File
advertisement
The Road to Revolution, 1763-1775 “The road to revolution was effected before war commenced. The revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people.” ~John Adams, 1818 Topics Deep Roots of Revolution Mercantilism and Colonial Grievances Seditious Committees of Correspondence Tea Brewing in Boston The Merits and Menace of Mercantilism Parliament Passes the “Intolerable Acts” Bloodshed Stamp Tax Uproar Forced Repeal of the Stamp Act Imperial Strength and Weakness American Pluses and Minuses A Thin Line of Heroes Mercantilism is an important concept, research it… The Townshend Tea Tax and the Boston “Massacre” Effects of the French and Indian War on England Pluses Minuses Acquired a VAST imperial domain Vast domain = extremely costly Acquired a seemingly endless supply of raw materials Need for new source of revenue Colonists gained experience in war Mastery of the Seas Despite the newly found taste of independence, most Americans were still loyal to the crown Established as a world power Braddock left a bruise on Britain’s face Iroquois bitterness Resentment of colonists against the British (taxes, prohibiting settlement west of the Alleghenies) Deep Roots of Revolution Conquering the wilderness of the new world created a sense of accomplishment and pride Determination to prove to the scowling English that colonists would not be subdued by their English “superiors” 2 ideas emerge from the colonists: 1. Republicanism 2. A just society—the good of the whole, not individual Citizenry—selflessness, self-sufficiency, courage, civic involvement Radical Whigs Feared the threat to liberty posed by the arbitrary power of the monarch Whigs were on “high-alert” on behalf of the colonists They warned citizens to be on guard against corruption and conspiracies that would take away their hard-earned liberties Mercantilism and Colonial Grievances Mercantilism defined: Beginning around 1650, the British government pursued a policy of mercantilism in international trade. Mercantilism stipulates that in order to build economic strength, a nation must export more than it imports. To achieve this favorable balance of trade, the English passed regulatory laws exclusively benefiting the British economy. These laws created a trade system whereby Americans provided raw goods to Britain, and Britain used the raw goods to produce manufactured goods that were sold in European markets and back to the colonies. As suppliers of raw goods only, the colonies could not compete with Britain in manufacturing. English ships and merchants were always favored, excluding other countries from sharing in the British Empire’s wealth. Adam Smith Scottish-born economist hated the idea of mercantilism He believed the royal crown was stunting the economic growth of the colonies, and felt that kind of interference it was a betrayal to mankind Mercantilism and Colonial Grievances The possession of colonies gave the British an unbelievable amount of wealth—the colonies provided raw material AND Britain’s export market Taking advantage: The Brits not only expected raw materials to be sent from the colonies TO Britain, they also expected the colonists to purchase the finished goods FROM Britain In other words, the colonists provided the material, and then were forced to buy it finished from England, when they could have made the goods here Britain forbade the colonists to make: woolen cloth, beaver hats (why?) Britain forced colonies to provide: sugar, tobacco, ship’s masts AND to buy exclusively from Britain Britain tried to prevent the colonists from becoming too self-sufficient Mercantilism and Colonial Grievances Attempts to regulate mercantilist system: Navigation Laws of 1650 Tried to prevent the Dutch from trading with Americans The way to prevent this: ALL commerce coming in to the colonies must be shipped on British ships Other laws stated that ANY European goods headed for America must land in Britain first There, the tariff duties were collected ($$ for Britain), and often the corrupt officials would take a “slice” of the pie (corruption) Mercantilism and Colonial Grievances Currency shortage Reason: Colonists bought more from Britain than they sold Remedy: Pay in “kind” (in other words, trade what you have for what you need) EX: If you need milk, but have lots of eggs, trade a bucket of milk for a dozen eggs to someone who needs eggs, not milk. Things got so bad with currency that the colonists made their own paper money—but the value depreciated QUICKLY Many colonists went bankrupt, but their bankruptcy laws were pretty lenient, so many British merchants were furious To counter the swelling cases of bankruptcy, Parliament made claiming bankruptcy harder—which had a detrimental effect on Americans’ well-being British merchants and creditors complained to Parliament about the paper money issue The colonists were forced to stop making paper currency Mercantilism and Colonial Grievances Other British annoyances: The British crown reserved the right to overrule any laws made and/or passed by colonists if those laws were harmful to mercantilism However, the crown rarely vetoed legislation The colonists still resented the fact that the crown could veto their laws Colonists felt more like little children than competent leaders And so the list of grievances continues to grow… Merits and Menace of Mercantilism The various Navigation Laws were generally harmless because they were rarely enforced, at least until 1763 Many colonial merchants got around the system Some, like John Hancock, resorted to smuggling and amassed a fortune The mercantilist system did have some benefits for the colonists London paid a lot for ship parts (colonists were very good at manufacturing that, remember?) They even got preferred over the British ship-part merchants Virginia tobacco also aced out the British tobacco companies, monopolizing the market Colonists benefitted from having the most powerful country protecting them on their New World land, all without cost to them (for a little while, at least) Despite the above advantages, mercantilism suppressed economic enterprise and created a infuriating dependence on British agents and creditors The Stamp Tax Uproar England was deep in debt after the Seven Years’ War aka French/Indian War ½ the cost of the went towards defending the colonies Britain had to make up the revenue somehow PM George Grenville, in a show of authority and to pleasing the King, demands the strict enforcement of the Navigation Laws The Navigation Laws became effective in 1650, it was now 1763, so the colonists enjoyed a century of British laxity Grenville: First Lord of the Treasury and later Prime Minister who was responsible for some of the most outlandish taxes on the American colonies, including the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act. These taxes were in part of a result of a strategy by Grenville to boost his popularity in Britain by lowering taxes there. In order to keep revenues coming in, he raised taxes on the colonies. More of Grenville’s Taxes Sugar Act of 1764 Nota bene: this was the 1st law ever made to raise revenue in the colonies for the crown!! It increased the duty on foreign sugar imported from the West Indies All hell broke loose, so the duty was lowered, not removed Quartering Act of 1765 Required certain colonies to provide food and quarters for British soldiers Naturally, this helped build resentment against Grenville and the crown Also in 1765, Grenville imposed the following… The Stamp Tax Uproar The infamous Stamp Act: Colonists’ uproar and fury came to a full boil—despite the fact that the tax was meant to raise revenue to support the troops who had been garrisoned along the Appalachians/Alleghenies as protection. Included in the tax: 50 different trade items Playing cards Commercial and legal documents Newspapers Diplomas Marriage licenses Basically anything that was printed on parchment or other kind of paper The Stamp Tax Uproar Was it reasonable? Grenville said “Yes” After all, the Brits did foot the bill for colonial protection for over 2 generations, and their bill was MUCH larger than the taxes imposed onto the colonies Colonists said “No” After all, the French are gone, we also fought bravely, and Pontiac’s warriors are no longer a threat And, if we are to be taxed, why are we NOT represented in Parliament like Englishmen? The colonists had no problem, for the most part, in upholding Parliamentary laws when it came to matters that affected the empire, but resented having no American representatives to speak on their behalf They believed the troops were there to keep the colonists in line with the crown’s rules What do you think? The Stamp Tax Uproar Grenville dismissed the Americans’ protests He declared that colonists were represented in Parliament because they are all Englishmen, and all Englishmen, regardless of their residence are represented in Parliament He called it “virtual representation” Colonists disagreed with Grenville’s “virtual representation” Truthfully, if the colonists had been represented, they would have probably had to concede to ALL the crown’s whims Perhaps that is why they refused to acknowledge “virtual representation” They would also lose any reason to put up a resistance against the crown What do you think? Forced Repeal of the Stamp Act Stamp Act Congress of 1765 Twenty-seven delegates from 9 colonies meet in NY They met so that they could write a reasonable statement explaining their grievances to the king and asked him to repeal the Stamp Act Even though the Congress went virtually unnoticed in England, it did have a positive effect in the colonies Because so many people from different areas came together for a common cause, many of the past jealousies and suspicions began to give way to inter-colonial unity Since the Congress had no real effect in England, the colonists adopted a nonimportation plan against goods from England The nonimportation plan had very important consequences for the colonists: 1. Supporting a common goal 2. Political participation to colonists who never experienced it before Forced Repeal of the Stamp Act Political actions: Signing petitions Public assemblies (even WOMEN participated!) Women made their own homespun cloth rather than buy from England—and they did it in PUBLIC The public display of defiance helped spread angry resistance throughout the colonies, and sometimes it got a little rough… View the illustration on page 128 Sons and Daughters of Liberty “Vigilante” groups would seek out violators of the nonimportation agreement and administer their own “justice” Tar and feathering, ransacked houses, burned effigies, confiscated their money Many stamp agents collectors quit or were forced to resign out of fear of retaliation from the S&DOL Forced Repeal of the Stamp Act The nonimportation agreement hit England hard! ¼ of all British exports used to go to the colonies, but colonists stopped buying British exports ½ of all British shipping was devoted to American trade English businesses suffered, hundreds of laborers out of work English business owners appealed to Parliament for the repeal of the Stamp Act Parliament members annoyed at colonists b/c the English paid the most to protect the colonies…millions of colonists didn’t even cover 1/3 of the cost! Parliament agreed to repeal the act in 1766 Residents of NY, in their gratitude, erect a statue out of lead to King George III Spirits were high, but not for long… Benjamin Wilson's satirical commentary on the Stamp Act, from 1766, shows a funeral. In the coffin are the remains of the Act. Mourners include Lord Grenville (who is carrying the coffin) and other Parliamentary sponsors of the Act. The print also shows the cargoes, destined for America, which were unsent because of the colonists' embargo of British goods. The ships in the background, ready now to carry the cargoes to the American colonies, are named after the Parliamentary figures who led the campaign for repeal. Forced Repeal of the Stamp Act Spirits dropped when Parliament dropped their bomb… Parliament passed the Declaratory Act The act gave the British government “…absolute and unqualified sovereignty over its North America colonies.” Confrontation between colonists and the king are coming But first, there’s about to be a party in Boston Harbor… The Townshend Tea Tax and the Boston “Massacre” 1767 Townshend Acts—new regulations (and more strictly enforced—to the chagrin of smugglers like John Hancock, who became very rich from loosely enforced British laws) to tax: Glass White lead Paper Paint And…of course…TEA How are these different than Stamp Act that was just repealed???? The Townshend Acts consisted in new duties on imports and a series of acts to regulate trade in the colonies and reduce smuggling. The new regulations were oppressive for many colonial merchants and Hancock called for a non-importation agreement and boycott of non-essential British goods. Mother Britannia Lord North Sandwich Mansfield America Full Caption: ”The able Doctor, or America Swallowing the Bitter Draught.” Etching. From the London Magazine, May 1, 1774. Prime Minister Lord North, author of the Boston Port Bill, forces the ”Intolerable Acts,” or tea, down the throat of America, a vulnerable Indian woman whose arms are restrained by Lord Chief Justice Mansfield, while Lord Sandwich, a notorious womanizer, pins down her feet and peers up her skirt. Behind them, Mother Britannia weeps helplessly. This British cartoon was quickly copied and distributed by Paul Revere. Townshend Acts The revenue from the act was meant to pay royal governors and judges in America Americans were not real happy about this because now they couldn’t withhold governors’ salaries as they previously did London next suspended the legislature of New York in 1767 (called the New York Restraining Act) because they didn’t comply with the Quartering Act The New York Restraining Act, a part of the Townshend Acts, suspended the power of the Assembly until it complied with the Quartering Act. The Restraining Act never went into effect because, by the time it was passed, the New York Assembly had already appropriated money to cover the costs of the Quartering Act. Remember: The Quartering Act required colonial legislatures to pay for certain goods for soldiers stationed within their borders. The goods were generally inexpensive, and the law only applied to soldiers in settled areas, not on the frontier. Most colonies were not dramatically affected by the payments, but New York, which had more soldiers stationed within its boundaries than any other colony, was more greatly burdened by the Quartering Act, and refused to comply with the law. The Townshend Tea Tax and the Boston “Massacre” Colonists began another nonimportation agreement (boycott) British officials attempted to stop the smuggling This time however, the boycott didn’t have the same dramatic effect because the tax wasn’t that heavy, so people didn’t really suffer from it They did resort to smuggling tea into the colonies, since that was the major commodity being taxed (and resented) Stationed troops in Boston Harbor in 1768 These were rowdy, drunken soldiers who overreacted Colonists taunted them constantly Two years later, Redcoats are still in Boston March, 1770, colonists are taunting soldiers, and throwing snowballs The troops panic, open fire, and kill a group of colonists Of all the soldiers involved, only 2 were found guilty of manslaughter They were represented by John Adams (yep, future president) Their punishment (BTW: trial was in England) was branding of the hand The Seditious Committees of Correspondence The Townshend Act did not have the desired results In one year, the revenue was 295 pounds, yet the military cost for the British was 170,000 pounds In addition, the nonimportation agreements were beginning to affect the British merchants Lord North, George III’s Prime Minister, persuaded Parliament to repeal the Townshend duties, with the exception of TEA Why did North continue the tea tax when he could have continued the tax on any other item? Why did this irk the colonists so much? Enter Samuel Adams… Portrait by: John Singleton Copley, c. 1772 “If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.”• Sam Adams Born: September 27, 1722 Birthplace: Boston, Mass. Education: Master of Arts, Harvard. (Politician) Work: Tax-collector; Elected to Massachusetts Assembly, 1765; Delegate to the First Continental Congress, 1774; Signed Declaration of Independence, 1776; Member of Massachusetts State constitutional convention, 1781; Appointed Lieutenant Governor of Mass., 1789; Elected Governor of Massachusetts, 1794-'97. Died: October 2, 1803 aged 81 (death possibly from Parkinson’s) Sam Adams Very in to politics, apparently not fashion His friends bought him decent suits Not much to look at, but passionate about liberty Organized local committees of correspondence These were people who would write letters encouraging resistance to Britain and exchange them with other people who did the same thing Reason? To keep the resistance against Britain alive Next step towards unity: Inter-colonial Committees of Correspondence Why would this be necessary? Soon every colony would establish their own COC and exchange ideas; another step towards unity Tea Brewing in Boston Nonimportation agreement was fading b/c tea from Britain became cheaper than smuggled tea But in 1773, British East India Company tries to sell its 17 million pounds of tea to avoid bankruptcy London government gave them a monopoly on American tea business Basically, the colonists thought that it meant that they would finally submit to taxing them without representation Although tea was cheaper, colonists still held fury b/c the principle of the British tax enforcement still angered them Britain strictly enforced the tax law, colonists rise in revolt The colonists in Philly and NY hold massive demonstrations, forcing the BEIC to go back to England w/out making a cent Tea Brewing in Boston Meanwhile, in MD, demonstrators burn cargo and its vessel “Liberty and Independence or death in pursuit of it.” December, 1773, ~100 Bostonians disguised as Indians board docked ships, smashed open the chests of tea and dump it into the harbor The destroyed tea was worth an estimated £10,000. In today’s money this would be approximately equal to a million dollars Reactions varied: some rejoiced, conservatives condemned the act as wasteful and criminally damaging Lithograph by Nathaniel Currier, 1846—why does that date matter? Intolerable Acts Parliament reacted quickly to the “Tea Party” 1774, a series of acts were passed to punish Boston Americans called these acts “the massacre of American Liberty” 1. Boston Port Act: closed Boston Harbor until reparations were paid 2. Administration of Justice Act: the chartered rights of MA colonists were taken away for 3 years EX: holding a colonist without regard to their rights, and trials to be held in Britain 3. Quartering Act (again!) strictly enforced 4. Quebec Act: extended the boundaries of the Catholic French further southward to the Ohio River (see map, page 132) Quebec Act Had a larger bite than the others b/c it involved a huge swath of land It also seemed to be overly permissive to Catholic French Anti-Catholic colonists were inflamed at the thought of the Pope’s influence reaching their boundaries Land speculators worried about the availability of transAllegheny territory being eaten up by French Read excerpt next to map on page 133 Bloodshed Colonists rallied to help the Massachusetts colonists Because Boston Port was closed, no food or provisions could be delivered to the Bostonians All other colonies stepped up and sent foodstuff and necessities to the besieged city Flags up and down the coast were flown at half-mast Continental Congress in 1774 was called to meet in Philadelphia The purpose was again to appeal to the king for a redress of grievances 12 of 13 (VA didn’t attend) colonies attend, sending 55 welleducated and respected colonists (including Sam Adams, John Adams, G Washington, Patrick Henry) Bloodshed The mix of inter-colonial representatives did wonders in dissolving trust issues Social activity after working all day helped to gain confidence in each other 54 days of constant company After 7 weeks of deliberation, the Congress drew up a “Declaration of Rights” Also—creation of “The Association” This group called for complete boycott of British goods The colonists were NOT, however, asking for independence as of yet, just to have their voices heard and respectfully repeal taxation If they hadn’t heard from Parliament in 6 months, the Congress decided they would meet again Bloodshed Parliament rejects the petitions Colonists begin to drill openly 1775, Britain sends troops to Lexington and Concord to seize colonial gunpowder and arrest ringleaders (like Sam Adams and John Hancock) After Lexington, Redcoats move to Concord Lexington has “minutemen” who didn’t respond quickly enough to the British command of dispersing British soldiers fired on them, killing 8 and wounding many more Concord was ready though, and forced the Redcoats to retreat the blazing gunfire from the minutemen, who were fighting guerilla-style Redcoats retreat into Boston Casualties from the Redcoats: of the 300 casualties, 70 were killed War is now inevitable… Imperial Strengths and Weaknesses STRENGTHS 1. 3 Brits to every rebel (3:1 ratio) 2. Money 3. 4. WEAKNESSES 1. Ireland (about to explode, troops sent there) 2. Inept London government 3. Britons sympathized w/colonists 4. British generals in colonies were second-rate 5. North American vastness-no nerve center 6. Distance from mother England made for unfortunate delays in orders Naval power Professional army ~50K men 5. Hessians ~30K 6. Loyalists ~50K 7. Indians (somewhat reliable) American Strengths and Weaknesses Strengths 1. Respected leaders (Washington, Franklin, de Lafayette) Weaknesses 1. 2. 2. Foreign aid from France (this would come eventually) 3. Defensive position-always a plus! 4. 5. Moral advantage (fought with their hearts on the belief that they were fighting the good fight) Self-sustaining agriculture (didn’t have to rely on ships to deliver goods, unlike the English) with the exception of the south who needed manufactured goods—shoes, coats, etc. Badly organized Jealousy against each others’ colonies led to distrust (states felt they were “sovereign”, resented the CC for exercising its powers) 3. Lack of coin money 4. Depreciated paper money (too much printed, lost value) 5. Inflation-goods unaffordable 6. Hundreds of deserters 7. Not enough military supplies for training and fighting 8. Colonists’ over-reliance on British soldiers for protection A Thin Line of Heroes Who were the early heroes? The brave men who fought despite horrible conditions in Valley Forge Africans (although some fought on the side of the British for the promise of freedom from slavery) And, perhaps most important: Baron von Steuben (Prussian experience from serving under Frederick the Great!) PChCarles Von Steuben whipped the soldiers into shape with remarkable speed! Portrait by: Charles Willson Peale, 1782 Reconciliation or Revolution? The Second CC will meet in Philly, this time ALL 13 colonies will be represented At this point, colonists were still hoping for a reconciliation with George III by drafting new appeals for a redress of grievances Colonists, not being naïve, anticipated the chance that England would spurn them They raised money to create an army and navy, just in case things went badly with the king—which it did All-out war is now on the horizon!
