Creation of the United States:
The Road to Revolution
(GA SSUSH 3a-e)
• Britain and France had a long-standing rivalry
• Between 1700-1750 small skirmishes had
broken out in British and French colonies around
the world
• The French and Indian War (7 Years War)
began in North America, but eventually spread
throughout the world.
– No…it wasn’t France vs. Indians
•
1754- War Breaks Out Over Ohio
Valley Territory
•
Disputed Territory (British,
French, and Indians)
•
1747- Virginians form Ohio
Company to claim territory
•
•
French respond by
establishing forts
George Washington sent with
Soldiers and Natives to tell
French to ‘scram’
•
Washington surprises a group of
French soldiers… Someone
starts shooting.
•
Natives, against Washington’s
orders, kill wounded French
•
•
Likely to force a war between
French and British
•
War between French and
British would weaken both
Washington was forced to hunker
down and create “Fort Necessity”
• 1754: The Albany Plan
– Fort Necessity was easily overcome by French/
British Alliance
– British knew they had to put a quick end to conflict
• Pursued an alliance with “neutral” Indian Tribes of NY
• 1754: The Albany Plan
– Ben Franklin + Thomas Hutchinson drafted the
“Albany Plan”
• Albany, NY
• Unified the colonies under a single government solely for war and
defense policies (sound familiar?)
• Attempted to restore relations
with Natives
– Colonies, Parliament, and
Natives rejected plan
• The Iroquois decide to join the French to
dissuade the British from westward
expansion
• 1755: British Decide to Eliminate
French Presence in North
America
– Gen. Edward Braddock
• Charged with evicting the French from the OH Valley &
Canada (Newfoundland & Nova Scotia)
• Attacks OH Valley, Mohawk Valley, & Acadia
• Killed 10 mi. from Ft. Duquesne by 1500 French and Indian
forces
• Only British Success? Expelled France from
Louisiana.
1756: Britain Formally Declares War
Colonials
Methods of Indian-style guerilla
tactics
Fighting :
Military Colonial militias served
Organization:
under own captains
British
March in formation or
bayonet charge
British officers wanted to
take charge of colonials
Military No military deference or
Discipline :
protocols observed
Drills & tough discipline
Finances : Resistance to rising taxes
Colonists should pay for
their own defense
Demeanor : Casual, non-professionals
“Prima donna” British
officers with servants &
tea settings
• 1757: William Pitt becomes Foreign Minister
• 1757: William Pitt becomes Foreign Minister
– Turns the tide of the war
– Commits large amounts of resources to fighting
French throughout the world
– If the Colonial assemblies would re-affirm loyalty and
military cooperation, Britain would reimburse them for
their military costs
1758- 1761, the tide turns for Britain.
Spanish join war.
Treaty of Paris, 1663
England: got all French lands in Canada,
exclusive rights to Caribbean slave trade,
and commercial dominance in India.
Spain: got all French lands west of the
Mississippi River, New Orleans, but lost
Florida to England.
France: lost Canadian territory, most of
territory in India, and claims to lands east of
the Mississippi River.
It increased Britain's colonial empire
in the Americas.
It greatly enlarged England’s debt
Britain’s contempt for the colonials
created bitter feelings.
England responded by reorganizing
the Colonies
The Victory of Montcalm's Troops at Carillon. Early 20th century
painting by Henry Alexander Ogden. Depicts a French Victory
It united them against a common
enemy for the first time
It created a socializing experience
for all the colonials who
participated
It created bitter feelings towards the
British that would only intensify
The Victory of Montcalm's Troops at Carillon. Early 20th century
painting by Henry Alexander Ogden. Depicts a French Victory
Natives were left very weary
(especially the tribes allied with
the French) that their land was
now claimed solely by the British
Pontiac (Ottawa Chief) led natives
against Fort Detroit as a
preemptive strike
"The Indians giving a talk to Colonel Bouquet in a conference at a council
fire, near his camp on the banks of Muskingum in North America in Oct.
1764“. Engraving by Grignion after a painting by Benjamin West.
• Following the War, Britain was in great
debt
– George Grenville began looking for money in
customs service
• Salaries of Customs Officers was 4x collected
revenue
• Grenville Instituted a series (program) of
Acts to collect all possible revenues
Sugar Act - 1764
Currency Act - 1764
Quartering Act - 1765
Stamp Act - 1765
• Representation
– Actual Representation: Colonists send reps. to
Parliament
– Virtual Representation: As English citizens, the
Colonists are already represented in Parliament
• Grenville argues for Virtual Representation,
the Colonists disagree
• Feeling they had no recourse, grass-roots
resistance to the Stamp Act arose
• “Sons of Liberty”
– America’s first terrorist organization?
• Resignation of Andrew Oliver
• Destruction of Thomas Hutchinson’s house
• Burying a CT stamp agent alive
Stamp Act Congress
– October, 1765
– 27 men, representing 9 colonies
– Met for 2 weeks to draft a
petition to the King and
Parliament
• Affirmed their status as English citizens under Royal
Authority
• Demanded their English rights to representation in
Parliament
British Response
• Britain repeals Stamp Act
– Solely because of boycott
– Not because of Congress
• Declaratory Act, 1766
– Parliament reaffirms its right
to tax Colonies in any way it deems fit.
• 1767: William Pitt appoints Charles
Townshend Secretary of the Exchequer
• Townshend assumed taxes on imports
would be more acceptable to colonists
– Increases customs officers
– He’s trying to avoid another Stamp Act crisis
– Taxes were not very burdensome
“We are taxed without our consent…We are
therefore—SLAVES!”
– John Dickinson, 1768
• Colonists start to talk of outright refusing the authority of
Parliament
Sarah Franklin Bache
by John Hoppner, 1793
Daughters of Liberty
– Rebellion movement like Sons of Liberty
– Townshend Acts taxed imports
traditionally used by women
– Patriotism = boycotting
– “Spinning bees”
– Unlike Sons of Liberty, used Non-violent,
non-intimidating methods of protest
Abigail Adams, later in life, by Gilbert Stuart.
• February, 1770
– Sons of Liberty threaten a customs officer. He gets scared
and shoots a musket at them, killing an innocent boy
• March 5, 1770
– Soldiers are stationed at customs office
• Soldiers had a history of antagonism with colonists
– A mob formed around soldiers
• Taunting soldiers, throwing snowballs and rocks
– A soldier fired…soon, all fired on the crowd
• 11 wounded
• 5 Killed
How factually accurate
is this engraving?
How does art fuel the
revolutionary fire?
“The Bloody Massacre,” Engraved Printed & Sold by Paul Revere
• Clandestine groups within colonial towns
• Politicized citizens with revolutionary rhetoric
• Provided means of communication apart from Royal
channels
• Broadened the resistance movement
Tea Act
• Smuggled tea outsold British Tea to
bypass this Lord North gave favored
status to East India Company’s tea
– Cut out middle-men, making tea cheaper
• Despite the good intentions, colonists interpreted the Act
as a trick to make colonists buy British tea
Port Bill
Government Act
Quartering Act (1774)
Administration of Justice Act
“This print shows colonial protest against the Intolerable Acts. In August 1774,
Virginians were urged to sign a pledge of loyalty to the resolves of the Continental
Congress and to stop the export of tobacco, the colonies' major and most profitable
crop, until all taxes on imported goods were repealed. The pledge was known as the
Williamsburg Resolutions.”
Cited from http://www.history.org/history/teaching/tchcrpc2.cfm
• 55 Delegates from 12 Colonies
• Agenda: How to respond to the Intolerable Acts
• 1 Vote Per Colony Represented
April 18-19, 1775
Paul Revere & William Dawes
make their midnight ride to warn
the Minutemen of approaching
British soldiers.
We haven’t discussed religion directly…
How might religion overlap with other
spheres during this time period?