Revolution?
Colonists who supported revolution & independence were called Patriots or Whigs, most came from the New England colonies and
Virginia
Colonists who supported British rule & opposed revolution were called Loyalists or Torries, mostly from NY, NJ and Georgia
How did colonial militias differ from the Continental Army?
Both were made up of Patriots who fought the British
Militias were paid for by local governments and colonial governments and consisted of part-time, volunteer soldiers with little experience
or discipline
The Continental Army, funded by the Continental Congress was the army of the United States and consisted of full-time soldiers who
were better trained and more disciplined
What advantages did each side have during the Revolutionary War?
The British had the largest, best trained, best equipped Army and Navy in the world
The Patriots were familiar with the terrain, were defending their homes, and were fighting for their freedom
What disadvantages did each side have during the Revolutionary War?
The British:
o Distance from Britain made supplying troops difficult
o The size of the colonies made military occupation impossible
o The War was unpopular in Britain
o The British were spread too thin defending other colonies
The Patriots:
o The colonial governments provided little support
o Fewer soldiers in the Continental Army due to low pay
o Poor equipment and training for soldiers
What was the war strategy for each side during the Revolutionary War?
Washington and the Continental Army
o Only engaged the British when he had an advantage
o Drag the war out until the British decided it was no longer worth it
o Attack and retreat but avoid defeat
British strategy
o End the war quickly before they lost support at home
Why was the battle of Saratoga (NY) important?
Turning point of the war: before Saratoga the British were winning, after it was the Americans
After Saratoga the French openly supported the Americans: provided soldiers, weapons and naval support
What battle ended the revolution?
The Battle of Yorktown (VA)
British General Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington after being trapped on a peninsula by the Continental
Army and the French Navy
What treaty ended the American Revolution and why did it end?
Economic strain: British merchants were cut off from their supply of raw materials for seven years
Treaty of Paris 1783 provided:
o British acknowledgement of American independence
o The Mississippi river was acknowledged as the US western boundary
o Americans would have fishing rights of the coast of Canada
o Americans would pay debts owed to British merchants
How were state governments set up after independence from Britain was declared?
Each state had a constitution (written plan for government)
Each state had safeguards to prevent government abuse of citizens
Each constitution contained a bill of rights listing basic freedoms that government could not take away from citizens
Separation of powers: three separate branches divided the power government so that no one branch could become too powerful
o Executive: governor
o Legislative: elected two-house legislature
o Judicial: system of courts
How was the US government set up after independence from Britain was compared?
The Articles of Confederation: 1776 John Dickinson drafted the first constitution of the US
Adopted by the Continental Congress 1777, ratified (approved) by states 1781
The national government consisted of a unicameral (one-house) legislature
o Each state received one vote
o Nine votes out of 13 required to pass a law
o Unanimous vote needed to amend the Constitution
Powers given to the Articles of Confederation Congress: declare war, make treaties, borrow money
Powers not given to the Articles of Confederation Congress:
o The power to tax
o The power to regulate commerce (business)
o No executive power to enforce laws
What problems did the Articles of Confederation government have?
The federal government was created weak so that it could not violate the rights of its citizens
Financial:
o The inability of the federal government to pay war debts, limited foreign credit
o Individual states and the federal government printed worthless paper money
o Post-war Economic depression
Foreign Policy: without money or an executive to make decisions in a crisis, Britain and Spain began settling American territory
No judicial branch to settle disputes between states
No power to regulate commerce meant that states could put tariffs on goods from other states
In spite of its weaknesses what was accomplished under the Articles of Confederation?
The US defeated the British in the War for Independence
Northwest Ordinance of 1787:
o Established a system for creating territories in the west
o Established a system for the western territories to become states with the same rights and powers as the original 13 states