CHAPTER FOUR
The Empire in Transition
SPRING 2012
Brooklyn College
HISTORY 3401: AMERICA TO
1877
TR8 - 3167
BRENDAN O’MALLEY,
INSTRUCTOR
BOMALLEY@BROOKLYN.CUNY.EDU
King George III by Allan Ramsay, painted in 1762 (just two years into his rule)
CHAPTER FOUR
The Empire in Transition
Loosening Ties: A Decentralized Empire
 Growing Power of Parliament: In the fifty years after the
Glorious Revolution (1688), especially under the rule of King
George I (1714-1727) and King George II (1727-1760), the Prime
Minister of Parliament and his cabinet had become the real
executives of the government rather than the king.
 Loose Control of Colonies: George I & II were less likely to
tighten control over the colonies than their seventeenth-century
predecessors since doing so might alienate the powerful merchants
who made big profits with trade with the colonies. Administration
of the colonies thus remained loose and inefficient.
CHAPTER FOUR
The Empire in Transition
Loosening Ties: A Decentralized Empire
 Nature of Colonial Governments: Few governors were talented or
even competent men, while the elected colonial assemblies aggressively
asserted their rights to levy taxes, approve appointments, and pass laws.
 Colonies Divided: Despite power assemblies and loose imperial
governance, most colonists felt stronger ties to England than to the
other colonies, despite having to cooperate with them on matters like
trade, postal service, and road construction.
 Albany Plan: With the French and Indian War underway, delegates
from several colonies met in Albany in 1754 to work out a plan for a
“general government” to manage relations with Indians, drafted by
Benjamin Franklin. Non of the colonial assemblies approved the plan—
the colonies could not cooperate on so basic a need as defense.
CHAPTER FOUR
The Empire in Transition
The Struggle for the Continent
 Seven Years’ War: The war that broke out in North America in the
1750s and 1760s—commonly known as the French and Indian War—
was the part a broader, global struggle between the French and the
English known as the Seven Years’ War, which ended with a decisive
English victory, leading to British control of the seas and North America.
 New France: By the end of the 1600s, the French had claimed almost
the entirety of the North American continent’s interior: the whole
Mississippi River Valley and plains stretching to the Rocky Mountains, as
well as Canada to the north. The French had many Indian Allies.
 The Iroquois Nations: The most powerful Indian group in North
America was the Iroquois Confederacy, compose of five Indian nations:
the Mohawk, Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, and Oneida. Founded as a
defensive alliance, it controlled much of upstate New York and the Ohio
River Valley. It astutely played the French and English off of each other
and traded with both.
CHAPTER FOUR
The Empire in Transition
The Struggle for the Continent
 Anglo-French Conflicts: In the 80 years after the Glorious Revolution
(1688), France and England entered into a series of wars triggered by imperial
rivalry: King William’sWar (1689-1697), Queen Anne’s War (1701-1713), and King
George’s War (1744-1748). Queen Anne’s War resulted in the English obtaining
Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. In 1749, after King George’s War, the Iroquois
granted English merchants permission to enter the interior, heightening
tensions with the French.
 Fort Necessity: In 1754, the governor of Virginia sent a militia under the
command of a young colonel named George Washington (1732-1799) to attack
a French outpost on the site of what is now Pittsburgh. The detachment’s failed
attack led to a counterattack of a crude stockade thrown up by Washington’s
men by the French. Nearly a third of the Virginians had been killed when
Washington surrendered. This was the first battle of the “French and Indian
War.”
CHAPTER FOUR
The Empire in Transition
The Struggle for the Continent: The Great War for Empire
 The Three Phases: The conflict went through three distinct phases:
1) 1754 – 1756: North American conflict only with all Indian tribes except the
Iroquois aligned with the French. Disastrous for the English.
2) 1756 – 1758: Seven Years’ War begins with outbreak of fighting in West
Indies, Europe, and India, although North America remains the primary theater.
In 1757, William Pitt, the young Secretary of State back in London, takes direct
control of war (it previously had been run by colonial authorities). British
authorities “impressed” colonists as soldiers aand confiscated supplies from
civilians, making the war effort unpopular.
3) 1758 – 1760: Pitt relaxes measures that were obnoxious to the colonists by
putting the assemblies in charge for recruitment of soldiers and having farmers
reimbursed for supplies taken. In 1758, the English saw a turnaround, capturing
the Fortress of Louisburg in Nova Scotia and Fort Duquesne in what is now
Pennsylvania. In 1759, Quebec fell, and in 1760, the French army surrendered
in Montreal. A formal peace was settled in 1763.
Benjamin West, The Death of General Wolfe, ca. 1771
Wolfe, a young British general in the French and
Indian War. Wolfe was fatally wounded during the
Siege of Quebec in 1759.
CHAPTER FOUR
The Empire in Transition
The Struggle for the Continent: The Great War for Empire
Germ Warfare
An early practitioner of germ warfare was the new
commander of British and colonial forces in 1757,
Lord Jeffrey Amherst (1717-1797). After the
massacre of surrendered British and colonial troops
at Fort William Henry at the southern end of Lake
George in upstate New York in August 1757
(a crucial scene in James Fenimore Cooper’s
The Last of the Mohicans), Amherst invited to a peace
talk and were given the “gift” of blankets, which
had been infected with smallpox. The disease soon
broke out among the Delaware, although it is hard
to determine whether or not the blankets were
the source. In any case, spreading the disease among the Indians was unquestionably
Amherst’s intention.
CHAPTER FOUR
The Empire in Transition
The Struggle for the Continent: The Great War for Empire
 Peace of Paris: The conflict came to a formal end with the Peace of
Paris in 1763. The treaty greatly expanded British influence in the world
and North America especially: France ceded to England some of its West
Indian islands (but not Haiti), most colonies in Canada and India, and
claims to land east of the Mississippi. France ceded New Orleans and all
lands west of the Mississippi to Spain.
 Debt and Resentment: The French and Indian War increased British
debt significantly and at the same time caused resentment toward the
colonists, who had been militarily inept, had contributed so little to the
cost of the war even though it was for their own defense, and had even
sold some supplies to the French. Many British leaders saw this as an
opportunity to reorganize the empire and give London increased control
of the colonies.
CHAPTER FOUR
The Empire in Transition
The Struggle for the Continent: The Great War for Empire
 Colonists’ Reaction: The war was the first time the colonies had to come
together against a common foe, the 1758 return of colonial authority of
impressment made others view British interference in local affairs as
illegitimate.
 Indians’ Reaction: The British victory was disastrous for pro-French tribes of
the Ohio Valley. It was only marginally better for the pro-English Iroquois
Confederacy, whose passivity the English viewed as duplicitous, leading to a
disintegration of Indian/English relations. Furthermore, the removal of the
French from the scene left the Iroquois and other Indians without two imperial
powers to play off of each other—only the British were left.
 Pontiac Rebellion: With the defeat of the French, English settlers began to
move into the Ohio River Valley. The region’ Indian tribes struck back, raiding
areas of settlement, killing hundreds of solders and frontiersmen, and pushing
the line of settlement back. British authorities drew up the Proclamation of
1763 in response, forbidding settlement beyond the Appalachians.
The British
Colonies
in 1763
CHAPTER FOUR
The Empire in Transition
The New Imperialism: Burdens of Empire
 Need for Revenue: The British government was deeply in debt and thus
sought new means to raise revenue. Many in Parliament thought a direct tax of
colonists was the only solution.
 King George III: During this difficult period, the British had the bad luck of
having King George III (r. 1760-1820) take the throne. He had two unfortunate
qualities:
1) He was interested in reasserting the power of the monarchy against
Parliament, and removed a relatively stable ruling coalition of Whigs that
governed most of the 1700s, replacing them with ministers who on average did
not last more than two years.
2) The king had bouts of insanity and also has a immature and insecure
personality, which contributed to the political instability.
• George Grenville (1712 – 1770): He became prime minister in 1763 and
shared the opinion the colonists had to pay for their own defense.
CHAPTER FOUR
The Empire in Transition
The New Imperialism: Battles over Trade and Taxes
 1764 Sugar Act: Raised taxes on sugar while lowering it on molasses (it
had been twice as much previously, but had never been collected). The
act also created a Vice Admiralty court to enforce laws and prosecute
smuggling.
 1764 Currency Act: Eliminated the colonial assembly’s ability to issue
paper money, potentially constricting colonial economies.
 1765 Mutiny or Quartering Act: Parliament passed this act which
requires colonists to help provision and maintain the army after colonial
assemblies refused to do so.
 1765 Stamp Act: Imposed an imperial tax on every printed document in
the colonies: newspapers, almanacs, pamphlets, deeds, wills, contracts,
licenses, and even dice. This quickly became the most hated of all of
Grenville’s taxes as it interfered with almost every daily transaction.
Designs for Stamp Act stamps
Examples of how some colonial newspapers responded to the
Stamp Act. Note the skull and crossbones in the place where
the stamp was to be affixed (note the day of publication is also
Halloween!).
CHAPTER FOUR
The Empire in Transition
The New Imperialism: Battles over Trade and Taxes
Internal Resistance to Taxes:
Some colonists still harbored more resentment toward each other
than toward imperial authorities.
 Paxton Boys: The Paxton Boys in Pennsylvania were armed
frontiersmen who marched on Philadelphia in 1763 to demand tax
relief and financial support for their defense against Indians.
 The “Regulators”: In 1771, small upcountry North Carolina
farmers revolted against the high taxes collected by local sheriffs.
Their revolt was put down by a militia sent from the wealthier
eastern part of the colony.
CHAPTER FOUR
The Empire in Transition
The New Imperialism: Battles over Trade and Taxes
 More Revenue Collection: By 1765, imperial officials were
collecting ten times as much revenue as they had been two years
before.
 New Taxes Unify the Colonists: Grenville’s taxes did more to rally
the colonists together than anything they could have done themselves.
They came together more readily to face an external threat.
 Political Implications vs. Economic Ones: Ultimately, the
economic hardships posed by the new taxes were relatively slight.
What really inflamed the colonists were the political implications: that
Parliament had the right to tax the colonists directly and supersede the
colonial assemblies.
CHAPTER FOUR
The Empire in Transition
Stirrings of Revolt: The Stamp Act Crisis
 Unifying the Colonies: The Sugar Act of 1764 had only affected the New
New England merchants, but the Stamp Act affected everyone.
 A Disturbing Precedent: Past taxes and duties seemed to only regulate
commerce. The new ones only seemed to have the purpose of raising
revenue while circumventing the authority of the colonial assembly.
 Virginia Resolves: In May 1765, Patrick Henry of the Virginia House of
Burgesses made a dramatic speech that predicted that the tyrannical George
III might lose his head if the monarch stayed on the current course. Henry
set forth several resolutions that declared that Americans had the same rights
as the British, and especially the right to be taxed only by their own elected
representatives; that they should not pay taxes that the House of Burgesses
had not approved, and that anyone saying Parliament had the right to impose
taxes on Virginia should be declared an enemy of the colony.
CHAPTER FOUR
The Empire in Transition
Stirrings of Revolt: The Stamp Act Crisis
 Stamp Act Congress: James Otis of Massachusetts proposed an idea of
creating a colonial congress to formulate and coordinate action against the
Stamp Act. The Stamp Act Congress met in Oct. 1765 in New York.
 Stamp Act Officials Terrorized: In Boston and other cities, tax
collectors were terrorized by newly organized groups like the Sons of
Liberty in Boston, who broke into their homes and burned the stamps.
 Repeal: In March 1766, the new prime minister who had replaced
Grenville, the Marquis of Rockingham, bowed to pressure from English
merchants who complained of a colonial boycott on manufactured items
imported from England. He thus passed a repeal of the Stamp Act.
 Declaratory Act: While the colonists celebrated the repeal of the Stamp
Act, a new act confirmed Parliament’s authority over the colonies “in all
cases whatsoever.” Most colonists did not notice this sinister wording.
CHAPTER FOUR
The Empire in Transition
Stirrings of Revolt: The Townshend Program
 Rockingham Dismissed: The king dismissed Rockingham
because his backing down on the Stamp Act proved unpopular in
England.
 Pitt Back in Office: The aged William Pitt replaced Rockingham,
but his impaired mental condition meant that the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, Charles Townshend, took over much of the governing of
affairs.
 Mutiny Act: Colonists hated the idea of London mandating that
they were responsible for the upkeep of troops. Massachusetts and
New York Assemblies refused to vote on providing the mandated
supplies. Townshend then targeted New York by disbanding its
assembly, isolating it.
CHAPTER FOUR
The Empire in Transition
Stirrings of Revolt: The Townshend Program
 Townshend Duties: Townshend also had a tax passed on imported
goods from England, thinking that such a tax on “external” goods would
not inflame colonial sentiment. The goods included lead, paint, paper,
and tea. These taxes and the suspension of New York’s assembly only
managed to infuriated colonists further.
 Nonimportation Agreements: Townshend established a board of
customs commissioners with its headquarters in Boston. These officials
virtually shut down smuggling in and out of Boston, although it
continued in other ports. Boston merchants organized a boycott with
New York and Philadelphia merchants of the goods subject to the
Townshend taxes with nonimportations agreements. American
“homespun” garments and other American-made products became
fashionable.
CHAPTER FOUR
The Empire in Transition
Stirrings of Revolt: The Boston Massacre
 Rebellious Boston: New customs officials were so harassed in Boston that British
authorities sent four regiments to protect them. When off duty, these poorly paid
soldiers often competed with the local workforce for menial jobs.
 March 5, 1770: A crowd of dockworkers and “Liberty Boys” began throwing
snowballs and rocks at a detachment of soliders guarding the Customs House. In a
scuffle, shots were fired and five colonists died. This murky, confusing incident that
resulted from confusion and panic played into propagandists’ hands, leading to a
pamphlet entitled, Innocent Blood Crying to God from the Streets of Boston.
 The Trial: The soldiers were found guilty of manslaughter, not murder, by a jury of
colonists, but publications and newspapers convinced readers that the soldiers were
guilty of official murder.
 “Committees of Correspondence”: In 1772, Samuel Adams proposed the
creation of a “committees of correspondence” in Boston to publicize grievances
against George III. Other colonies imitated Massachusetts lead, leading to a network
of intercolonial organizations propagating political dissent.
CHAPTER FOUR
The Empire in Transition
Stirrings of Revolt: The Boston Massacre
Engraving by Paul Revere, 1770.
CHAPTER FOUR
The Empire in Transition
Stirrings of Revolt: The Philosophy of Revolt
 Sources of Revolution Ideology: The years immediately following
the Boston Massacre were relatively calm, but ideological challenges to
British authority had become firmly entrenched.
 “Court vs. Country”: Rural British political writers in the early 1700s
in journals like The Spectator complained that too much power had
concentrated in the hands of London politicians and bankers. These
writings were enormously influential among rural Americans even
though they were seen as fringe and eccentric in England.
 “No Taxation without Representation”: The colonists became
more and more insistent that they could not be taxed without the
approval of their own assemblies—a foreign idea to the English—leading
to the famous phrase, “Not taxation without Representation.”
CHAPTER FOUR
The Empire in Transition
Stirrings of Revolt: The Philosophy of Revolt
 “Virtual” and “Actual” Representation: In England, members of
parliament were viewed as representing the whole nation, not just a
specific locality. While elected from specific geographical locales,
parliament members in theory represented Ireland and the colonies
through “virtual representation.” Americans, on the other hand, believed
that since they had no directly elected representative sin Parliament, they
were not represented.
 Sovereignty Debated: Americans were asking for a division of
sovereignty between the colonial assemblies and Parliament, which the
British viewed as absurd. To the British mind, their could only be one
single source of power.
CHAPTER FOUR
The Empire in Transition
Stirrings of Revolt: Sites of Resistance
 Political Importance of Colonial Taverns: Taverns became an important place for
the exchange of revolutionary ideas and literature. Boston had one of liveliest tavern
cultures of any colonial city, so it is not surprising that it was a center of early
revolutionary excitement. Newspapers would be read allowed so that the illiterate could
hear and understand the news. The King’s increasing irate speeches would be read, too.
Stirrings of Revolt: The Tea Excitement
 Tea Act of 1773: With the British East India Company on the verge of financial
collapse, Parliament passed a law allowing the Company sell off large stocks of tea that it
could not sell in England in the colonies without paying the usual taxes. Merchants saw
this as a big unfair advantage, making it possible for the Company to undersell colonial
merchants and gain a monopoly on tea. The act angered an influential constituency—the
colonial merchants—and revived anger about “taxation without representation.” Lord
North thought the colonists would welcome lower prices on tea, but the act generated
sympathy for colonial merchants on political grounds. In the last weeks of 1773, the
Company’s cargoes of tea were not allowed to land in Philadelphia and New York.
CHAPTER FOUR
The Empire in Transition
Stirrings of Revolt: The Tea Excitement
 Daughters of Liberty: The tea excitement entered the general society and culture at
a level not seen since the Stamp Act protest. A patriotic women’s organization, the
Daughters of Liberty, formed to encourage the boycotting of tea and other imported
goods. Women would make “homespun” garments and wear them proudly, doing away
with imported British finery.
 The Boston Tea Party: On December 16, 1773, three companies of fifty men
masquerading as Mohawk Indians went aboard three ships, broke open the tea chests,
and threw them into the harbor. As the new spread, colonists in other seaports
performed similar acts of resistance. The tradition of “white Indians” committing
subversive acts against new laws was not a new one—it had been practiced for decades.
 The Coercive Acts and the Their Consequences: In response to the Tea Party,
Parliament passed for acts collectively know as the “Coercive Acts,” also known as the
“Intolerable Acts.” These acts shut down the Port of Boston for trade, reduced the selfgovernment of the Massachusetts colony, permitted British officers accused of crimes to
be tried elsewhere, and made colonists provide for troops stationed there. Rather than
isolating Boston, great sympathy and further boycotts spread throughout the colonies.
CHAPTER FOUR
The Empire in Transition
Stirrings of Revolt: The Tea Excitement (1789 engraving)
CHAPTER FOUR
The Empire in Transition
Cooperation and War: New Sources of Authority
 Committees of Correspondence:Virginia formed the first committee of
correspondence thought sought to reach out and coordinate its activities with those in
other colonies. When the Virginia colonial assembly was dissolved in 1774, a committee
of correspondence met in a tavern, condemned the Coercive Acts, and called for a
Continental Congress.
 The First Continental Congress: Convening in September 1774 in Philadelphia, all
colonies sent delegates except for Georgia. They made five decisions: 1) Rejected a plan
for colonial union under British authority; 2) Endorsed a relatively modest set of
grievances; 3) made a plan for military preparations for possible attacks by British
troops in Boston; 4) they agreed on a series of boycotts and formed the Continental
Association to enforce them; 5) they agreed to meet the following spring.
 Lord North’s Conciliatory Propositions: In early 1775, the prime minister, Lord
North proposed allowing the colonial assemblies to vote on taxes issued by Parliament.
But by the time word arrived in North America, the first shots had been fired.
CHAPTER FOUR
The Empire in Transition
Cooperation and War: Lexington and Concord
 Minutemen: The colonists had a longstanding tradition of “minutemen” to respond to
Indian attack. They received some training, but were not professional soldiers in the way
that the British were.
 General Thomas Gage: He received orders to arrest colonial leaders Samuel Adams
and John Hancock, known to be around Lexington, and seize a large supply of
gunpowder the minutemen were keeping in Concord. On April 18, 1775, he sent a
detachment of 1,000 men out in the evening, hoping to surprise the colonists.
 Rides of Revere and Dawes: Paul Revere and William Dawes rode ahead of the
British troops and alerted the colonists about their march.
 First Shots Fired: When the redcoats arrived in Lexington, they found a few dozen
minutemen lined up to face them. Shots were fired and eight minutemen were killed.
When the British moved to Concord, they found the powder had been moved. On their
march back to Boston, the troops were shot at guerilla-style.
CHAPTER FOUR
The Empire in Transition